Word: conner
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America retrieved its old Cup last week in four one-sided yacht races that showed U.S. sailors and Australian sportsmen at their best. The man who unthinkably lost the trophy three summers ago, San Diego's Dennis Conner, won it back with guile at the beginning and grace at the end, not to mention the fastest sailboat on the Indian Ocean. "I didn't see a foot put wrong in any one of the races by any one of their team," losing Skipper Iain Murray said admiringly. "We made a few mistakes and were a little bit off the pace...
...Somewhere along the U.S. line, as Enterprise begat Courageous begat Freedom begat Liberty, revolutionary breakthroughs had been luffing. Then, in 1983, influenced by Dutch technology, a child of the Outback named Ben Lexcen devised a winged keel for Australia II that altered everything. Ultimately developing wings of his own, Conner agrees, "It basically was an art before. We're just starting to scratch it into a science...
...They thrashed us with a better boat," said Rick Goodrich, a Queensland cowboy grinding his first winch. And with more than just the boat. Starting Helmsman Peter Gilmour, who jockeyed for Murray in the pre-race maneuvers, imagined on the last day that he had succeeded in cajoling Conner over the line prematurely. "Then I remembered something," he said. "It's Dennis...
...happy life," Conner said. "She seems to be enjoying it." Still, the site of the next regatta, in 1990, is undetermined. Political winds figure to blow for San Diego, whose yacht club is entitled to designate the next pond. Hawaii's dramatic seas, for example, may be considered splashier for TV. Under the Deed of Gift, only a foreign power can dislodge the Cup from wherever the S.D.Y.C. decides to display it. Just as Southerner Ted Turner once defended for New York City, any U.S. suitors must now pledge fealty to San Diego. This may affect the enthusiasm...
COVER: Skipper Dennis Conner presses his crusade to reclaim yachting' s grail...