Word: conners
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...face with sunscreen goo, joining ten other hearty mates and smashing over the sea in multimillion-dollar pursuit of an ugly, and near worthless, silver jug. Yachtsmen often complain that ocean racing is like standing under an ice-cold shower tearing up thousand-dollar bills. Until recently, Dennis Conner, 44, skipper and mastermind of the smoke-blue Stars & Stripes, might have agreed...
...week, however, as speakers on the Stars & Stripes tender boomed out the boat's theme song, Danger Zone, from the movie Top Gun, the skipper who lost the America's Cup had come a long way toward putting some glory after his black mark in yachting's record book. Conner's 1983 defeat by Australia broke the New York Yacht Club's 132-year winning streak. This time, Conner has heeled over, hunkered down and blasted to a comfortable -- and unexpected -- 3-1 lead over the fiber-glass-hulled New Zealand in the best-of-seven series to determine...
...Conner's success on Gage Roads, a boisterous strip of the Indian Ocean off Perth's port of Fremantle, is a sailing surprise. Through four elimination rounds since October, Stars & Stripes, the entry of the San Diego Yacht Club, had done well, compiling a 31-7 record. But in last week's challenger final between Conner and New Zealand, pundits and punters favored the "Kiwi Magic" because the boat was 37-1 overall, as well as 2-1 in its previous races with Stars & Stripes. Gloomy American fans worried about an all-Pacific final that would keep...
...calmer Conner than the one who groused abrasively as he was overtaken by Australia II in Newport has long been quietly plotting his course for the Cup's recapture. After breaking with the N.Y.Y.C., Conner, who owns a drapery business in San Diego, raised some $15 million (mostly from corporate sponsors, including Ford, Merrill Lynch and Budweiser). Two years ago, he assembled his crew and began sailing in near secrecy off Hawaii, where wind and water duplicate the Western Australia conditions. Conner had also noted that the Fremantle Doctor, a wind so named because it relieves the almost 100 degrees...
...strategy paid off as Stars & Stripes grew stronger during the competition. The boat seemed to find a "magical lift," according to rival USA Skipper Tom Blackaller, who lost the semifinals to Conner in four straight three weeks ago. That set the stage for a neat matchup of opposites last week because New Zealand was designed for maneuverability on high seas. The result, says Conner, is "like a fuel dragster vs. a turbocharged Porsche. While the dragster might have more speed in a straight line, he doesn't want to go 24 hours at Le Mans." The series was also...