America’s Cup Trials : Showdown Is Set: Conner vs. Blackaller

Everything has fallen into place. The overture is over, and Dennis Conner’s demons are all lined up to thwart his obsession for the America’s Cup.

One best-of-seven semifinal starting Dec. 28 will be a California sail-off between Conner’s Stars & Stripes, sponsored by the San Diego Yacht Club , and archrival Tom Blackaller’s USA, sponsored by the St. Francis Yacht Club of San Francisco.

It was Blackaller who took a core sample of Conner’s hide after the 1983 competition at Newport, R.I., blaming his favorite foil, “big Dennis,” for blowing the Cup to Australia because he failed to join other Americans in a cooperative effort.

That’s demon No. 1.

Next, in the challenger finals, would be New Zealand, which figures to blow French Kiss out to sea in the other semifinal.

The Kiwis, remember, have that infernal, mysteriously fast fiberglass boat that Conner managed to beat--once--but has become a greater pest than a Fremantle fly in his personal ointment.

That’s demon No. 2.

Finally would come the Australians--hopefully not the Kookaburras that are currently in command in the defender trials but Alan Bond’s boys on Australia IV.

Bond’s secret winged keel turned Conner’s mind to distraction in ‘83, and he hasn’t let the world forget it.

That’s demon No. 3. Conner has not conceded the scenario openly, but his faithful tactician, Tom Whidden, spoke in his place at the skippers’ press conference Monday night.

“Actually, beyond what everybody thinks, the results came out exactly the way we would have liked it,” Whidden said.

Blackaller was unable to beat New Zealand Monday, losing by 59 seconds after a dogged nose-to-tail race, but held onto third place when Italia out-sailed a troubled French Kiss by 1 minute 55 seconds, leaving the Mediterranean boat in fourth place.

Conner, finding the 18- to 24-knot winds his boat prefers, ran away from Britain’s White Crusader by 4:12. The victory was his fifth straight for a 9-2 record in the third round. That left him second behind New Zealand, which lost only to the San Diego boat in the trials and has won its last 24 races.

Blackaller, too, seemed delighted at the way it has turned out.

Playing the match for all it’s worth, the irrepressible silver- haired orator said: “Speaking for the USA crew, we’re very happy to meet the Stars & Stripes group . . . big Dennis and Tom and these guys.

“We’ve raced against these fellas for a long time, and they kicked us pretty good at Newport in 1983. We’re out for a little revenge, and I think we have the machine that might take us to that revenge.”

Said Whidden: “Regardless of all the innuendo between Tom and Dennis, probably the best result that could come out of this is that Stars & Stripes or USA will be much more ready to challenge whoever wins between French Kiss and New Zealand, and we feel that will give the United States a lot better chance.”

The United States? There’s more at stake than that. This is Dennis Conner going for it, and another familiar rival likes his chances.

Harold Cudmore, the articulate Irish skipper of sixth-place White Crusader, politely dismissed the other matchup with a nod to French Kiss skipper Marc Pajot.

“The first against fourth--and I’m sorry, Marc--will probably be strong for the Kiwis,” Cudmore said.

“The other one’s a quite fascinating match because Stars & Stripes has a tremendous resource of knowledge, and they’re working the boat up very carefully, and they would probably be favored.”

Blackaller (23-11) has beaten Conner (27-7) in two of their three races here.

He was still figuring out how to steer his odd 12-meter with the torpedo keel and rudders at both ends when he lost a first-round race to Conner by a scant six seconds--a boat length--in 8 knots of wind. Conner had to boldly cross Blackaller on port tack near the finish line to get there first.

Blackaller won the second race by 39 seconds in fluky 5- to 10-knot air, then won the third race by 42 seconds in Conner’s kind of conditions, 15 to 24 knots, leading from start to finish.

If those results give Blackaller a psychological edge, he didn’t show it Monday night’s press conference. He appeared weary and drained but no doubt will have the bit back in his teeth two weeks hence.

Conner didn’t show at all. Whidden said he elected to stay at a Stars & Stripes party because it would be “good for morale,” but he definitely wasn’t going home to San Diego, as he had during the first two breaks.

“We won’t let him go home,” Whidden said. “(Instead), we’ve sent him off to charm school.”

Blackaller brought along a check of $5,000 to hand over to New Zealand skipper Chris Dickson, settling the bet over the Kiwis’ race against America II Saturday. Blackaller had been afraid they would throw it to keep USA out of the semifinals.