35,000 Greet Conner, Crew . . . and the Cup

Skipper Dennis Conner and the Stars & Stripes crew arrived home Saturday to a victory parade and thunderous greeting from more than 35,000 people who lined the San Diego waterfront from Ash Street to Broadway to celebrate the sailing triumph that recaptured the America’s Cup from the Australians.

A visibly tired, but elated, Conner rode in the back of a convertible--cradling the Cup in one arm and waving an American flag with the other--and led a parade of vehicles from Lindbergh Field to the B Street Pier, where he was feted by a crowd of well-wishers and dignitaries. The parade route and stage from where Conner made some brief remarks were ringed with thousands of U.S. flags of all sizes.

The entire half-hour celebration had the air of a large Fourth of Julypicnic as small groups of people sang “God Bless America” and waved red, white and blue balloons.

Several ships in the harbor blew their horns in a salute to Conner and his crew as the men walked on stage. A few boats from a flotilla of dozens of sailing vessels at the foot of the pier shot flares in the air.

Conner, however, was the humble hero, refusing to take sole credit for the Stars & Stripes sweep over Australian defender Kookaburra III in Fremantle, Australia.

“All I did was steer the boat. These guys did the work,” said Conner while pointing to his crew. “These are the guys that got up at 5 a.m. each morning, working 17 hours a day . . . for three years with no compensation. So they deserve all the praise.”

Then, a gracious Conner praised the Australian defenders and thanked them for the appreciation that they showed for the Cup during the past three years.

“When we lost the Cup in 1983, . . . it was obviously a tremendous blow. But the Cup was very happy in Fremantle, Australia,” said Conner, who went on to suggest that Fremantle and San Diego should become sister cities.

Earlier, at an airport ceremony after a 20-hour Transpacific flight, Conner expressed his delight at bringing the Cup home, after being the only American skipper to lose it.

“I can’t tell you how much it means to the Stars & Stripes crew and to Dennis Conner to be back in America’s Finest City,” he said. “It was a great thrill to represent you all and really was fantastic for us to bring the Cup back home where it belongs.”

The Cup made its first reappearance on U.S. soil at 1:53 p.m., when Conner, accompanied by U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson and Mayor Maureen O’Connor, appeared at the door of the airplane and held the trophy high.

And in keeping with the growing corporate involvement in the America’s Cup, Conner sprayed champagne on the DC-10, rechristening it Stars & Stars.

A few minutes later, after Pepsi Cola USA officials announced the signing of a long-term promotional marketing agreement with Conner’s group, Conner put on a Pepsi baseball cap over one from Continental Airlines.

As he walked to the waiting motorcade, he had both hats on and his arm around the America’s Cup.

A crowd of about 300 people, including San Diego Yacht Club officers, politicians, a Marine Corps band and the media, greeted Conner and his entourage.

“There are never enough heroes, . . . and we got our own,” Wilson said as part of his welcoming remarks. The senator called the America’s Cup greater than the World Series, and said Conner’s victory now puts San Diego on an international stage.

“It’s not the World Series, it’s not the Davis Cup . . . it’s the whole thing,” Wilson said.

While the Cup is back in the United States and will be on display in San Diego, the site of the next America’s Cup race has yet to be decided. Newport, R.I., San Francisco and Hawaii are among several sites vying for the next race scheduled for 1990 or 1991. O’Connor is leading a drive to hold the defense here.

Knowing that the local celebration would probably be televised on the East Coast--where there is intense pressure to hold the race at Newport--O’Connor exhorted the Embarcadero crowd to give a thunderous cheer so New York viewers could see that “we do care.”

Referring to the Cup as “our America’s Cup,” O’Connor said:

“Everyone that lives in San Francisco, New York and Hawaii says that San Diego doesn’t care and doesn’t show up to support their teams. I say, ‘No.’ . . . You have shown them that we are truly America’s Finest City. When Dennis Conner arrives, I want you to cheer . . . so the world can see that we have the port to handle the America’s Cup.”

But at a press conference after the public celebration, Conner declined to say where he’d like to have the next races held. Actually, in what appeared to be a rehearsed response, Sail America President Malin Burnham fielded the question for Conner, saying the decision is neither his nor Conner’s.

Several other reporters asked the same question, and each time, Burnham intercepted. “We can go on and on and on about the defense. I absolutely do not want to speculate. It will be up to a rather large committee. It will not be up to a Malin or Dennis or any other individual.”

According to Burnham, a committee (the majority of which will be members of the San Diego Yacht Club) will be formed within 30 days to pick a race site, and a decision could be made within 90 to 180 days.

“But as a native San Diegan, it would be pretty hard for me to suggest that San Diego doesn’t have the best chance of having the America’s Cup event here. But again, there are a lot of people around the world interested, and they have to be heard from as well,” Burnham said.

After the festivities, Conner and his crew left for Washington, D.C., where they will be honored by President Reagan at the White House on Monday. On Tuesday, they will be honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City.

Then, in an obvious jab at New Yorkers and other Easterners who think that the next Cup defense should be held in East, one speaker said:

“These people (New Yorkers) will be too frozen to stand out there Tuesday.”

The mayor ended the ceremony by giving Conner a key to the city. “You’ve already won our hearts,” she said.

Times staff writers Tom Friend and Jenifer Warren contributed to this story.