“Today, the Cup that went down under...

“Today, the Cup that went down under has come back up,” President Reagan said as skipper Dennis Conner and the 11-man crew of the Stars & Stripes were honored at the White House.

The American yacht defeated Australia’s Kookaburra III in the finals to regain the America’s Cup, which the Aussies had won in 1983.

Reagan said Conner was “a regular guy--a smart guy who worked his way up from the bottom and deserves the credit for what he’s done.” Reagan wore an Aussie bush hat, which he won in a bet with Bob Hawke, the Australian prime minister.

The American yachtsmen are scheduled to be honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York today.