The Behind-the-Scenes Helmsman : Purdon Favors San Diego as Site for Next America’s Cup

Think of this as the America’s Cup Word Association Game: America’s Cup and Dennis Conner. America’s Cup and Malin Burnham. America’s Cup and Sandy Purdon. Who? Sandy Purdon?

To those outside the San Diego Yacht Club and the race sailing community, Purdon is not exactly a household word. But while Stars & Stripes skipper Conner made the front pages and Sail America syndicate chief Burnham raided corporate board rooms in search of funding, Purdon was the one who held everything together, day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year.

He was the one who in 1984 was asked to direct the fledgling Sail America syndicate, leaving behind a successful real estate business in Del Mar for a tiny one-man office in an alcove at Hope Consulting Group.

Attended to Details

He was the one who made sure the crews got fed and sheltered in Hawaii and Australia; made sure the right kind of facilities for Stars & Stripes were built in Fremantle; was at the dock in Australia when the syndicate’s boats were unpacked and put back together; was the one who worked with Australian bankers to set up a line of credit; was the one who “tied up the loose ends” after Conner and Burnham had cut an initial swath through corporate America seeking contributions; was the one who made sure the bills got paid; the one who worked 10-hour days and on weekends.

“I don’t know of anyone who spent more time on this effort than I did,” says Purdon, not boasting, simply stating it as a matter of fact. And when the goal of winning the America’s Cup was accomplished, as the 100,000 spectators that ringed Fremantle harbor cheered and drenched themselves and the crew in the champagne of victory, it was a special moment.

“It was very, very gratifying, not only to see Dennis win when he had been so down in ‘83, but to see everything come together. You can imagine the pleasure of seeing a project that takes three years and having it all work . . . though not without at times people and fund-raising problems, the many egos involved and feelings hurt.”

2,000 Donors

And in one sense, the work had just begun. The races up to and including the America’s Cup final spurred a harvest of new contributions, like ripe peaches falling off a tree. On Jan. 1 of this year, Sail America had a donor list--composed of both megabuck corporate contributors and kids who sent in $5--of 2,000. On April 1, the list had grown to 6,000. Things were so frantic that immediately after Conner won--as he, the crew, Purdon and other Sail America officials attended various victory celebrations from San Diego to Manhattan--as many as 200 checks a day were arriving and piling up, he said.

Now things have toned down considerably, replaced by the closed-door tug-of-war over where the San Diego Yacht Club will defend the cup and the initial organizing for the next regatta in 1991, when Purdon is due to be the club’s commodore--the top man at a time when the eyes of the international sailing community and media will be turned to sailing’s premier spectacle.

If things go smoothly, few of them will remember his name; if things don’t work, well . . .

But if he feels anxious about it, one can’t tell. He is soft-spoken yet straightforward. He exudes a relaxing calm and confidence without being cocky. These are qualities he likely will need for his next adventure in June, when he will take part in a two-man solo race from San Diego to Honolulu in which he will single-handedly sail a 46-foot boat for more than two weeks at sea. He is undergoing the challenge as a way of raising funds to support the county’s Trauma Research & Education Foundation.

A year ago, Purdon, 44, wouldn’t have had time to undertake such a trip. But today, even though he is obviously close to the continuing machinations surrounding the America’s Cup, he is no longer the director-administrator-manager of Sail America, a post he gave up as of May 1.

“When I took the job, I didn’t know exactly how long I’d stay,” said Purdon during a recent interview at the yacht club. “Now it seems it just went by so fast.”

An All-Around Athlete

Unlike Conner, who has been a single-minded sailor since he was a youngster, Purdon--himself an accomplished racing sailor--is more athletically well-rounded. The son of a U.S. Navy commander, he was first exposed to sailing as a kid in Massachusetts and Maryland, though he quickly developed other tastes for competition.

He earned 10 varsity letters in college, in lacrosse, ice hockey and soccer. Passionate about hockey, he turned professional while still a college student, playing for the Washington Potomacs in the Maryland Professional Hockey League for $50 a game plus more money for goals scored.

“I did fairly well,” he says, but was barred by the NCAA, because he had accepted money for sport, from participating in lacrosse. That, however, didn’t dim his appetite for the ice. For two years after he arrived in San Diego for good in 1971, he regularly played with a bunch of other hockey crazies at the House of Ice from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Before coming to San Diego, Purdon spent several years in the Marine Corps, including a tour of duty in Vietnam as an air defense control officer at a place called Monkey Mountain near the American base at Da Nang.

While establishing his real estate business, Purdon also became an avid Southern California sailor, winning 30 victories and taking an increasing role in running regattas. As such he became good friends with Conner, and he went back to Newport, R.I., in 1980 to see Conner win the America’s Cup. He was there again in 1983 when Conner lost it. And when Purdon was married in 1985, Conner was in the wedding. So it wasn’t surprising when the skipper asked him to manage Sail America.

Purdon has praise for many who helped in the early days, when fund-raising was a fierce battle being fought in corporate board rooms against other syndicates from Newport Beach and New York.

“I think Mike Dingman (chairman of the Henley Group) helped us more than anybody,” Purdon said, noting that Dingman, who sits on the board of directors of several corporations, helped open doors to contributions such as Ford Motor Co.’s $500,000 and Merrill Lynch, which eventually gave a total of $1 million.

Others simply gave boats to Sail America, which the syndicate would turn around and sell, providing the donors with tax write-offs and the syndicate with cash.

Purdon said that while he knew the races in Australia were likely to attract much international attention, he was not prepared for the quantum leap it actually took, particularly in the United States, where yachting’s appeal had been rather limited. But as Conner made his way to the finals against Kookaburra III, and the cycle of media coverage and public attention and excitement grew, he knew the America’s Cup had left its provincial past behind and ventured into uncharted territory.

Yet it wasn’t until a picture of his wife made the front page of USA Today--as she and others waved American flags while watching the races on a yacht club television set--that it really hit home. “Then I knew,” Purdon said. “I told my wife by telephone, ‘I guess we’re in the big time now.’ ”

The huge greeting of 35,000 people in San Diego that awaited Conner’s return, the White House reception with President Reagan and the ticker-tape parade in Manhattan all served to further that impression.

“What you have to remember is that no other kind of sailing event--no college sailing team, no Olympic sailing, no junior sailing, nothing really--had ever brought out this kind of attention,” he said. “For people who have been involved in sailing for many years . . . this was all sort of overwhelming.”

Ironically, it is this attention that has placed added pressure on people like Purdon to keep the momentum alive, pressure that is very public. In the past, when the cup was the domain of New York Yacht Club, there was never any question about its future. It was kept in the tight--many say arrogant--control of the club, which made its decisions in private and simply proclaimed, for 53 years, that the races would be held in Newport. No controversy, no attention, nothing.

There would seem to be no question that the next regatta would be in San Diego, but there is, as both Conner and Burnham--acting as representatives of Sail America--have talked about the need for the San Diego Yacht Club to look at the broad picture and not simply make a decision based on hometown emotions. The yacht club, in response, has stated unequivocally that it wants the races the San Diego.

He Favors San Diego

Purdon, as an official of both the yacht club and Sail America, favors San Diego. He’s a member of the America’s Cup Task Force, the group of San Diego public officials and businessmen created specifically to formulate a plan to bring the defense to San Diego.

“I think it would be a shame if it wasn’t here in San Diego,” he said. “I think that deep in their hearts both Dennis and Malin would like it here in San Diego . . . but they want the universal outlook to make sure we’re doing the right thing. On the other hand, the yacht club wants to solidify its position that it’s going to be here . . . that it’s ours now.”

As for the internal tug-of-war, “I think it’s healthy and has to be expected,” he said. “It shows there’s some intense interest. This is new territory for everyone . . . and it will be to the good if it makes (the next races) a little better. I’d be worried if no one got involved.”

Involvement is certainly not one of Purdon’s worries. He’s been there in the past and he’ll be there in the future. “I don’t think I can ever get the America’s Cup out of my blood,” he said. “It’s very contagious.”