SUPER BOAT THURSDAY : Conner, NFC Crew Are Beaten Deep by Turner, AFC

Dennis Conner had that old 1983 feeling Thursday, watching helplessly from the red boat Liberty as a faster 12-meter sailed away to victory.

Fortunately, this time the America’s Cup wasn’t at stake, and it wasn’t Australia II he was chasing. It was Ted Turner aboard Stars & Stripes ‘86, the boat Conner left home when he went to Fremantle, Australia, to win the Cup back last year.

Unfortunately, this may have been San Diego’s America’s Cup race, considering the threat from New Zealand that will be met at Long Beach or Hawaii in September.

Thursday offered at best a preview of how boring it might be watching these 12-meter sea slugs compete in the light air southwest of Point Loma in 1991 if the Kiwis are defeated.

The event was the Pro Football Match Race, promoted by Dennis Conner Sports Inc. to catch some reflected hype from the Super Bowl and give ABC 2 1/2 minutes of fill time for its pregame show Sunday.

Conner sailed with NFC players Jim Everett and Dennis Harrah of the Rams, Steve Young of the 49ers, Curtis Greer of the Cardinals and George Adams of the Giants, as crew. Turner had AFC hands Warren Moon of the Oilers, Lionel James of the Chargers, Cornelius Bennett of the Bills, Ken Easley of the Seahawks and Mark Gastineau of the Jets.

Because Conner was the promoter, some of the usual rules were, uh, relaxed.

The crewmen all wore so many sponsors’ patches on their shirts that they looked like race car drivers. This is the coming age of sailing.

Also, after they tossed coins for boats and crews Wednesday, Stars & Stripes ’86 proved to be so superior to Liberty in a practice race that it was announced that the first boat to finish would not necessarily win. The winner would be determined by a vague handicap system and announced during the pregame coverage.

It will have to be a whale-sized handicap, because Turner finished the length of several football fields in front.

With the wind never exceeding six knots, it wasn’t much of a race, but the turnout was terrific: 2 blimps, 6 helicopters and an estimated 300 spectator craft, from jet skis to luxury yachts, all churning up the sea as Coast Guard craft frantically cajoled and threatened, trying--and failing--to keep everybody away from the racers.

In the pre-start maneuvering, the racers imperiled spectators with the 30-ton aluminum monsters, twisting and turning through the fleet scattering before them.

Probably the height of excitement came when the Pepsi/Slice blimp buzzed the fleet from about 15 feet off the water.

The race was scheduled for twice around a six-mile triangle but was finished after one lap as the sun dipped low on the horizon.

It also started on a limp note when Turner, on port tack at the committee end of the line, snagged the committee boat’s anchor line with his winged keel and dragged it up the course.

They didn’t have winged keels when Turner defended the Cup with Courageous in ’77.

But he said, “I knew it was going to happen. We had to find a knife and had cut about halfway through it when they got it loose.”

Conner--doubled up in laughter at the other end of the line--declined to take advantage and bided his time until Turner got going again.

Then Turner held a three-length lead to the first weather mark and sailed away on the downwind reaches.

Earlier, Turner said, “I want to win, but I realize the deck is stacked. I haven’t been sailing in five years, except for my sailboard. I’m too busy making money.

“I can make more money in TV than sailing--although it is getting closer.”

Asked how his crew would perform, Turner said none were sailors. “One of the guys has been fishing, though,” he said.

Harrah, getting ready to go into retirement in West Virginia, said, “I found out these boats aren’t any good for fishing off. I looked all over the boat and couldn’t find a pole.”