Catamaran Again Finds How the Wind Blows

For the second time in three days, one of the modified catamarans being used in practice runs by Dennis Conner’s Sail America crew capsized Tuesday afternoon in San Diego Bay.

A gust of wind caught the sail and dumped the Formula 40 catamaran about 3:30 into the bay between Harbor Island and North Island, said Peter Isler, a crew member on the upended boat.

Isler said the crew quickly disconnected the mast from the rest of the craft and towed it back to its berth within two hours. They used a boom and a winch on a tender to tow the boat, Isler said, adding that Conner was sailing a second modified catamaran Tuesday afternoon and was not on the one that capsized.

“No one was hurt,” said Isler, who was the navigator on Stars & Stripes in 1987 when it won the America’s Cup from Australia. “That was the good news. We were a lot more prepared this time to get the boats . . . out of the water and back to the dock a lot quicker than the first time it happened.”

The first time one of the catamarans flipped was Sunday, when Conner was at the helm.

Isler said the capsizings were to be expected.

“The idea is to push the catamaran to the limit. We’re pretty close to that, obviously. We’ve capsized twice in three days.

“We’ve learned the fine edges of where it capsizes and where it doesn’t capsize.”

Conner’s crew is practicing with two used catamarans until two custom-made boats are ready later this month.

The high-tech boats, being built in San Juan Capistrano, will be unveiled to the media next Tuesday and will sail the next day in San Diego Bay.

Conner is scheduled to use the new catamaran and its backup in a September race off Point Loma to defend the Cup from New Zealand challenger Michael Fay.

Fay has filed a motion in the New York Supreme Court to prevent the San Diego Yacht Club, which is sponsoring Conner’s defense of the Cup, from using a catamaran against his monohull. The case has yet to be decided, and a deadline for filing papers is today.

Fay’s monohull is en route from New Zealand and is expected to be practicing off San Diego next month.