Q&A; WITH DENNIS CONNER : Conner Tries to Keep From Tipping Over

The America’s Cup controversy rages on, but at least it has moved from the courts to the water.

Starting Sept. 7, Dennis Conner will sail a 60-foot catamaran against Michael Fay’s 133-foot New Zealand monohull in defense of the prize he reclaimed at Fremantle, Australia, 18 months ago.

Everybody picks Conner to win, even Fay.

Fay says Conner’s use of a catamaran is despicably unfair, adding, “I will protest the mismatch between a catamaran and a monohull forever.”

But since New York Supreme Court Judge Carmen Ciparick issued her opinion that Fay has no case until Conner actually shows up in a catamaran, the race is on.

In a recent interview, Conner gave his views.

Question: What do you think of New Zealand’s Gallup poll that says 53% of Americans think it’s unfair of you to use a catamaran?

Answer: There’s only one person in the world that really matters. That’s Judge Ciparick, and she’s already done her own poll.

Q: How did her ruling affect the attitude in your camp?

A: It was certainly an uplift to our spirits. You can imagine what it was like, working for 7 months, 17 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a tunnel with no light at the end. Do you think it was more fun to work and be able to race, or do you think it was more fun to work and not know if you would ever go sailing?

Q: Does the issue of whether it’s a fair match really apply to the America’s Cup? Hasn’t the idea always been to get an edge on the other guy?

A: It’s never been fair. Was it a fair match when the Washington Redskins beat the Denver Broncos, 42-10? It’s just rhetoric. That’s what the judge said. It doesn’t say anything about fair in the Deed of Gift.

Q: How big a mismatch is it going to be?

A: No one knows. It won’t be like what Sail magazine said (concerning Stars & Stripes victories by more than an hour). That guy is like some idiot.

Q: But aren’t you in a no-win situation in that you could lose, but won’t impress anyone if you win?

A: I’ll be happy if the Cup is still here on Sept. 11. That’s all I really care about.

Q: Are you worried about your reputation suffering by not playing fair?

A: Oh, yeah, I’m so worried--like, sleepless nights.

Q: Earlier, when you first started sailing it, you said you were pretty nervous about the catamaran.

A: I still am. Seven out of 70 days we wouldn’t have finished the race, so far. That’s 10%. We either tipped over or broke our mast, had a centerboard break in half--it’s endless.

Q: Is that why Sail America wanted to go to a longer, best-of-seven series, so luck would be less a factor?

A: I don’t really care. You can make an argument either way. What happens if you tip over after the fourth race and you can’t finish the rest of the series? You’d lose then. If there’s only two out of three, you have (fewer) races for a potential breakdown.

Q: If your advantage is as great as many people say, would you be inclined to sandbag to make the races closer?

A: I’d win by 10 days if I could.

Q: What is the trickiest part about sailing the catamaran, now that you’re acquainted with it?

A: You have to stay on top of it. You just can’t relax. Something bad can happen if you do. That’s the biggest difference.

Q: Bouncing across the trampoline (between the two hulls) to the other side when you tack looks a little tricky.

A: It probably looks more difficult than it is. You aren’t going to get killed, although if you slip you can do a little minor damage and come back with some bruises.

Q: Is it more physically demanding than a 12-meter?

A: No. The 12s are pretty physical--all those heavy sails to change, the grinding on the winches when you’re doing 40 tacks a leg. That’s tiring.

Q: How about for the helmsman? You get to sit down on this one.

A: Sometimes that’s more tiring than standing up. It’s harder on your back because you’re pushing.

Q: Would you prefer smaller courses than the 40-mile, once-around races you’ll have?

A: No, the longer courses are better for us. Every time we maneuver we have more chance for a problem. Here, we have to put the sail up only once. We don’t have to worry about taking it down. Those are your dangerous problems. If you’re rounding a mark with a guy to leeward and you have a problem with your sail, you can tip over.

Q: What effect is all of this going to have on future America’s Cups?

A: I try to find the silver lining in everything. My scenario is that Michael Fay has done the Cup a favor because, while no one likes this controversy or what has happened, we’re just trying to make the best of it. We probably have more people that are fans of the America’s Cup than ever.

Sure, there are a few traditionalists that say, ‘Hey, this is stupid.’ But they’re still going to watch. In the meantime, you’ve got a lot more people, because of what he’s done here, that are interested in it--the controversy, the court, what is this business about a 130-foot boat? A winged catamaran?

Q: So the controversy hasn’t been all bad?

A: No one’s liked it. It’s certainly not what a sailor would like. No one liked losing the America’s Cup (in 1983), either. But was it good for the Cup? Ten years from now, if you’re a historian, you see that this left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths, and the media wrote that it wasn’t fair, it was a mismatch--all this bull. Are you going to say, ‘You know, that Michael Fay, that was as good as losing the Cup.’

It showed the problems with the Deed of Gift. It showed the fact that maybe they ought to think about racing it in bigger boats. It spread the base of interest, and people understand a lot more now that it’s more than just a sailboat race. It’s a game of life. You think that’s a possibility? Or are they going to say, ‘That thing really killed the America’s Cup’?”

Q: Do you think this might someday be regarded as a turning point for the Cup?

A: Maybe (we) don’t like it, and maybe the sailors don’t like the idea of the attorneys being the stars and think it should have been raced on the water, not eight months in the courtroom. Granted. I agree. No one likes it. Except Michael Fay. But it wasn’t our choice. These were the cards we were dealt.

Q: How will this influence the type of boats used in future Cups?

A: I don’t think the 130-foot-long boats will be the Cup boat. It might be something bigger than (the 12-meters). I don’t think it will be a relatively high-performance boat. I think it will be something more along the lines of a traditional 12-meter. It might be 15-feet bigger and 15-feet wider, but I don’t see ‘em going around at 40 knots.

Q: This event could discourage that, if the boats wind up miles apart.

A: That’s my scenario. In any event, it’s probably going to be only two races. Whoever’s faster is going to win the first two. It might not be a sailboat race, but it’s going to be interesting.

Q: How do you see the first race developing?

A: It’s going to be a lot closer at the first mark than Sail magazine thinks. Our numbers show the boats are pretty equal upwind. I wouldn’t be surprised if the boats are within 5 or 10 minutes at the weather mark.

Q: Which one in front?

A: I don’t know. I’m not going to put myself in that kind of . . .

Q: And downwind?

A: I hope we’re faster, but no one knows for sure. All you hear is rhetoric. How many of these media guys that write this stuff could even sail across the bay?

Q: Do you mean not even Dennis Conner knows how this is going to turn out?

A: I know, but my job is to make that boat as fast as I can and to make my crew and my people--what’s the opposite of complacent?--scared. Would you like to have the skipper of the America’s Cup telling his guys, ‘Hey, don’t (worry), this is in the bag’? Would that be smart?

It’s my job to make everybody realize this is not in the bag and that they’d better work their butts off, as if it were going to be won by three seconds.