America’s Cup Sportsmanship Style Lives On in North County

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.

A gentlemanly sailing contest is being upended by an uncivil dispute over a silvery trophy.

The hometown champ stubbornly insists that he owns the trophy. The out-of-town upstart disagrees and accuses the other side of bad sportsmanship.

The upstart talks to his lawyer and threatens suit. The hometowner hunkers down and says, “Just let him try.”

Of course, you’ve guessed it: It’s the argument between Oceanside and San Marcos over possession of the trophy from the third annual Oceanside Harbor Days Mayor’s Cup Race.

It started when San Marcos Councilman Mike Preston defeated eight other entrants representing mayors in North San Diego County and South Orange County, plus the commanding general of Camp Pendleton.

Preston was helped immeasurably when the defending champion, Oceanside Mayor Larry Bagley, toppled into the water shortly after the start of the half-mile sail across Oceanside Harbor. Those one-person Hobie Cats can be devilishly tricky.

Preston figured he had won the right to take the trophy to San Marcos City Hall. Wrong. He was told the trophy stays perpetually in Oceanside.

“I was shocked when all they handed me was a little plaque,” Preston said. “The losers got plaques. I was the winner! San Marcos deserves to bask in the glory of my victory.”

He considered grabbing the trophy and running home. Instead he persuaded his council colleagues to instruct City Atty. Daniel Hentschke to write a nasty letter.

Hentschke is researching the rules of the sailing race. Also, the laws of maritime salvage and piracy.

Bagley is unmoved. Methinks his jib is firmly in cheek. He says questions may be raised about the dimensions of Preston’s boat--an interesting ploy since all the boats were identical.

“If we can’t find a law to back us up,” Bagley said, “we’ll just pass one that does.”

Bishop Takes a Stand

Here and there:

- Catholic Bishop Leo T. Maher sent a letter to the San Diego City Council opposing a proposed “Human Dignity Ordinance” that seeks to protect homosexuals against discrimination in housing, employment and public services.

Maher said that, although the church deplores “violent malice in speech or in action” toward gays, it refuses to “accept the moral legitimacy of the homosexual life style.”

- Some cultural experiences are not transferable.

The Georgian folk dancers in the Soviet arts festival are particularly known for one high-energy mating dance where the male dancers fling knives into the floor, missing their soft-leather boots by mere inches.

Knives will be used during performances at the Starlight Bowl and Spreckels Theatre. But performances at schools will be knife-less.

The reason: insurance problems and a concern that students might get the wrong idea.

What’s in a Name? Complaints

Developers may have found a way to deflect the political heat: Build in one place but make people think it’s somewhere else.

What was once a grassy, rolling hill on the north side of California 78 in North County is now being bulldozed for a mammoth housing development. The project is near the boundary of two cities.

“People are beating us up over this,” said an exasperated Rick Gittings, city manager of San Marcos. “It’s not in the city of San Marcos. It’s Escondido’s. But people think it’s in San Marcos, and people are calling, complaining and complaining.”

For unexplained reasons, phones at Escondido City Hall are quiet. Maybe the callers are exhausted after chewing out Gittings.

The project--980 acres and 691 units, the second-largest development in Escondido history--is called Palos Vista.

And yes, the name does sound like that gag on “Saturday Night Live” about the prototypical Southern California suburb, El Camino del Rey Mar Vista , but I can’t help that.