SAILING CONGRESSIONAL CUP : Dickson Too Aggressive for Isler, Haines

In the America’s Cup at Fremantle in 1987, people called Chris Dickson the “U-Boat skipper,” for the look in his steely blue eyes when his opponent came into his sights.

Saturday the determined New Zealander locked onto Peter Isler and Robbie Haines in the best-of-three sailoffs of the 26th Congressional Cup at Long Beach and dispatched them as surely as if he had sent them to the bottom with torpedoes.

Isler went down in a two-race semifinal over Friday and Saturday, by 24 and 30 seconds--comfortable margins at this level of the game.

Haines went in two in a row Saturday, by 19 and 30 seconds--in the former after Dickson had to perform a 270-degree penalty turn for a right-of-way foul.

The victory was Dickson’s first in the original major match-racing event--the fifth in a row by a foreigner--and his seventh in a row on the world circuit in the last few months. On a larger scale, it sent a loud message to the rest of the world about Japan’s first-time chances in the ’92 America’s Cup. The Nippon Challenge, already deep in money and technology, with a boat due to be launched in two weeks, now has the best match-racing sailor for the helm.

“Did you see the fire in his belly today?” asked Steve Rosenberg, a Long Beach resident who has crewed for Dickson frequently, including this week.

The word on Dickson, 29, is that he gets tougher as an event goes along. After a three-race lapse on Thursday, he won his last seven.

Conversely, another Kiwi, Russell Coutts, won the round-robin phase with a 7-2 record, but lost five of his last six races, including two in a row each to Haines and Isler in the semifinal and third-place sailoffs, respectively.

In any previous Congressional Cup, before the sailoff format, Coutts, not Dickson, would have been fitted for the Crimson Blazer.

The outcome reflected a contrast in sailing philosophies.

Dickson, one of the new breed of sailors, is said to have received a $400,000 signing bonus and a pay scale of $10,000 a week with the Nippon Challenge. He thinks there should be prize money in major sailing events such as the Congressional.

Haines, an ’84 Olympic gold medalist and Newport Beach sailmaker who seldom match-races, was a substitute entry when Paul Cayard withdrew.

“We’re just happy to be extended an invitation,” Haines said. “Prize money doesn’t mean anything to me.”

The difference in attitudes also may have made the difference on the water.

At the second leeward (downwind) mark in their first race, Haines had about a boat-length lead, with Dickson driving hard on a line between him and the mark. The question was whether Dickson’s billowing spinnaker overlapped a perpendicular line from the stern of Haines’ boat, compelling Haines to allow Dickson room to round the mark in the inside position.

Haines’ tactician, Doug Rastello, estimating that Dickson didn’t have an overlap, yelled: “No room.”

Dickson yelled: back: “Room,” and kept on coming.

So Haines headed away from the mark to let him go first, and that was all the edge Dickson needed to win the race.

“I didn’t want to hurt the boats,” Haines said.

Dickson was more concerned with winning than he was for the welfare of the new Catalina 37s. Fiberglass can be fixed.

Then, at the first windward mark in the second race, as 20-knot winds stirred up a chop, the end of Haines’ boom struck the bobbing inflatable mark as he rounded it.

By the old, general racing rules, that would mean he would have to re-round the mark--which he did, again surrendering the lead.

What Haines didn’t know, because he doesn’t campaign as a match-racer, is that the rules say he didn’t have to perform a penalty unless an on-the-water judge saw the infraction and told him to.

The judges did see it, but the penalty would have been a 270 turn--about two lengths in these nimble boats.

Asked if he knew the rule, Dickson said: “Oh, sure. It’s those itty-bitty little things that win and lose races for you.”

Early in his sailing days, Dickson was not always a fun skipper to sail with, allowing little latitude for crew error, and his immaturity might have cost him some success.

“He matured as a person,” Rosenberg said. “He is going to be one really tough competitor in the next America’s Cup. He exudes intensity. Mentally, he’s very tough. He doesn’t fly off the handle like he used to.”