AMERICA’S CUP ’92 : Conner Still Behind But Getting Closer : Sailing: Bill Koch’s successful run through the Cup trials continues.

Dennis Conner threw Russian vodka, Japanese watches, American batteries and underwater wings at America 3 Tuesday but was still a minute short and deep in trouble.

Conner’s new keel and collection of sponsored sails worried, but did not deter, Bill Koch’s relentless drive through the America’s Cup defender trials as USA 23 (12-1) opened the third round winning by 1 minute, 11 seconds.

That was a lot better than Conner had done against Koch’s third boat in the second round last month, when the closest he could come was 4:33. But a loss is a loss, and Conner someday soon must find a way around America 3, the boat, to have any hope of defending the Cup in May.

Tuesday, in brisk southeast winds of 12 to 14 knots, he adorned his elegant old maid, Stars & Stripes (5-8), with several new sails from his limited inventory, including his answer to the carbon-fiber and liquid crystal sails recently touted by America 3 and Italy’s Il Moro di Venezia. On two legs Conner flew an all-black gennaker advertising Stolichnaya vodka.

“We love that liquid crystal,” Conner said, teasing Koch’s latest technological innovation. “We noticed that all of the molecules were pulling against each other in a perfect fashion, and that’s how we took 10 seconds out of them on that (first) reach. We were really going.”

The sail was believed to be nothing more exotic than nylon, although Tom Whidden, Conner’s tactician and president of North Sails, said, “We have been using liquid crystals in sails for about three months now.”

They just hadn’t made much of it. Melges said it’s now at the point where “you get the black stuff up there and get everybody guessing.”

Actually, Conner made his largest gain--45 seconds--on the second reach using a gennaker with a picture of a wristwatch. Trailing by 1:02 starting the leg, he hacked America 3’s lead to 17 seconds until Koch and Melges, dealing with a broken winch, recovered with no further threats.

A broken winch? Conner was distraught for his wealthier rivals.

“Poor guys. If only they could only afford better equipment.”

Conner’s largest problems were a mysterious, annoying helicopter and a slight inferiority in upwind speed, despite the addition of a new winged keel for this round.

The keel configuration, blurry but visible in overhead camera views, appeared similar to what America 3 ‘s older Defiant, had in the previous round: a raked fin with a lead bulb on the bottom and delta wings mounted aft.

Melges professed ignorance--unconvincingly--but said, “I heard some conversation that maybe there were some Dumbos on (Conner’s) boat.”

Conner was more concerned with a dumbo in the air. A helicopter hovered so closely overhead on the second reach that he at first suspected it was from Koch’s syndicate and raised a protest flag.

“You saw our sail collapse three times in a row,” Conner said. “I wasn’t thrilled.”

Later, he learned it wasn’t from Koch and withdrew the protest, believing it must have been from the official Cup television feed, instead.

Geoff Mason, executive producer of Cup television, said, “It wasn’t ours. Ours is red, white and blue (and) was never below 800 feet today.”

Later, the America’s Cup Organizing Committee said it had asked the Federal Aviation Administration to look into the matter, since air space over the race courses is restricted to specific, approved aircraft.

Conner outmaneuvered Melges at the start to claim the left side of the course, sailing right over America 3 and forcing Melges to duck behind and go right.

It was a short-lived advantage. America 3 was able to point a notch higher into the wind and gradually took control. Koch steered on the second upwind leg, on all three reaches and on the final, downwind leg.

“His upwind performance is getting better and better,” Melges said. “We’re quite thrilled.”

Conner was a little less thrilled.

“We have a little ways to go, but we have a little time, too,” he said.