Two-for-One Deal Keeping Koch’s Opponents Guessing

Two helmsmen were better than one again Friday, for the fourth time in five tries.

And the better America 3 syndicate kingpin Bill Koch gets, the more he seems to have to answer the same questions: Why does he trade off with world-class helmsman Buddy Melges, and when does he decide who skippers?

For that matter, who makes the decisions aboard America 3?

A few days ago, Koch, 51, described a series of “come-to-Jesus meetings” his team held before the defender finals, trying to find the answers to why his four-boat effort hadn’t unseated Team Dennis Conner and Stars & Stripes in the previous round.

“We were very frank about (mistakes) we made, and about not making them again,” Koch recalled.

On Thursday, after losing to Conner for the first time in this round, Koch described on-board decision-making as “democratic to a point, then there’s one vote that carries the day.”

He added some mistakes occur when “decisions do not get made fast enough.”

Still, Koch has been a quick study. He and America 3 recovered from Thursday’s loss with a 3-minute, 31-second victory Friday over Conner, turning a 16-second deficit into a 45-second advantage on one leg to take a 4-1 lead in the best-of-13 series.

Still, Koch gets little respect, with some snipers suggesting a sort of George Steinbrenner-style intrusive ownership.

On Friday, he took over the helm after Melges had pulled ahead of Conner after the second leg. But when the winds died in the later legs, he directed Melges to take over again, and Melges--the team’s No. 1 starter--got the victory in relief.

Koch, meanwhile, appeared to be enjoying himself as America 3 coasted to the win, even doing some grinding near the finish line.

Koch cheerfully concedes that Melges is the superior helmsman in erratic conditions and said the juggling at the helm “depends on how each person feels. On one beat I felt I wasn’t doing a good job, so I said to Buddy, ‘Why don’t you take over.’ It was the kind of weather Buddy can work his (expertise). I’m proud Buddy was able to bring it home today.”

Earlier this week, Conner and Stars & Stripes tactician Tom Whidden referred to Koch’s co-steering setup with such profuse praise it was hard to tell where the sugary sincerity bogged down in kelp.

Whidden noted Thursday that Koch took the helm after America 3 had fallen behind by more than a minute with Melges steering. “Then Bill took over and every single leg from then on Bill gained on us down to 39 seconds at the finish. So we probably shouldn’t hear any of those questions that you’ve been giving him about who’s faster. There wasn’t any question in our mind today who was,” Whidden said.

Score one for democracy Friday. Koch and Co. learned from Thursday’s tactical mistakes, and expertly held off the autocratic regime and schemes of Conner.

America 3 tactician Dave Dellenbaugh said Friday that the soul-searching meetings have become less strident. “I think we’ve learned a lot the last few months as a team, and the coaches have learned that being supportive of us is the way to get us to be successful. That’s what the feeling in camp was last night,” he said.

Dellenbaugh added that Koch, though he holds the final vote, has let Dellenbaugh go about his on-board duties, which include directing the start and calling the sails.

“I make the decisions,” Dellenbaugh said. “Bill has the ultimate authority but as far as around the course basically it comes down to me. I make the final call. The fact is you’re gonna look good if you make the right one, and bad if I make the wrong one. Bill has said to me, ‘You make the decisions. Be decisive.’ I can’t think about being second-guessed. You’ve gotta do your own strategy and go with it.”

Dellenbaugh said the decision-by-committee approach hasn’t generally been a problem “but sometimes it is.”

Most tacticians will take a 4-1 advantage. So will most skippers, democratic or otherwise.