AMERICA’S CUP ’92 : Koch Halts Conner’s Cup Bid : Sailing: Stars & Stripes was supposed to carry the defender’s colors, but Koch rewrites the script by winning series.
Was it supposed to happen this way? Wasn’t the rich guy just supposed to bring a boat, serve as Dennis Conner’s sparring partner, get him tuned up to defend the America’s Cup and then go home, thank you very much?
Somewhere Bill Koch got the idea he wanted to win the whole thing. He put his America 3 team in position to do so Friday when he trounced Conner’s Stars & Stripes by 5 minutes, 8 seconds to win the defender finals, 7-4, off three straight victories.
Now will the nation understand that America’s Sailor was not guaranteed the privilege of defending the Cup, just because he had sailed in all four final matches since 1980?
But no tears for Conner, please. As he crossed the finish line, horns blared and supporterscheered and he said to his crew, “Nice going, guys, that’s for you. That’s what they think of you. . . . I’m telling you, guys, you never quit. This is great. Wait ‘til ’95. We didn’t have enough cards this time.”
He intends not to let that happen again. He didn’t plan for it to happen this time. When Conner’s 17-year-old daughter Shanna christened Stars & Stripes last year he didn’t imagine it would be the only boat he’d have. When Shanna rode along as the 17th crew Friday, she and the boat were both 13 months older.
Koch has spent $65 million--nearly twice as much as Conner has spent in all six of his Cup campaigns--but Conner is already in motion for the next Cup in 1995 with a high-powered, well-funded program.
The next Cup may be in Venice, if Il Moro di Venezia can outmaneuver America 3 in the best-of-seven Cup match starting a week from today.
That will be a battle of the superpowers of this Cup. The biggest spenders, the highest tech syndicates are now eyeball to eyeball on opposite sides of Fisherman’s Harbor at the north end of San Diego Bay.
Will the Cup stay in San Diego?
“You bet . . . it will,” Koch said. “I’ve already sent a lot of messages to my old friend, Raul Gardini, and his hired gun, (American skipper) Paul Cayard.
“I’m an American. I’m gonna sail for America. It’s hard for me to imagine holding an Italian green card. Paul is a professional sailor. He goes where the money is.”
Koch spoke better of Conner. Unlike some of the challengers, there has been no bad-mouthing between those two.
“The Kanza Indians (in Koch’s home state of Kansas) have a saying,” Koch said, “that the greatness of your tribe is determined by the greatness of your enemy--and we think Dennis Conner is probably the greatest sailor that’s ever been.
“Dennis has pushed us to where we had to rise up to the challenge.”
Conner sailed Friday’s race like a man who had nothing to lose. He sparred aggressively with America 3 helmsman Dave Dellenbaugh in the pre-start sequence, did a surprise jibe (downwind turn) away from the line in the final half-minute and drove hard for the line--so hard that half of Stars & Stripes was over the line at the gun.
As Buddy Melges took over the helm of America 3 and sailed away to the right, Conner turned his midnight-blue boat back under the line to re-start, 29 seconds behind.
Somehow, he was still in the race a few minutes later when they converged on opposite tacks almost bow to bow, but the wind started building from 6 to 9 knots, out of Stars & Stripes’ ideal range, and it was America 3 the rest of the way.
As Melges steered, Koch chattered steadily, offering input on wind changes and Conner’s relative position.
“It was a fantastic day for Buddy--his 38th anniversary,” Koch said. “We told the crew, we’ve gotta win this for Gloria.”
Koch said America 3’s success validated his emphasis on a high-tech approach.
“One thing we’ve proven is that our scientific theories do work and we can apply them to the water,” he said.
He said he would have crews working “24 hours around the clock” the next week to make the boat even faster.
“We’ve got a whole program planned,” he said. “We’re gonna put a full-court press on that. We’ll completely change the underbody of the boat . . . the keel and the rudder, tweak our sails some more, a new mast, and we’re gonna add a lot of speed. All of our technical program has come together, and we’ll have it at full force by the time the Cup comes around.”
Conner said on the way in, “That is a heck of a good boat, that white boat. If they can sail it, we’ll win.”
The “we” meant the defense, even though Conner is no longer part of it.
Both boats stopped by the host San Diego Yacht Club on the way in, while near Conner’s compound a solitary bagpiper strolled past playing a melancholy “Blow the Man Down.”
Down, perhaps, but not to stay.
