SAILING / RICH ROBERTS : Two U.S. Boats Are Entered in Whitbread

Sixteen boats are scheduled to start the sixth Whitbread Round the World Race from England on Sept. 25. The race is run every four years, but it always seems the last boat just straggled in. That’s because it takes nine months, and the memories of triumph and tragedy remain so vivid.

Three men died during the 1989-90 race, one--crewman Tony Phillips from the English boat Creighton’s Naturally--in the icy and stormy Southern Ocean. Distraught Russian skipper Alexej Gryshenko hanged himself in a park at Punta del Este, Uruguay, during the first stopover, and Janne Gustaffson from Sweden’s The Card was killed in a motorcycle crash there a few days later.

A good primer for the race is the book “Icebergs, Port and Starboard” by John Jourdane of Long Beach, who was navigator aboard Fisher & Paykel in 1989-90 and chronicled the New Zealand boat’s relentless but futile chase of Peter Blake’s big red Steinlager for 33,000 miles.

As last time, the race will stop in Uruguay, Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay again and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Overall time is cumulative.

Until this year, there was never an American entry, not to say there haven’t been several Americans involved. This time there are two U.S. entries: Dennis Conner’s boat named for a cigarette sponsor and U.S. Women’s Challenge skippered by the resolute Nance Frank of Florida. Frank had just enough money to get to the starting line in 1989, then tearfully waved the others on their way.

Conner, who prefers not to sail more than a few hours away from a comfortable bed, is committed only to the first and last legs. Even then he may be the only American on the boat. His co-skipper--really, the man running the boat--is New Zealander Brad Butterworth, who was a watch captain for Blake on Steinlager and has rounded up a group of Kiwi mates as crew.

Even Frank’s crew of 12 includes six women from five other countries.

Conner and Frank are sailing among 10 boats in the new Whitbread 60 class. The 60s have been dealt restrictions on speed factors such as sail area, supposedly in the name of safety but really to prevent them from embarrassing the six larger maxis, led by New Zealand’s Endeavour. There are three entries from the former Soviet Union, among them the Russian maxi Odyssey, not to be confused with the Ukraine 60 Odessa, which has some U.S. sponsorship. It was questionable whether Odessa, after outfitting in Florida, would reach the starting line in time. Ted Allison of Seattle will co-skipper Odyssey.

Odessa isn’t plush, either. While preparing the boat in Tampa, Fla., the crew lived in a shipyard with an outdoor shower and meals from a Clearwater soup kitchen.

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A few of the America’s Cup challengers are unhappy, but it made sense to move the International America’s Cup Class (IACC) World Championships from May to October next year, closer to the Cup trials starting in mid-January of ’95.

That not only could sustain a thread of interest but will save everybody a bundle on room and board.

Also, as Jerry La Dow, Conner’s executive director, said, “In May, all you would have is a bunch of old boats sailing around.”

By October, everybody should have their new boats ready--unlike the ’91 IACC Worlds, when Conner’s venerable Stars & Stripes was the only entry to survive to the Cup competition in ’92.

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Bill Koch, the ’92 winner, is still trying to decide how to get involved in the 1995 defense without mounting his own effort. The latest rumor is that he will back a female-slanted project led by Peter and J.J. Isler, husband and wife.

The only two defenders entered for 1995 are Conner and the PACT 95 group led by Olympic silver medalist Kevin Mahaney and John Marshall, Conner’s old mainsheet trimmer and design chief. But there is still room for a third.

Peter Isler is the top-ranked American match racer, but Koch’s idea supposedly is to run the boat with a female afterguard led by J.J. Isler, with men manning the muscle positions. J.J. is about a month away from motherhood. All Peter, an ESPN sailing commentator, would say is, “No comment.”

Koch said, “It’s an appealing alternative, and I’m studying it. I’m trying to make sure it could be a serious effort.”

Otherwise, Koch said he also is talking to Conner and Mahaney.

“I’m looking at other ways to help the America’s Cup and what to do with all my (sailing) assets (from 1992),” he said.

Koch denied he is looking for write-offs for the America 3Foundation. Only 18-20% of the $68 million he spent to win the Cup came from outside contributors.

“We’re not using it as a tax dodge,” Koch said. “The tax benefits I’ve got out of this are less than $2 million. That’s a lot of money, but on my scale, compared to what I put into it, it’s nothing.”

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A key figure in PACT 95’s effort is John Kostecki, also an Olympic silver medalist and a former world champion in several classes. Mahaney recently called Kostecki “the most talented sailor of my generation,” which would be good to remember when it comes to selecting a helmsman.

PACT 95 also has Bruce Nelson, Conner’s former designer; Robert Hopkins, design technology coordinator and navigator on Cup finalist Il Moro di Venezia, and San Diego’s Ron Rosenberg, a 1992 U.S. Olympic sailing coach originally from Long Beach. The team plans to build only one boat and buy an old one for a trial horse. That sounds like the Cup’s good old days of economic sanity. About six of the 1992 dinosaurs are still lying around San Diego, including four of the red Il Moros.

Sailing Notes

EVENTS--More than 100 entries from 20 countries are expected for the Tornado worlds at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club starting Monday. The 20-foot Tornado is the Olympic class catamaran. . . . The annual All-Catalina Race for Catalina-built production boats 22 to 42 feet is scheduled Saturday at Long Beach.

BOARDSAILING--Southern Californians dominated last month’s U.S. Windsurfing National Championships at Maui. Mariel Devesa, 18, of Torrance swept women’s course, slalom and long distance titles. Kevin Pritchard, 17, of Sun City won course and slalom, and brother Matt Pritchard, 20, won long distance.