Dennis Walter Conner (born September 16, 1942) is an American yachtsman. He is noted for winning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, two

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, and three wins in the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

Sailing career

Conner was born September 16, 1942, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. He competed in the 1976 Olympics together with

Conn Findlay Francis Conn Findlay (April 24, 1930April 8, 2021) was an American Olympic rower and sailor. He won four Olympic medals in those two sports, including two golds in coxed pair. He was also part of the America's Cup sailing crews that won in 19 ...

and took the bronze medal in the

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class. Conner also took part in the 1979

Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbe ...

, as helmsman on the Peterson 45 named ''Williwaw''.

America's Cup

Conner has won the America's Cup three times, successfully defending the Cup in 1980, and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and winning as the challenger in 1987. His 4-3 loss in 1983 to Australian Alan Bond's controversial wing-keeled challenger '' Australia II'' was the first Cup defender to be defeated in the 132-year history of the race, simultaneously ending a run by the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

that began with the first contest. Following the loss Conner formed his own syndicate, the Sail America Foundation, through which he raised funds to mount a challenge on behalf of the

San Diego Yacht Club San Diego Yacht Club is a yacht club located in San Diego Bay. It is located in Point Loma across from a spit of land known as Shelter Island. Facilities The San Diego Yacht Club facility has a main dining room and outdoor deck seating, a b ...

, culminating with winning the Cup back from Australia in 1987. Conner's 1983 loss and the subsequent 1987 victory are the basis of the 1992

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film ''

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''.

The Big Boat Challenge and the beginning of multihulls in America's Cup

Representing the

(SDYC), Conner's Sail America Foundation faced another controversial challenger in

, backed by New Zealand banker Michael Fay. Fay's team abandoned the 12-meter format that had prevailed since the pre-WW II demise of the massive and fantastically expensive J-sloops, and challenged with a huge and unconventional 90' super-sloop ('' KZ1)''. Conner responded with an even more controversial 60' wing-sailed catamaran (''

US-1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, ...

'') in a surprise defense. Fay's challenge and legal case based on the Deed foreshadowed the controversial 33rd America's Cup, whose legal wrangling resulted in the contest being decided in enormous multihulls in February 2010, while returning to the pre-war style of exclusive, billionaire backed campaigns of Alinghi and

BMW Oracle Racing Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club ...

Leadership and management

Before the 1980s, America's Cup competitors were mostly amateurs who took time off from their regular jobs to compete. Conner insisted on year round training with a new focus on physical fitness and practice. This change in approach led to a return to professional crews in sailing, which had hardly been seen since the 1930s. Dennis Conner By Phil Konstantin

Funding and setbacks

Perhaps due to the bad media attention surrounding the 1988 catamaran defense, Conner had insufficient funding to mount a multiple-boat defense in 1992, which also heralded the debut of the IACC yacht. His USA-11 proved no match to Bill Koch's America3 campaign. USA-11 was built as a test-bed for design ideas that were to be incorporated into the "racing" boat, nicknamed ''TDC-2''. However, ''TDC-2'' was never built. Its ideas were incorporated into his single-boat campaign for 1995, and the yacht Stars & Stripes USA-34. After almost sinking during The Citizen Cup defender trials, USA-34 went on to a come-from-behind win over '' Mighty Mary'', earning the right to defend The Cup against Team New Zealand's ''Black Magic'', NZL-32. Believing Stars & Stripes was no match against the Black Magic, Dennis Conner swapped boats for the Cup matches, pitting '' Young America'' against New Zealand's ''Black Magic'' NZL–32. But the result was a humiliating defeat for Dennis Conner, losing to Team New Zealand 0–5. Conner again found difficulty securing funding for the 2000 America's Cup in Auckland, New Zealand. As in 1992 and 1995, he mounted a single-boat campaign centered upon Stars & Stripes USA-55. Conner was eliminated in the quarter final

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

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's OneWorld Challenge. Conner was a rare non-billionaire fielding a team to compete in the 2003 America's Cup, held in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, receiving funding of up to US$40 million from his sponsors. His syndicate, ''Stars & Stripes'', suffered a severe setback before they departed California, as one of the two Stars & Stripes boats (''USA-77'') sank when its rudder post failed during training. Despite raising the boat from 55 feet of water and eventually repairing it, they were unable to recover the valuable testing time lost and they were defeated in the quarter-finals of the

Louis Vuitton Cup The Louis Vuitton Cup was the name of the Challenger Selection Series sailing competition from 1983, named after its sponsor, Louis Vuitton. The winner of the competition became the challenger to compete with the defender of the America's Cu ...

. 2003 marked Conner's last participation in the America's Cup.

Yachting accomplishments

* 3-time winner, America's Cup, 1980, 1987 and 1988 * 2-time loser, America's Cup, 1983 and 1995 * Inductee,

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers ...

* Captain, two Whitbread Round-the-World races (On boat Winston in 1993-94 and on boat Toshiba 1997-98.) (see

Volvo Ocean Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Rac ...

) * 28 World Championships * Three-time winner, U.S. Yachtsman of the Year: 1975, 1980 and 1986 * Seven-time winner, San Diego Yachtsman of the Year * Olympic Bronze Medal winner, 1976 * 4 Southern Ocean Racing Cups * 2 Congressional Cups * 1987 ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year *

National Sailing Hall of Fame The National Sailing Hall of Fame is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes sailing and racing by recognizing individuals who have contributed to the sport, highlighting sailing's contribution to the American culture; and demonstrating i ...

Founding Inductee in 2011 *

Maxi yacht A maxi yacht usually refers to a racing yacht of at least in length. Origin The term ''maxi'' originated with the International Offshore Rule (IOR) rating system, which in the 1970s and 1980s measured offshore racing yachts and applied a single ...

racing * One of only four American sailors inducted into the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame * 2-time winner Etchells World Championship (1991 San Francisco, 1994 Newport Beach)

Honors and activities

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from

Green Mountain College Green Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Poultney, Vermont, at the foot of the Taconic Mountains between the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. The college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and offered a liberal a ...

, 1987 * Honorary doctorate from the Medical College of the University of South Carolina, 1987 * America's Greatest Sailor, US Sailing's Greatest American Sailor Tournament * Commencement speaker, United States Naval Academy * Cover of ''Time'' magazine, February 9, 198

* Cover of ''

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'' with President Ronald Reagan, February 198

* Artist, sales of artwork in the several millions of dollars * Motivational speaker * Member of the

, (Silvergate Yacht Club),

Yacht Club de Monaco The Fédération Monégasque de Voile is the national governing body for the sport of sailing in Monaco, recognised by the International Sailing Federation. This organisation is in effect part of the Yacht Club de Monaco, which is the only Sailing ...

* San Diego Rotary

Education

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Publications

* ''No Excuse to Lose'', 1987 * ''Comeback: My Race for the America's Cup'', 1987 * ''Learn to Sail: A Beginner's Guide to the Art, Equipment and Language of Sailing on a Lake or Ocean'', 1998 * ''The America's Cup: The History of Sailings Greatest Competition in the Twentieth Century'', 1998 * ''The Art of Winning'', 1990 * ''Sail Like a Champion'', 1992 * ''America's Cup Cookbook'', 1992 * ''Life's Winning Tips'', 1997

References

External links