LONG BEACH, CA.-(7-9-2002) Backed into a corner by a pair of old rivals, Dennis
Conner reached deep into his seabag Saturday and pulled out a clutch
performance to successfully defend his Etchells North American
Championship.
Conner led all four days of the regatta, but after the first of two races
Saturday in picture postcard conditions his lead had shrunk to one point
over Jud Smith of Marblehead, Mass., with a handful of competitors
including Canadian Dirk Kneulman within striking distance. Conner responded
with a daring start in the final race that led to a second-place finish one
minute behind San Diego's Artie Means but warily ahead of Kneulman in third
and Smith in fifth.
New Zealand's Aaron McIntosh, an Olympic gold medallist on a Mistral
sailboard in 2000, was fourth after winning the previous race. In the final
tally, including a discard of his worst finish, Conner's record was
1-6-1-(19)-2 for 10 points. Smith had 14, Kneulman 19, San Diego's Andy
LaDow 22 and Hong Kong's Mark Thornburrow/Tim Parsons entry 24.
Means, who was eighth overall, said, `There was quite a race going on back
there, which helped us a little.`
While Conner, Smith and Kneulman tangled tactically behind him, at one time
running downwind virtually three abreast, Means was able to sail freely and
stretch his lead throughout.
It was the prettiest sailing day of the week, but although it delivered 8
knots of steady breeze building to 14 by day's end there were a couple of
glitches. The first came seconds before the first start when a pilot boat
escorting commercial ships into Long Beach Harbor ordered the race
committee to move the weather mark because it was in the shipping lane.
Principal race officer Barney Flam moved the course downwind about half a
mile, but that may have been at the expense of the usual right-side bias of
the local venue by placing boats sailing along the breakwater to the right
corner in an adverse current. Conner was among those who noticed it.
`The right side never did pay off today,` he said. `It doesn't happen here
very often but it did today.`
Otherwise, conditions were ideal---except for a 15-degree shift that hung
Conner and several others out to the wrong side midway of the first race,
sending him back to 19th place in the 38-boat fleet and dashing any hopes
he had of wrapping up the regatta early.
Given that setback, he led a charge for the pin end of the line in the
second race and timed it perfectly. If he had been one second earlier he
would been over early and probably lost the title.
`Dennis got a great start,` Smith said. `He took a chance, which he's not
afraid to do.`
Conner, who called it a `killer start,` sailed two minutes on starboard
tack, then tacked to cross most of the fleet and followed Means for a few
minutes before returning to mid-course to cover Smith and eventually
locking up with Kneulman, as well.
`I couldn't stay there and let him have a [passing] lane,` Conner said. `It
was no time to mess around.`
Kneulman, a two-time Etchells North American champion, as is Smith, still
came out of the week a winner. The only Etchells builder in North America
noted that Conner will turn 60 on Sept. 16 but has no plans to quit the
class. When they met on the dock immediately after the regatta, Conner gave
Kneulman an order for a new boat to be delivered before the 2003 NAs at
Annapolis next spring. With that, Kneulman was at a loss as to how to stop
him.
`Maybe wait until he's 75,` Kneulman said. `Trouble is by then I'll be 15
years older, too.`
Photos are posted on the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Web site. High-resolution
photos for print reproduction are available upon request.
The final leaders (5 races):
1. Dennis Conner, San Diego, 1-6-1-(19)-2, 10 points.
2. Jud Smith, Marblehead, Mass., 2-1-(20)-6-5, 14.
3. Dirk Kneulman, Bristol, Ontario, 5-8-(19)-3-3, 19.
4. Andy LaDow, San Diego, 6-2-6-(20)-8, 22.
5. Mark Thornburrow/Tim Parsons, Hong Kong, 3-7-(32)-8-6, 24.
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