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Conner's America's Cup career
may be over (10/15/04)
(source : SF
Gate)
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Conner, 62, has won and lost the America's Cup
more than anyone in its 153-year history. But the next
cup, in Valencia, Spain, in 2007, might be the first
in nearly 30 years without Conner competing.
"I would say I'm not looking good," said Conner, who
won the cup four times and lost it twice. "I don't have
an extra $200 million in my checking account. I would
say that unless someone steps up sometime soon, I will
be retired. I simply cannot raise $200 million."
Conner estimates the top syndicates, backed by high-tech
billionaires, are spending $100 million a year. Relying
on corporate backing, Conner spent about $40 million
on the last cup, in 2002-03 in New Zealand, and didn't
even make it to the challenger finals.
"I would love to go, given that I have a reasonable
amount of money so I have some chance of winning," said
Conner, who still competes in the 30-foot Etchells class.
"I don't want to go and just show up. That's not my
idea of fun, just to show up and get hammered every
day. That's not what sport's about." |
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America's Cup challengers
sense opportunity (08/03/04)
(source : The
San Diego Union Tribune)
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"I think this makes the Swiss real vulnerable,"
Bill Trenkle said last week upon hearing that the Alinghi
defenders had fired Russell Coutts.
As the manager of Team Dennis Conner, Trenkle is trying
to determine if the news of Coutts' departure is a window
of opportunity for Conner's San Diego-based team.
"They really don't have a No. 2 at Alinghi,"
said Trenkle. "Brad Butterworth is second in command
and has said he will stay. But when he worked with Dennis
on the 1993-1994 Whitbread (around the world) race,
we didn't find him to be a great leader.
"Under Coutts, Alinghi was very departmentalized
with Coutts the strong leader and bottom line. He knows
what to do and when to do it. It's pretty hard to replace
a guy like that when you've put so many eggs in his
basket."
Up until now, the type of sponsorship Conner needs to
enter his ninth America's Cup has not been forthcoming.
"Any sign of vulnerability in this game stirs interest,"
said Trenkle. "It could be an opening for us. It's
certainly a hit for Alinghi and any other team that
would want to hire Coutts." |
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Team DC has not yet sold
its boats (12/01/03)
(source : Scuttlebutt
citing the Daily Sail)
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| In
a story posted on The Daily Sail website, Team Dennis
Conner Director of Operations Bill Trenkle is quoted
as saying, that Team DC has not sold USA 66 & USA 77
to the Toscana Challenge, "… but we are talking to them." |
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Dennis Conner doesn't believe
any more (10/27/03)
(source : Tim
Jeffery on Sport Telegraph)
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The
fact that 300 million people live within two hours'
flying time of Valencia is a strong incentive for prospective
European challengers, but not for Conner.
Some 15 would-be challengers were present in Geneva,
but Conner is alarmed by the idea of competing against
the $100 million syndicates of Bertarelli and Larry
Ellison's Oracle BMW Racing.
"I raised $40 million last time. Raising $100 million
in the United States today for an event that goes on
in Europe at three in the morning is a dream," Conner
said.
"It can't be done. You have to have someone wealthy,
it can't be done with sponsorship. Realistically, there
are only two who are going to win this. Oracle and Alinghi
are way ahead."
The only man to have lost, won back and lost the Cup
again, Conner said: "I've had a great run: nine cups,
four wins. I have no complaints. I wish them well."
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-An
America's Cup without Dennis Conner ? (11/09/03)
(sources : NYYC
&
Various)
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Ever-present for almost
thirty years, Dennis Conner is something of an America's
Cup institution. It is a case of two "firsts'' for Dennis
Conner : first to lose the cup, first to win it back.
Dennis Conner is also the only four time skipper in
America's Cup history, with Freedom in 1980, Liberty
in 1983, and Stars & Stripes in 1987 and his catamaran
in 1988. He lost the Cup in 1983 with Liberty, and regained
it on a new Stars & Stripes in 1987.
In a revival of a long-standing relationship, his Stars
& Stripes syndicate represented the New York Yacht Club
in Auckland but the things now seem to have taken another
direction
"One of the realities of the Cup effort, in financial
terms and also in length of preparation, is it has really
gone beyond the ability of a club of volunteer members
to mount such an effort," Lawrence S. Huntington, commodore
of the New York Yacht Club, said earlier this Year.
"The hard lesson of the cost of these things is that
it's out of reach, even for a club with 3,000 members."
The facts seem to give him reason as it seems increasingly
certain that the new Italian Toscana Challenge want
to acquire Team Dennis Conner’s assets, including two
racing yachts USA 66 and 77 and some key members of
its staff.
The first America's Cup without Big Den since 1974 ?
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-Precision
information about the Toscana Challenge (11/06/03)
(source : Scuttlebutt) |
"Currently there is a
lot of wrong news regarding the Toscana Challenge",
said Roberto Ferrarese, in charge of recruiting sailors
for the Toscana Challenge. "Karol Jablonski is one of
the people contacted to be part of the afterguard (and)
could potentially be one of the helmsmen (but) at the
moment we don't have a skipper".
The new Italian challenger will have the first meeting
with all the team (Terry Hutchinson and Mike Toppa are
coming from the States and Jablonsky is coming from
Poland) on Saturday, November 8th.
After that the Team will have the first official press
conference on November 22nd. |
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-Jablonski
confirms the Toscana Challenge (11/04/03)
(source : Yacht.de) |
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Poland’s Karol Jablonski,
the current ISAF Match Racing World champion (since
1999), confirmed that he had just signed up to skipper
Italian's Toscana Challenge. He will come in Italy
with his usual fellow board members.
"In the recent races, we regularly reach the
final stages and defeated the America's Cup stars",
he said. "Our third place in the Match Racing
World Championship on lake Garda gave us a big credibility
in Italy and accelerated our contact".
According to the Polish match racer, a €90 million
budget is provided by four title sponsors and several
Toscan companies which each paid 100,000 euros.
More, Karol
Jablonski confirmed his new team had bought the two
former Conner's Stars & Stripes and is in discussion
with Terry Hutchinson and renowned designers Reichel/Pugh
of San Diego, California.
"The idea is to build a team without 'big names'
but who battle hard", Jablonski explained. "Gualtiero
Pantani wants people who are still hungry, people
with a great potential for success".
"For me and my fellow board members, it's an
unique opportunity", he said. "we will have
to work hard and fight to get good results".
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