Women Steer Aging Boat to Early Upset of Conner

SAN DIEGO — That splash you heard was conventional wisdom going over the side as the 29th America’s Cup got under way Friday.

Jennifer Ann (J.J.) Isler of San Diego and Leslie Egnot, an American expatriate living in New Zealand, sailed America 3to a 1-minute 9-second victory over Dennis Conner, and it wasn’t a fluke.

The Bill Koch-sponsored team had experts scrambling to explain how a new 16-woman team sailing an old boat at this level of competition for the first time could upset the world’s most famous sailor and his crew of hardened veterans sailing a new boat around a course they know blindfolded.

The America 3 boat that the Kansas near-billionaire used to win three years ago was supposed to be obsolete and if the women were intimidated, they didn’t show it. Instead, it was Conner who committed a port-starboard right-of-way foul against Isler, who was at the helm for the prestart maneuvering.

That meant Conner had to perform a 270-degree penalty turn after the starting gun as Egnot took over the helm and steered into a controlling position. Conner tested the women with a series of tacks on the first upwind leg, but they responded--and, in fact, pulled away to lead by 1:40 at the first mark.

The litany of explanations ran from America 3having practiced in a proven boat for nine months, while Conner’s crew had spent only 40 hours working their new Stars & Stripes up to speed, to the significance of the penalty.

“The women did a nice job,” Conner said. “It’s hard to know how the race would have ended up if we had started even.”

Egnot responded, “Even without that incident, J.J. did a better job of starting the boat and we would have won the start, anyway.”

Conner said off-microphone, “I doubt it.” But Egnot also was realistic.

“We all realize we have a long way to go,” she said. “We can’t expect too much off this race. The momentum will help to keep us motivated.”

Conner is notorious for starting slowly and finishing fast in the America’s Cup. The four defender round-robins that run into March are virtually meaningless since all three defenders get into the semifinals, anyway.

And Conner, who lost the Cup to Australia II in 1983, retained his sense of humor.

“In case I was in danger of ending my losing streak in important races, I thought I should make sure I lost the first race ever to the women’s team. I’m the first American skipper to do so.”

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America’s Cup Notes

Dennis Conner and the America 3team are scheduled to race again today, with the third defender, PACT 95 from Maine, joining in Sunday after completing repairs on its boat, which was damaged while ashore in a storm last week.

The seven challengers start their Louis Vuitton Cup trials today on an adjacent course off Point Loma. The opening matchups, with their skippers, are Russell Coutts’ Team New Zealand against Pedro Campos’ Spain, Marc Pajot’s Le Defi Francais against Chris Law’s Sydney 95 and Makoto Namba’s Nippon Challenge against John Bertrand’s oneAustralia, steered by Rod Davis.