Less Swash in His Buckle

By Stephen Smith

At Newport, some terrible trials for Terrible Ted

At the helm of Courageous he still cuts a dashing Errol Flynn figure, but some of the old swash has gone out of his buckle during the first two months of the America's Cup trials. Ted Turner has cause to be subdued. With the third and final round of the trials set to begin next week, Courageous has won only six races and lost 19, leaving her a distant second to Freedom (31-2) and only marginally better than Clipper (7-24). In Newport, R.I., site of the 129-year-old competition, a cruel whisper is making the rounds: "Ted is dead."

The Mouth of the South arrived with a slightly modified hull (later changed even further) and the same crew that captured sailing's most coveted prize in 1977. He was the early favorite to defend the Cup in September against either Britain, France, Sweden or Australia; the foreign trials began last week off Newport. But from the outset Courageous has been buffeted by ill winds. In one race, the hydraulic device that controls the boom failed. Then the boom itself cracked, and a day later the yacht lost her mast when an inexpensive piece of equipment let go high in the rigging. To make matters worse, the New York Yacht Club selection committee "excused" Turner, 41, from the last racing season for the "serious indiscretion" of letting an Australian team member join his crew one day.

Armchair admirals in Newport attributed the terrible trials of Terrible Ted to outside distractions (his new Cable News Network and the Atlanta Braves) and to lack of motivation. "Aw, that's a bunch of bull," Turner says. "I've got too much responsibility to spend all my time screwing around in sailboats, but it doesn't affect me on the race course."

Probably the main source of Turner's troubles was Freedom's helmsman, Dennis ("the Menace") Conner of San Diego, 37, a star in international sailing since he won his first world championship event in 1971. Ironically, Conner was picked to replace Turner as the skipper of Mariner by the boat's syndicate of investors near the end of the 1974 trials, a move that must still rankle the proud Atlantan. Growls Turner: "He did everything he could to get my job. He just went behind my back and stabbed me while I wasn't looking."

The sleek 12-meter yachts--named for a design formula, not their average length of more than 60 feet --are high-strung thoroughbreds that respond to the smallest calibration of sail cut, hull design or crew performance. Conner's backers raised upwards of $2.5 million, more than double the budgets of the other Cup contenders, enabling him to test both the brand-new Freedom and Enterprise (built in 1976) before settling on his final hull. Racing the two against each other, he logged more than 1,200 practice hours and tried out more than 100 crewmen. He was especially meticulous about sails, trying every conceivable combination and even putting three sailmakers on his crew. "We're not a great deal faster than they are," Conner says. "But all the sailing and all the preparation we did beforehand just gave us a little bit of an edge." Turner complains that Conner's "tremendously professional approach" has changed the Cup for the worse. Says he: "It knocks out of the competition forevermore anyone who's not prepared to give up three years of his life."

Rounding out the field is New Yorker Russell Long, 24, son of Sumner , ("Huey") Long, a well-known shipping broker and ocean racer. The blond, blue-eyed Russell was crewing by age seven, but it was not until last year that he skippered a twelve, Turner's old Independence. Convinced that he could be competitive himself if only his boat were a little faster, Long raised $500,000 and stripped Independence for parts. The result: the deep blue Clipper and a helmsman brash enough to be Turner's son. "Ted peaked out in 1977," says Long. "He's been totally outclassed by Conner."

True enough, so far. The N.Y.Y.C. selectors are supposed to choose the most able defender, regardless of record. So it is conceivable that Turner could catch the committee's eye with a last-minute flourish. Three years ago he entered the final round with only a slight edge in victories, then reeled off ten wins in eleven races. "The big-money boys in the club are all behind Dennis," says Turner, "but the selection committee is absolutely neutral." Just thinking about the final round puts Terrible Ted in a combative mood. Says he: "It would take an absolute miracle, but as long as there's still an out left in the bottom of the ninth, the game isn't over." --By Stephen Smith. Reported by Jeff Melvoin/Newport

With reporting by Jeff Melvoin/Newport

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