Conner Catches Break For Sixth Appearance In America’s Cup Finals

Dennis Conner caught an incredible break from his hometown’s fluky wind and made up a 45-length deficit on the last leg Wednesday to sail into the finals of the America’s Cup for the sixth time.

Stars & Stripes’ crew, one of the most experienced in the regatta, broke out in wild celebration.

On Mighty Mary, there were tears followed by stunned silence.

America3’s mostly women’s crew seemed to have an insurmountable lead of 4 minutes, 8 seconds turning onto the downwind spinnaker run to the finish.

But while Mighty Mary sailed into a wind hole, Conner took a flyer out to the right side of the course, caught a wind shift and rolled into the lead about halfway down the 3-mile leg.

The big loser was Young America, which was the overwhelming defender favorite with a 21-7 record after the semis. Its part of the three-boat bargain was to get two bonus points entering the finals. But Young America collapsed, going 3-5 in the finals.