Conner turns away from America’s Cup

SAN DIEGO — With his long America’s Cup career likely over because of stratospheric costs, Dennis Conner has found something else to keep him busy on the waterfront.

For the last 18 months, the veteran skipper has overseen the restoration of the Cotton Blossom II, a vintage wooden racing yacht that was built in 1925 near Oslo, Norway. The sloop was relaunched Thursday at the San Diego Yacht Club.

“It was like having a child,” Conner said. “Sometimes it was painful, sometimes it was frustrating. It seemed like it took a long time to grow up, but in the end I’m quite proud of her.”

Conner first sailed on Cotton Blossom II in 1963 and bought it last year.

It took seven craftsmen 18 months to restore it, at a cost of more than $1 million. Conner figures he’ll sail it for half a year or so, then sell it to recoup his investment.

“What I learned is that it takes a lot more time and money than I ever imagined,” Conner said. “She’s lovely, but I haven’t forgotten all the long days and the checks I wrote.”

Even so, it was far cheaper than running an America’s Cup campaign.

Conner’s cup career may very well already be assigned to the history books because of the staggering costs of mounting a campaign.

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 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 sports are about.”

Looking back at the cup’s history, “It’s really come full circle, where the B’s are racing the B’s,” he said, referring to billionaires. “I still think it’s a great regatta and I’ll be interested in watching. Things change.”