STARS and STRIPES sinks!



LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) 7.23.02, 5:22p -- One of Dennis Conner's $5 million

America's Cup racing yachts sank Tuesday while training in the Pacific Ocean

about a mile from shore, the Coast Guard said.



All sailors aboard the 80-foot yacht were rescued. A salvage crew with a

crane and air bags was headed to the scene, said Cathy Harvey, who works for

Conner at his Long Beach compound. The boats typically have crews of 16, but

it was unclear how many were on the boat during Tuesday's training sail.

Conner was not on the yacht, Harvey said. Harvey said Conner was at the site

helping with the recovery operation. Conner rarely sails on his America's Cup

boats anymore and instead spends his time raising money for his $40 million

America's Cup budget...



For the complete storry go to:



http://www.sailingproshop.com

Stars & Stripes USA-77 has been recovered and is back in her cradle at the Team Dennis Conner training base

by Veronica Brown



Jul 24, 2002 - Long Beach, CA ? At approximately 7:00pm PDT, Stars & Stripes, USA-77 was successfully raised from the ocean floor and is now back in her cradle at the Team Dennis Conner training base in Long Beach, CA.



All of the crew are safe and have sustained no injuries. The Team Dennis Conner America?s Cup program is expected to remain on schedule, with sailing in Long Beach concluding on Thursday, July 25, 2002.



"It?s too early to tell how much damage the boat has suffered," said Dennis Conner. "We?ll have more detailed information tomorrow when it is daylight and we can fully survey the extent of the damage."

From http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/3721747.htm



Conner's America's Cup yacht sinks off Long Beach

By Bernie Wilson

Associated Press



SAN DIEGO - Dennis Conner's newest America's Cup yacht sank today in the Pacific Ocean about a mile off Long Beach, just before it was to pick up a group of sponsors for an afternoon sail.



Everyone aboard the 80-foot Stars & Stripes was rescued and salvage efforts began immediately.



Conner said he's confident the high-tech, $5 million boat can be repaired in time for the start of the America's Cup trials Oct. 1 off Auckland, New Zealand.



``The good news is no one was hurt,'' he said by phone from his team's Long Beach compound. ``The crew hardly got wet.''



Conner, who was not on the boat, said it sank in 55 feet of water in about four minutes after the rudder shaft broke and tore a hole in the carbon-fiber hull.



``If you want to talk about luck, we're normally sailing where it's 2,000-feet deep,'' he said. ``If you want to talk about extra luck, it landed in about 2 1/2 feet of mud, so the boat is sitting straight up and down, with no damage to the hull or mast.''



While some of the crew tried to stop the flow of water, others were able to take down the mainsail and jib before jumping on tenders that are always nearby.



All that was visible afterward was about 60 feet of the 110-foot carbon-fiber mast sticking straight out of the water.



Conner said about 17 crew members were aboard the boat, sail number USA-77, which had completed a morning testing sail.



``No question it's repairable,'' he said, adding that the crew got a good look at the damage before the boat sank. ``We'll be sailing again before the trials and everything will be fine. We're extremely fortunate.''



He said he expected the boat would be raised within hours.



Conner rarely sails on his America's Cup boats anymore, instead spending time raising money for his $40 million America's Cup budget.



The 59-year-old yachtsman, arguably the world's best known sailor, has won the 151-year-old America's Cup four times, but not since 1988.



USA-77 was christened in Long Beach, joining its stablemate, USA-66, also named Stars & Stripes, which was launched in February. This is the first time since the 1986-87 America's Cup that Conner has been able to afford two new boats.



His crew has been training off Long Beach for the competition since February.



The team will miss just two days of testing, Conner said. Their two-boat testing program in Long Beach was to conclude Thursday and one of the yachts is scheduled to be shipped to New Zealand next week.



America's Cup contenders can race only one yacht at a time, but it helps to have a backup boat, just in case.



The only other America's Cup yacht to sink was oneAustralia, which cracked in two and sank in 950 feet of water about five miles off San Diego during a challenger series race on March 5, 1995. All 16 sailors were rescued.



That yacht was never recovered, but oneAustralia had a backup boat.



Three weeks later, Conner's yacht took on water due to keel damage and had to be towed back into its San Diego Bay compound with pumps on board and flotation buoys attached to the hull and the top of the mast.



In 1999, the hull of one of Young America's two boats buckled in a race off Auckland and nearly sank.



America's Cup yachts weigh about 25 tons, with the bulk of the weight in the 20-ton lead keel bulb that hangs about 14 feet beneath the water line, giving them stability when sailing upwind.



The America's Cup match will begin in February between two-time winner Team New Zealand and the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup for challengers.

The Sinking and Raising of Stars & Stripes USA 77



Story and Photos By Rich Roberts

For YachtRacing.com





A curious Laser sailor circles the sunken Stars & Stripes USA 77 as salvage operations commence.



LONG BEACH, Calif.---Stars & Stripes USA 77, the newest of Team Dennis Conner's matched set of state-of-the-art America's Cup boats, was recovered after sinking in 55 feet of water during two-boat testing two miles off the beach of this Southern California city Tuesday.



None of the crew was injured, but besides the damage in the rudder area a significant crack opposite the mast was revealed as the boat was raised early in the evening, minutes before sundown.



The 80-foot International America's Cup Class sloop suffered structural failure in the rudder housing while sailing upwind on a sunny day in 12 to 14 knots of wind in 2 to 3 feet of chop. It dropped straight down to the bottom in about five minutes.





Full story at: http://www.yachtracing.com/richroberts/S&SAccident.html



Alan

From Ralfe Messing, via Scuttlebutt Europe

just another reason to sail cats!

Yeah, you'd never have a butt like that aimed at you on a cat!