Yachting: Conner the goner may not be back

By SUZANNE MCFADDEN

Dennis Conner wiped an eye and bid farewell to the America's Cup last night - making no promises to come back if the Auld Mug stays in New Zealand.

One of the great legends of the regatta was knocked out of the Louis Vuitton Cup - fair and square on the water - by Dawn Riley's girls and boys in a shock loss.

Most people on the waterfront were expecting to see a fiery, sudden-death showdown today between Conner's Stars & Stripes and the big-budget Prada to decide the last spot in the Louis Vuitton Cup final.

But America True's upset has created a USA v Italy (AmericaOne v Prada) clash - starting in 10 days' time.

Conner, who was probably a little in shock, gallantly declared the finals pairing as the "best thing for the Cup."

But the eight-time cup veteran, who has made New Zealand his second home since losing the mug in '95, isn't so sure that the Cup is the best thing for Dennis Conner in the future.

He could not say if he would return.

"I have to wait and see where it is. It's very hard to raise money in the United States if the event is in New Zealand," he said. "I still have a lot of bills to be taken care of."

Conner also wanted to ask his wife Daintry how she felt about another Cup campaign.

"She's very important to me," he said.

"She was having a great time until today. She's taking thing very hard - we really weren't ready to leave yet.

"I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for myself. Even though I'm sad, we did have a wonderful programme."

It was obvious last night that Stars & Stripes would throw their weight behind Paul Cayard's AmericaOne from now on - after their acrid battle with Prada in the previous 24 hours.

Prada made their delight clear when they screamed and cheered as America True returned from the sea, and sent round four cases of champagne and a small truck-load of beer to the True base.

The Italians had wanted Stars & Stripes eliminated off the water, lodging a protest on Thursday night claiming Team DC were using an illegal mainsail.

But last night, the protest was withdrawn by Prada at a jury hearing which lasted just 10 minutes.

Prada said there was no longer any reason to proceed, but Team Dennis Conner wanted it made clear that they were "extremely offended" by the Italians' original actions.

Stars & Stripes helmsman Ken Read said his campaign were angry over a protest they described as frivolous.

"A lot of Prada's decisions over the last couple of days have been through pressure to win at all costs. I hope that pressure doesn't get to Francesco [de Angelis, Prada skipper]," he said.

"But I see Paul [Cayard] has a lot more fire in his eyes."

It cannot have been easy to admit, but Conner said the challenger final could not have been scripted better.

"Cayard, the young rising star of US sailing against Bertelli and his millions - it makes a nice story."