Stars & Stripes (yacht)

Stars & Stripes
Stars & Stripes Team Dennis Conner
Career
Yacht club	San Diego Yacht Club
Established	1987
Nation	United States
Team principal(s)	Dennis Conner
Skipper	Dennis Conner
Notable victories	1987 America's Cup 1988 America's Cup 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup
Yachts
Sail no.	Boat name
US–53	Stars & Stripes 83
US–54	Stars & Stripes 85
US–56	Stars & Stripes 86
US–55	Stars & Stripes 87
US–1	Stars & Stripes 88
USA–11	Stars & Stripes
USA–34	Stars & Stripes
USA–77	Stars & Stripes

Stars & Stripes (Team Dennis Conner) is the name of an America's Cup syndicate operated by Dennis Conner and its racing yachts. The name "Stars & Stripes" refers to the nickname often used for the flag of the United States. TDC was registered under the flag of the San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC).

The well funded Sail America Foundation commissioned four 12 metre yachts to support a campaign led by Dennis Conner, representing the San Diego Yacht Club, to win back the America's Cup in the 1987 competition in Fremantle, Australia.

The movie Wind is loosely based on Dennis Conner's experience, from the 1983 America's Cup loss to his America's Cup win in Perth, and on a number of events that occurred on various competitor boats throughout the match races of the 1987 America's Cup. For artistic reasons, the 12 metre Stars & Stripes 87 was dramatized in the film as Geronimo.

The surprise challenge by Sir Michael Fay caught the San Diego Yacht Club unprepared. They initially rejected the challenge, but were compelled to respond when Mr. Fay brought the matter before the New York courts. The court's decision was handed down in November 1987, leaving little time to prepare for the 1988 challenge race.

As the challenge used the original Deed of Gift as its basis, the design requirements specified only that she be a single masted yacht no more than 90 feet at the waterline. The San Diego Yacht Club and Dennis Conner's syndicate chose to respond with an assuredly faster multi-hull design. Conner enlisted the help of designers Morrelli, Chance & Hubbart & MacLane, and aircraft manufacturer Scaled Composites. Two Stars & Stripes cats were built, one with a conventional soft sail (Stars & Stripes S1), and the second with a wing mast (Stars & Stripes H3) built by Scaled Composites. The wing masted boat proved to have superior performance, and so was used in the defense.