Cup Briefs: American dream

American dream America, the boat which spurred the world's biggest sailing competition, is coming to Auckland. Well, at least a full-sized replica of the schooner, which took the 100 Guineas Cup - renamed America's Cup - from the English in 1851. American businessman Chris Belland is bringing his vessel from San Francisco for the regatta celebrations. So far 66 superyachts have booked into the cup village, with the first foreign boat berthing next month.

Stars earn stripes

You would be crazy to believe that Dennis Conner won't be a contender in this America's Cup. He has surrounded himself with some of American yachting's big names to crew Stars and Stripes, the boat which left Long Beach for Auckland this week. Eight-time world champion Ken Read, described as one of the world's best helmsmen, will share the wheel with Conner. They will be joined in the afterguard by Peter Isler, Conner's navigator in 1987 and 1988, and Olympic silver medallist Peter Holmberg. Former American football professional Larry Mialik is back for his third cup campaign, with a handful of crewmen from the Pact '95 team including Matt Smith, Stuart Felker and Geordie Shaver.

Jacques to the future

Yacht designer Jacques Fauroux is coming back to the site of his world championship victory to drive a French boat in the America's Cup. Fauroux is skipper of the mysterious Yacht Club de Cannes syndicate. He won the world Quarter Ton Cup in Auckland in 1980 on a boat called Bullit. A respected boat designer, he helped run the Satquote Defender campaign in the 1989-90 Whitbread race.