Conner, America's Yachtsman; Focus On Goals: For the Comeback Kid, it's all about sailing across the finish line.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: PAUL KATZEFF

Dennis Conner spends 365 days a years on the water. But he's never bothered to learn to swim.

It isn't that he has anything against swimming, and he's not afraid. "I spend all of my time trying to stay out of the water," he once told Time magazine.

That's because he puts all of his energy into his chosen task. He spares next to no effort on unrelated activities. It's how he became not only the world's top skipper, but also the best-known sailor since Sinbad.

By capturing sailing's Holy Grail four times in 14 years, Conner became Mr. America's Cup. He won more than 100 America's Cup trial races. He was selected U.S. yachtsman of the year three times. And he won a bronze medal in the Tempest class at the 1976 Olympics.

But he probably wouldn't be well known outside a small fraternity of yacht racers if he didn't also hold another, more dubious, distinction.

He was at the helm when the U.S. lost the America's Cup for the first time in 1983. When Australia II topped his boat Liberty 4-3, it ended the New York Yacht Club's 132-year winning streak. That was the longest victory skein in sports.