Corporate sponsorship is the wind in the sails of the modern America's Cup. Dennis Conner, skipper of San Diego's Cortez Racing Association Team Dennis Conner, is sailing in his seventh America's Cup series. He has won four and lost two. Russell Couts, skipper and helmsman for defender Team New Zealand, won the 1995 America's Cup and has won three Match Racing World Championships. Cayard skippers for San Francisco's St. Francis Yacht Club AmericaOne syndicate.
National loyalties can become confused in pursuit of America's Cup victory.
Baird coached the successful challenge of Team New Zealand in 1995. Other U.S. syndicates are the San Francisco Yacht Club's America True and Abracadabra 2000 sponsored by Honolulu's Waikiki Yacht Club. In addition to Australia and the United States, nations vying for the right to challenge New Zealand are Switzerland, France, Japan, Italy, and Spain. U.S. syndicates in particular are using the excitement of the Cup to encourage greater enthusiasm for learning among youth. Young America, for example, has established the Young America Education Program to motivate young people to explore a wide range of educational topics from engineering and physics to fitness and the environment.