Sport: Mouth of the South' at the Helm

The skipper, Ted Turner, entered every contest mouth-first. The boat, Courageous, was secondhand. The oddsmakers, having surveyed the competition—two new 12-meter yachts constructed for the 23rd defense of the America's Cup—had consigned the captain and his Courageous to third place. But last week, after two months and two rounds of preliminary races—with a final one beginning Aug. 16 still to go —Turner's tenacity and cunning helmsmanship brought Courageous home to Newport, R.I., leading in the trials to select a boat to represent the U.S. hi the Cup. So far, Turner, a sly Southern...