SAN DIEGO YEAR IN REVIEW : THE TOP 10 SPORTS STORIES : 7 : HIGH (-PRICED) SEAS

International intrigue, power finances, political maneuvering.

If the events of 1991, paving the way to the 1992 America’s Cup, are any indication of what’s to come, keep your seat belt fastened, because this is going to be one bumpy ride. Among the most celebrated developments of the year:

* The new International America’s Cup Class boats made their debuts at the World Championships, won by the Italians. Paul Cayard skippered Il Moro di Venezia past New Zealand in the May 11 final by 1 minute, 7.9 seconds.

* Monetary problems forced Japan’s Bengal Bay and Britain’s Port Pendennis to withdraw from Cup contention, trimming to nine the number of challenging syndicates.

* Days after laying off seven employees, the America’s Cup Organizing Committee, staggering from financial woes, announced Aug. 7 it would seek corporate sponsorship from America and abroad.

* Which Russians are coming? Political upheaval and in-house bickering split the first-ever Russian Cup challenger into two camps in August.

* The Yugoslav-Croatian-Slovenian Challenge was impacted by civil war. Boatbuilder Marco Cantoni of Italy befriended the syndicate, but it appeared time might run out.

* Dennis Conner, who first introduced multi-boat campaigns, kept the world guessing whether he was hiding a second yacht. On Oct. 31, he said there would be no second boat.