1.00pm
Sacked Alinghi syndicate skipper Russell Coutts will look at "all sorts of options" for the next America's Cup regatta in 2007, including rejoining Team New Zealand.
However, a rule change by Alinghi head Ernesto Bertarelli may stop him from sailing for another syndicate, Coutts told Newstalk ZB radio station today.
Team New
Zealand had not approached him since news of the sacking came through yesterday morning.
"They probably, technically, are unable to approach me at this point but sure, I would be looking at all sorts of options and I don't see any reason why I wouldn't look at Team New Zealand," Coutts said.
Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton said yesterday the sacking of Coutts was "completely irrelevant to us", but he refused to talk further about it or say if he was interested in Coutts.
Coutts said today he had not spoken to Bertarelli but he would have expected a call from him about his sacking rather than from a lawyer.
He was in mediation at the time with Bertarelli over their dispute about his role in the syndicate.
Coutts said he had told Bertarelli several times he had decided not to sail at several regattas recently because it would have compromised his legal position.
"So given the circumstances I am a bit surprised about it.
"We were under the mediation process but a few of the things that have happened over the last week speak volumes about Ernesto being someone who quite simply changes his commitments when he doesn't get his own way," Coutts said.
He said Bertarelli changed the cup rules and got his lawyer to sack him during the mediation process -- both unknown to other senior people in the syndicate.
"That is not the sort of way I like to see decisions made and it is not a way I like to work. It is probably pretty indicative of the way things have gone for the last 12 or 18 months at Alinghi," Coutts said.
He was taking legal advice about his contract with Alinghi.
"There are a number of things about the contract that in my opinion Ernesto didn't honour, a number of commitments concerning my role in the organisation and understandings on the way we would operate and so forth.
"I do believe the contract has been breached and he broke our deal and I am going to have to look at what I am going to do about that."
Coutts said there were several things in the contract he believed Bertarelli had breached and it was not down to a single issue.
"But certainly, locking me out of important decisions is one of the points of contention.
"For example, changing the rules without any consultation and dismissing me while we were under mediation -- certainly I am getting some advice on those issues, yes."
Coutts said he was very open about his expectation and Bertarelli gave a commitment about those expectations.
"I tried through a long process which ended in formal mediation to try to explore ways we could solve it and unfortunately we weren't able to do that."
Coutts said he could now look forward to his yachting future.
"The more I am thinking about it the more positive I am getting.
"I am enjoying my sailing again. I think I can still compete at the highest level and that is what I want to do."
- NZPA
1.00pm
Sacked Alinghi syndicate skipper Russell Coutts will look at "all sorts of options" for the next America's Cup regatta in 2007, including rejoining Team New Zealand.
However, a rule change by Alinghi head Ernesto Bertarelli may stop him from sailing for another syndicate, Coutts told Newstalk ZB radio station today.
Team New
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