By HELEN TUNNAH
Brad Butterworth says the informal deal he and Russell Coutts signed to stay with Team New Zealand "wasn't worth the paper it was written on".
The former trustees of Team New Zealand said this week that the "mutual understanding" document illustrated that the pair had reneged on
pledges to remain with the syndicate.
But Butterworth said yesterday that he and Coutts signed the document because they could not get a more meaningful agreement after two years of talks.
Former trust chairman Richard Green and trustee Roger France said the September 1999 document was "a powerful statement of intent and honour between the parties".
"Every party to that document has honoured those intentions with the exception of Russell and Brad," Mr France said.
The paper outlined principles for a smooth transition between the old and new management teams, said the trustees.
Coutts and Butterworth quit Team New Zealand in May 2000, just two months after defending the America's Cup, citing frustrations over setting up a new campaign. They joined Swiss team Alinghi, who sail against Team NZ for the cup next week.
Coutts blamed the former trustees and what he termed their excessive financial secretiveness for his quitting.
But the trustees responded by saying Coutts and Butterworth refused to accept syndicate head Sir Peter Blake's authority and their obligations to existing sponsors.
Butterworth said he, Coutts and Tom Schnackenberg agreed to sign a statement that they would act in good faith, "but it was just another step in the line of stalling us".
Auckland QC Jim Farmer, who negotiated for the trio, said he first presented the trustees with a draft contract on December 24, 1997. He said the final document was vague and not worth signing.
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