Yachting: Coutts may sit out Cup opener

VALENCIA - The most dominant skipper in America's Cup history might be a spectator when the most contentious, extreme edition of sailing's marquee event begins.

Or will he?

Russell Coutts, who sailed unbeaten through three straight America's Cup matches for two different countries, said he hasn't decided whether he'll be aboard USA, the blazing-fast trimaran that will represent American challenger BMW Oracle Racing against two-time defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland and its catamaran, Alinghi 5.

Race 1 of the best-of-three nautical grudge match is scheduled for tonight (9.45pm NZT).

"I'll go on the boat if it makes it faster," Coutts said Saturday, his last appearance before the media. "There's quite a few things that I'm focused on right now."

The New Zealander could make a dinghy go faster, so it might seem inconceivable that he'd sit out the opening race of an eagerly anticipated showdown between two of the fastest, most powerful sailboats ever built.

Coutts might be engaging in a bit of gamesmanship against Alinghi, whose owner, biotech mogul Ernesto Bertarelli, will share driving duties aboard the Swiss catamaran Alinghi 5 with multihull whiz Loick Peyron of France.

Or Coutts might just be following up on what he's said all along, that he's busy running the campaign, and the rest of the team is good enough to do the sailing.

Coutts is trying to help an American syndicate regain the America's Cup 15 years after he yanked it away from Dennis Conner in Team New Zealand's five-race sweep off San Diego.

Coutts was hired by software tycoon Larry Ellison to run BMW Oracle Racing's sailing team in July 2007, a move that perhaps added a level of bitterness to the convoluted legal fight between the Americans and Swiss that kept sailing's biggest event locked up in New York courts for 2 1/2 years. That feud led to this being a rare head-to-head showdown for the oldest trophy in international sports, rather than a traditional regatta involving several challengers.

Coutts, 47, is CEO of BMW Oracle Racing. He recently passed along the title of skipper to helmsman Jimmy Spithill, meaning the 30-year-old Australian will be in charge of on-board decisions.

BWM Oracle Racing faces a weight limit, which is one reason Coutts said he might watch from a support boat.

"I've always said I'd love to be sailing, make no bones about that," Coutts said. "But I've always said I will do what's best for the team. That's why Jimmy Spithill's the helmsman. He's more than capable of doing that. He's a much better helmsman than I am in this boat. He's done all the work, all the practice. I'm not going to go helm the boat just for some ego trip. I want to give the team the best chance of winning."

Then again, Coutts and Ellison were aboard USA for the final tuneup sail Sunday, and there was dockside buzz that Coutts might sail tonight, depending on the wind strength. Ellison has said he'll sit out Race 1 due to the weight limit, but that could change, too.

After Team New Zealand took a 4-0 lead over Italy's Luna Rossa in the 2000 America's Cup, Coutts handed the wheel to Dean Barker and watched from a chase boat as his understudy delivered the clinching victory.

Coutts and several mates then jumped ship to Bertarelli's startup syndicate. Coutts led Alinghi to a five-race sweep of hard-luck Team New Zealand in 2003, running his America's Cup match race mark to a record 14-0.

Alinghi became the first European team to win the America's Cup, which started in 1851. Coutts and Bertarelli had a falling out and the skipper was fired in 2004. As part of a settlement, he was banned from sailing in the 2007 America's Cup, which Alinghi won 5-2 over Team New Zealand.

Concerned that the Swiss were trying to bend the rules for the next America's Cup in their favour, BMW Oracle Racing sued Alinghi in July 2007. Not long after, Ellison hired Coutts.

Ellison, the CEO of Oracle Corp., and Bertarelli were once friendly rivals. They raced against each other in exhibitions in San Francisco and Newport, Rhode Island, and spoke about making the America's Cup more modern and fan-friendly.

Then it all fall apart.

"When I hired Russell Coutts, he was afraid he was going to lose," Ellison said about Bertarelli. "He doesn't like Russell. Russell won him the Cup. He thought with a fair set of rules he couldn't come up with a team that could beat Russell Coutts.

"He's the best sailor in the world," Ellison said. "He's the best running a program like this; he's a wonderful leader, a wonderful engineering manager. If you want to win the America's Cup, I suggest you hire Russell Coutts. His record's not too bad. He's been in three of them, and won them all."

Asked if Ellison's hiring of Coutts was the beginning of the end of their friendship, Bertarelli said: "Possibly. You should ask him."

Coutts has downplayed the issue of personalities, saying BMW Oracle Racing would have gone after anyone else who was trying to hijack the rules.

To prove his point, Coutts said he can't wait to have a beer with his friend, Alinghi skipper and tactician Brad Butterworth, after the regatta ends. The two were crewmates with both Team New Zealand and Alinghi.

"The example is, look at Brad Butterworth and myself," Coutts said. "We're two good mates. Still are. I just disagree with what's been done."

Asked if they were indeed still mates, Butterworth said: "It would be tough to change that. He'd have to do something bad."

Besides, the two have been in a far worse situation. In 2003, they and other Kiwis aboard Alinghi were viewed as turncoats by New Zealanders as they sailed off with the America's Cup.

"He and I were under siege," Butterworth said. "It was a time when you really had to better your friendships. We were tight then and we're tight now."

Also Sunday, BMW Oracle Racing won the coin flip for the favoured starboard entry to the starting box.

- AP