Yachting: Coutts rises to challenge

Russell Coutts

After a nightmare year, America's Cup ace Russell Coutts could be forgiven for counting down the days until it ends.

But Coutts, back in Auckland for Christmas, was bright as a button reflecting on the year and what lies ahead.

Sensationally sacked from Alinghi in July, he watched in dismay as his boss and friend Ernesto Bertarelli teamed up with Oracle head Larry Ellison and changed the cup protocol to prevent him from joining another team.

Coutts took neither his dismissal nor the rule change lying down, and is now going through legal arbitration with Bertarelli, which will decide whether he is part of the next regatta.

Since the process is expected to take a while, Coutts has been back doing what he does best - sailing.

He joined Jes Gram-Hansen's Danish match-racing team, which clinched two of the main events on the Swedish Match Tour, the Elba Cup and the Bermuda Cup.

"It has been almost refreshing to sail with a group of young guys," Coutts said.

"Their enthusiasm pushed me along and I think I have managed to bring some new dimensions to their sailing. The whole thing has been a hell of a lot of fun."

Although he has competed in numerous sailing regattas with generally a great deal of success, Coutts' biggest achievement of the year is helping design a 44ft carbon yacht.

Although Coutts has had a lot of input into the design of cup boats, he said he had "never designed a boat to this extent" and virtually leaps off his chair with enthusiasm when discussing the project.

"I have got a real buzz out of it creating something from scratch," he said.

"The same group is going to design a bigger boat ... It [design] is an area that has always interested me."

In the coming year Coutts will continue with the Danish team and on Hasso Plattner's Farr 40.

He also plans to take part in the Transpac 52 programme in Europe, spend a bit of time in the Star class and dip his toes in slightly new territory by taking part in the transpacific race from LA to Hawaii, which will be his "longest race yet".

Although he has plenty of plans, he still hasn't given up the chase for the America's Cup.

"I am not saying I have ruled out the America's Cup, I haven't, I love the America's Cup and I miss it.

"I have been thinking about it lately ... I think one of the things I would say, this whole retroactive rule change has made me stop and think ... is this really the way we want the sport to be going?

"Do we want the America's Cup to be governed by two guys that all of a sudden get together in a back room somewhere and decide to change the rules for whatever reason?

"No matter how the cup has been governed in the past ... maybe it is time to look at a new way of doing it. I think it needs to be more transparent, so we can understand the processes, instead of these back room discussions.

"The other thing I have been thinking about is the whole aspect of the sport's growth. There is still not a clearly defined career path for young sailors to go through and progress through to the higher ranks in the sport.

"If a young sailor, even someone who has gone and won at the Olympics, said to me today, 'How do I get into the America's Cup?' I am not sure I'd be able to give him a clearly defined answer. I am wondering if it is time bodies like ISAF [International Sailing Federation] played a greater role."

Not surprisingly, Coutts has been approached by several syndicates since his axing from Alinghi and is hopeful the arbitration process will be completed quickly.

"I am not sure it will take a year. I am optimistic it will be dealt with quicker than that.

"The whole retroactive rule, that is an issue that I want to challenge ... the way the rule was changed. The first any of the teams heard about it was when it was announced. It just doesn't seem right to me."

Coutts watched this year's cup pre-regattas from a distance and said he was impressed with the new-look Team New Zealand.

"That was quite a new team and they went out and beat some good teams ... that was a good result. It certainly made the America's Cup world stand up and take notice."

As for his former team, Coutts is still close to his tight five - Brad Butterworth, Dean Phipps, Murray Jones, Simon Daubney and Warwick Fleury.

"I see them a lot, there is no question we'll sail together in the future. Alinghi are a good team, they'll get it together.

"There is too much talent in that team for them not to."