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A trip to Disneyland is planned, but it will be some time before Chris Dickson knows what the future holds for him in America's Cup sailing.
The New Zealander saw his latest cup hopes founder off Valencia today when Oracle Racing, of which he is chief executive and
regular skipper/helmsman, were knocked out of the challengers' series.
Dickson wasn't even on board USA98 when the American syndicate, favourites going into their Louis Vuitton Cup semifinal against Italy's Luna Rossa, had their last race.
Instead, he was demoted and fellow New Zealander and tactician Gavin Brady took over as skipper, with Danish back-up helmsman Sten Mohr on the wheel.
But the changes couldn't stop the Italians completing a 5-1 victory, which propelled them into next month's final, the winners of which will race Swiss defenders Alinghi for the America's Cup.
Dickson, 46, was picked by software billionaire Larry Ellison to lead Oracle's second bid for the Auld Mug, and it was Ellison who took the decision to take the Aucklander off the boat.
"It was his call to make," Dickson told a news conference in Valencia.
"He's the owner and that was the call he made."
Dickson's contract is for the present challenge and he said he would spend the next few weeks wrapping up the campaign.
"Then I'll be quietly heading back to New Zealand and taking my family to Disneyland on the way home, probably," he said.
"And life goes on."
Ellison, whose syndicate was estimated to have had a budget of $220 million, the biggest among the initial fleet of 11 challengers, has indicated he wants to continue his pursuit of yachting's most coveted prize.
But it remains to be seen whether Dickson will be part of that.
"It will be some months before there are decisions on who plays what role in the on-going campaign," Dickson said.
"Larry has confirmed that the team is going forward. Who he elects to have in what role is something that will take a bit of a time-out and a deep breath before the decisions are made."
Dickson first came to international prominence in a big way in 1986-7 when, in his mid-20s, he skippered KZ7 to the LV Cup final.
He has been involved in four other campaigns since, the last two with Oracle, whom he also steered to the challengers' final four years ago.
This time around, Dickson found himself largely outgunned in the semifinal pre-starts against Luna Rossa's young Australian helmsman, James Spithill.
The Italians went on to achieve the remarkable feat of leading at every mark of all six races.
Dickson said there was plenty of disappointment over the earlier than expected departure.
"This is not the exit we had planned for."
He believed Oracle had spent wisely and used their time well to produce a top programme, but had simply been outsailed by opponents who had steadily got stronger as the regatta had gone on.
To some outsiders, the mix of USA98's crew, with the strong personalities in the group, meant it was probably the least harmonious of the four semifinal contenders.
In the round-robin stages, which Oracle led for most of the way before finishing second behind Team NZ, Brady admitted that the syndicate had had their difficult moments during a long campaign.
"Chris can be a very aggressive boss, sometimes difficult to work with, but it's his desire and passion," Brady said.
"We've had our ups and downs -- you're going to have them on a four-year campaign -- but we've been over our bumpy roads and feel pretty strong right now."
Dickson today rejected the suggestion by one journalist that the on-board chemistry might have played a key role in Oracle's demise.
"I don't agree with that," he said.
As chief executive, he took the defeat to Luna Rossa personally.
"But having said that, we're are all in this programme together," he said.
"We all enjoy the wins together and we're all hating the defeats together."
- NZPA