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Russell
Green Joins Oracle BMW Racing (07/25/03)
(source
: Yahoo!) |
Chris Dickson announced the appointment of Russell
Green as Oracle BMW Racing's Sailing Manager in San
Francisco today. New Zealander Russell Green is the
latest to join the Challenger of Record's team for
the 2007 America's Cup.
Green, formerly Rules and Legal Advisor for Team New
Zealand, will be responsible for managing the Sailing
Team. Working with Dickson and helmsman Gavin Brady
he will select, recruit and develop the sailing squad
for the team.
"I'm really pleased that Russell has decided to join
us", said Dickson. "He was part of my TAG Heuer team
in 1995 and will have a key role in ensuring that
our sailing team will continue to develop and improve
over the next four years as we build our challenge."
Green is an International Umpire and is New Zealand
Yachting's Team Manager for the 2004 Athens Olympics,
a role he had for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
"This opportunity at Oracle BMW Racing is exciting,"
said Green. "I wanted to be involved in an America's
Cup team where I could contribute my skills and experience
in a wider management role".
"Working with Chris and Gavin I have the opportunity
to have a real impact on the way the sailing team
is selected and developed. This is going to be a very
strong team." |
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Chris
Dickson tops sporting rich (07/18/03)
(source
: Stuff.co.nz) |
Property investment and a profitable association
with Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison has made
yachtsman Chris Dickson New Zealand's richest sportsman,
an unofficial guide to Kiwi wealth shows today.
Dickson's estimated fortune of $NZ20 million ($17.92m)
places him at the top of a list dominated by yachtsmen
and compiled for the National Business Review.
Alinghi sailors Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth,
who won the America's Cup for Switzerland in March,
are jointly third on the list with estimated worth
of $NZ14m. Coutts, skipper of the Swiss team, and
Butterworth, his tactician, have moved up the list
on the basis of substantial payments received for
joining Alinghi from Team New Zealand. |
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Gavin
Brady, a motivated helmsman (07/01/03)
(source
: Oracle
BMW Racing) |
Gavin Brady is relishing the chance to work alongside
his old skipper Chris Dickson and Oracle BMW Racing
head Larry Ellison in the next America’s Cup.
Brady, who sailed as a tactician for Dickson in his
1995 America’s Cup campaign, hasn’t forgotten the
chance that Dickson gave him as an enthusiastic 21-year-old,
an opportunity that launched his professional yachting
career.
After sailing his first regatta on board USA-76 with
Ellison and Dickson in the Sausalito Cup (raced on
San Francisco Harbour in June), Brady says he’s looking
forward to getting down to the nitty gritty of building
a strong team to challenge for the Cup in 2007.
The trio cruised to victory in the regatta but now
there is serious work for them to do together off
the water, selecting their team for this European
campaign.
The 29-year-old New Zealand-born helmsman said the
team would not only be based on yachting talent, but
also team spirit, drawing on the successful experiences
of Oracle BMW Racing’s 2003 effort.
"The chemistry needs to be right, for the whole
team," Brady stressed. "It’s something we
will seriously consider when we’re selecting people
for this campaign. There’s a lot of work to do from
here - our ‘to do’ list is pretty big."
Brady, who has been involved in three America’s Cup
campaigns until now, says he’s thrilled at the chance
to steer for a team of Oracle BMW Racing’s calibre.
"This is a huge step in my career," he says.
"It’s a great opportunity being part of a team
backed by such strong partners as BMW and Oracle.
I think we will have a great chance of challenging
Alinghi for the America’s Cup." |
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A
second kiwi connection ? (06/26/03)
(source
: Yahoo.fr) |
The kiwi Craig Monk, who has teamed up with former
Prada helmsman Gavin Brady in the Star class at Kieler
Woche in Germany, announced that he has signed with
his country fellowman and with the Oracle BMW Racing
syndicate’s venture towards the America’s Cup 2007.
Craig Monk was the New Zealand national Finn champion
eight times in a row. He has won national championships
in five other classes, but the Finn took him to the
Olympics and the Goodwill Games.
Monk, who was grinder for OneWorld in the last cup,
was a large part of both the successful 1995 challenge
and the successful 2000 defense. |
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Gavin
Brady joins Oracle BMW Racing (06/11/03)
(source
: Yachting
World) |
It's official. Gavin Brady is the new helmsman
for the Oracle BMW Racing Team, announced today in
Auckland by CEO Chris Dickson. The 29 year-old New
Zealander has agreed to join the team for the 2007
America's Cup Challenge.
"We are delighted to have recruited Gavin for our
team. I believe he is the best young helmsmen in the
match racing world, " said Chris Dickson. "Gavin is
the right man for this task and our team; he's young,
determined and exceptionally talented."
Despite his tender years Gavin Brady is an experienced
America's Cup Class sailor. After sailing with Chris
Dickson in the TAG Heuer Challenge in 1995, he was
in the AmericaOne afterguard in the 2000 challenge.
For America's Cup 2003 he was helmsman and a member
of the afterguard for the Italian Prada Challenge.
"I am very excited about being able to take part in
the next America's Cup with the Oracle BMW Racing
Team", said Gavin Brady at the announcement.
"We have ambitious goals, but with Chris Dickson
and the support of Larry Ellison and BMW, I am sure
we can mount a powerful challenge."
"Now my goal is to concentrate on improving my helming
and match-racing skills so that I can be at the top
of my game for the next America's Cup. I'm really
looking forward to working and sailing with Chris
again, he's a world class sailor and is committed
to helping me to improve."
Gavin Brady's first major task for the Team will be
on board USA-71 from June 16 - 22 at the IACC Regatta
in San Francisco. Brady is assisting in organising
the sailing crew and training for this regatta where
he will share the helming duties with the team's Chairman,
Larry Ellison. Chris Dickson will sail as tactician.
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Gavin
Brady with Oracle BMW Racing ? (05/13/03)
(source
: NZ
Herald) |
Auckland helmsman Gavin Brady has been in talks
with Oracle boss Chris Dickson, but says as far as
his sailing future is concerned he is keeping his
options open.
Brady, who was backup helmsman for Prada in the last
cup, said that although he would be keen to compete
in another event, he was waiting for the right position.
He said he had spoken to Dickson, Oracle's chief executive,
but had not signed with the American syndicate.
"I want to make sure if I sign up with someone that
it is in a role I am happy with."
Brady was tactician on Dickson's Tag Heuer in 1995
and has sailed with him several times since.
"I am pretty good mates with Chris, we have sailed
together a bit. We have talked and that is really
the stage where a lot of guys are at", he explained.
"With the venue unknown, and with Alinghi changing
the residency clause, there is not such a big hurry
to sign guys up. There is probably more urgency to
sign designers, as once they sign with a team they
cannot change syndicates."
Brady, who finished second in last month's Congressional
Cup, said securing an America's Cup job was only one
of several options.
"With the cup so far away, there's the Olympics and
the Volvo Ocean race, which looks pretty exciting
with the bigger boats", he said. "I just want
to have some fun and get into some other projects."
The 29-year-old has teamed up with former OneWorld
grinder Craig Monk in the Star class, and together
they hope to qualify for the Olympics. The pair will
compete in the first of the European regattas in Holland
next week, and then Keil week in the German port next
month.
Brady will compete in the Transpac Los Angeles to
Honolulu race in July. Teaming up with fellow Kiwis
Sean Clarkson, Kevin Harrap, Jamie Gale, Jon Gundersen
and Peter Thomas, Brady will race on Hong Kong entry
Beau Geste, owned by Karl Kwok. |
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Oracle
look at basing in Auckland (05/12/03)
(source
: NZ
Herald) |
Oracle BMW Racing chief executive Chris Dickson
last night confirmed that a feasibility study is being
conducted into basing American software magnate Larry
Ellison's new team in Auckland, even though the next
cup will be sailed in Europe.
Dickson told the Herald last night that he would love
the new challenger of record to set up camp here.
"As a New Zealander I would much rather Larry Ellison
spent his millions in New Zealand than in Europe -
or some of them", he said. "It's one of the possibilities
that I'm exploring. My task is to plan the campaign
for Larry Ellison and put options to him".
One advantage of being based in Auckland rather than
the United States or Europe may be cost. A team would
be able to sail on the Hauraki Gulf for much of the
year, only travelling to the eventual European venue
for training during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
Dickson, who was Ellison's skipper for most of the
last regatta, said he had no idea yet if Oracle would
be able to keep a base at the Viaduct. The future
of the publicly owned land that housed some of the
syndicates has yet to be finalised.
"We're just in the feasibility stages at the moment
of how to do the whole campaign, and operating out
of New Zealand, is one of the options we are evaluating".
"The advantage from my point of view is I'm a Kiwi
and I live here," said Dickson. "We have to weigh
up all the pros and cons ... to see if we can make
sense for him." |
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As
seen by Chris Dickson (03/30/03)
(source
: Oracle
BMW Racing) |
Chris Dickson, Oracle BMW Racing’s new CEO, announced
that one of his most urgent tasks was "to complete
the wind up and debrief analysis of the 2003 campaign”.
This is some excerpt of his review.
Larry Ellison brought me into the programme on October
23rd. As it was put to me, statistically the team
had won only 57% of its races. They had lost to Alinghi,
OneWorld, Prada and GBR. The team was in real danger
of not making the top four.
Larry and the team weren't happy that the afterguard
was working as well as it could, they weren't happy
with the communications and decision-making process
on and off the boat.
They felt the liaison between design team and sailing
team and the process by which these boats get modified
and improved technically needed looking at.
I was given a list that others identified what they
saw as being needed, and I had to get in and form
my own opinions. I worked hard on keeping all the
team working together, and getting people to work
out what their strengths were.
I concentrated on getting people to communicate and
work together in one direction – making the boat go
faster and faster – improving the decision making
processes.
It took me two weeks and that number of races to have
a better handle where people were best suited, how
we could have the team working better together, how
the information flow could be better, how the decision
making process could be improved, how we could have
that same group of talented people be in a champion
team rather than a team of champions.
My understanding is that even those who were against
the change finally accepted that the leadership, decision
making, and performance of the team was improved when
I was brought back, and supported me in my role.
Don’t forget that the core of the Alinghi team have
been together for many years and have won the last
two America's Cup’s. The Oracle BMW Racing team is
only 2 years old, and our finals team only had 2 months
together. A pretty good effort for a brand new team.
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