UAE | General
No short cuts to success for Coutts
When it comes to experience in the world of sailing, there is none to match him. And that is exactly what Team Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts did as he shared from his vast treasury of experiences with young sailors at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) on Thursday.
- By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 January 31, 2004
When it comes to experience in the world of sailing, there is none to match him. And that is exactly what Team Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts did as he shared from his vast treasury of experiences with young sailors at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) on Thursday.
Down in Dubai on a special invitation of the organisers led by Saeed Hareb, general manager of DIMC, the "genius helmsman" had a lot to tell his young admirers.
"If you've got a dream to be successful as a sailor, then don't let anyone tell you, you can't do it," Coutts told the eager young sailors.
Tracing his introduction to the sport of sailing by his elder brother, Coutts said that nothing is impossible when it comes to achieving results.
"I tried and failed at the World Youth Championships on two occasions. After failing to win the second time I nearly gave up sailing. But then, I moved myself to go one more time... and this time I won the title," Coutts beamed.
"One has to go through the school of hard knocks if he or she wants to be a champion," Coutts added. "There can be no short-cuts to hard work."
Coutts shot into the limelight last year when he dumped his Americas Cup winning Team New Zealand (2000) to join the Swiss syndicate of Team Alinghi for the 2003 edition.
"Honestly, no one gave Team Alinghi a chance of winning and taking the Americas Cup. But it was pure determination and a common vision that took us through," Coutts recounted.
Coutts was not very famous for this shift in allegiance, which eventually helped create sailing history as the Americas Cup travelled to Europe for the first time in 152 years!
"Sailing is a professional sport these days. There was some bad feeling among the people back home in New Zealand. But among the international sailing community, it has been well accepted," Coutts smiled.
The New Zealander gave high points for the sport here in the UAE. "From what I have seen so far, sailing is very much headed in the right direction," Coutts said.
"I belonged to a small club with a mere 70 members and not even one-tenth of the facilities you have here," he smiled. "The situation here and in New Zealand is very much similar. All you need to do is to pay attention to the youth development programme. The results will start showing over a period of time."
Coutts cleared the air about the purpose of his visit here. "I'm here for sailing as I support youth programmes," he said.
Coutts, who was scheduled to leave last night, departed with the hope that many of the sailors present "may enjoy the sport" as much as he has been enjoying it.
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