Alinghi’s Flickr picture shows true Kiwi Brad Butterworth in classic style: thoughtful, candid, and as always, sincere
Maybe you have to be a Kiwi to love Bradley William Butterworth (NZL), skipper of Alinghi (SUI).
He is not the picture-perfect-portrait of the America’s Cup skipper, make no mistake. Whatever that means.
He is from Te Awamutu in the Waikato, for goodness sake. He is himself. He is BB.
What he says is what he thinks, and what he says, he believes.
‘Media management’ means nothing to Brad. He shows up. He speaks his mind. Typically, he does it with candor and respect.
But he can sail, and he has an uncanny ability to read and process a lot of things, in nano-second increments, and make decisions that win big races. Like America’s Cup.
One of the big factors in his life is his friendship with Russell Coutts (NZL), skipper of BMWOracle (USA).
Soon that friendship will be tested in huge raptor-like vessels currently rehearsing in the waters off Valencia, Spain.
Will Brad be aboard Alinghi’s amazing catamaran?
We would love to see him there. But frankly, he’s an older, tender, more gentlemanly mass. Perhaps the strategy has other ideas.
Nevertheless.
Brad Butterworth influences his team, their ethos, their competitive spirit, and their will to win.
We wish him the best in America’s Cup 33.
E hoa, ka whawhai tonu ahau ki a koe, ake ake!
1 comment:
Woops somehow my comment landed in July 2009... So here it is again:
Well finally the cup will be back on the water, ans this is the most imortant. And this is also the reason the swiss team fought hard, to go back and fight on the water. There will be a winner, which might finally not be the final winner, but well the sailing part of the AC will have a winner at least. Now it is surprising to see the difference of behavior between the two superrichs. One is sitting in his yacht and will be watching and will be watching the races with one of the best sailor on his side (why not on the boat???), while the other one is all excited about finally racing. And for me this shows clearly and finally where the interests of each one are. One is only interested by the victory, no matter the price (and no matter that it kicked out 18 other teams), and the other one just want to defends himself on the water, no matter the final decision of the court. And for me this makes a good point for Ernesto (but of course does not transform him into an angel either)
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