Chris Dickson

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Chris Dickson, 2008

Christopher Stuart (Chris) Dickson , MBE (born November 3, 1961 in Auckland , New Zealand ) is a New Zealand sailor . He was three-time youth world champion and later became known as the skipper of several America's Cup yachts and took part in the Sydney Olympic Games for New Zealand .

Early career

Dickson started his sailing career early, first with the Sabot , then with the P-Class . Then he switched to the Olympic dinghy classes Laser and 470 . By the time he was 15 he had already won everything New Zealand could win as a sailor. In 1977 he won the Tanner Cup and the Tauranga Cup , which were later to be won by other well-known New Zealand sailors, Russell Coutts (1978) and Dean Barker (1988).

Youth World Champion

The year after his success at the Tanner and Tauranga Cups, Dickson won the Youth World Championship in the 420 for the first time, along with David McKay in Perth . This was followed by successes in Livorno with Hamish Wilcox and Fort Worth with Sean Reeves (this time in Laser 11).

Olympic games

Dickson sailed with Glen Sowry in the tornado at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he finished 5th.

More regattas

At the Whitbread Round the World Race 1993-94 he commanded the yacht Tokyo when he - while in the lead - lost the mast during the fifth stage.

America's Cup

Dickson's first appearance in the America's Cup was in 1987 as the skipper of New Zealand's first challenger boat. However, he lost in the final against the eventual winner of that year, Dennis Conner from Team Stars & Stripes 87 from the USA. In the same year he was selected by the Queen to the Member of the Order of the British Empire defeated. His other appearances at the America's Cup were also more or less successful:

  • 1987: Skipper of the Kiwi Magic (KZ 7), second in the Louis Vuitton Cup
  • 1992: Skipper of Nippon (JPN 26), third in the Louis Vuitton Cup
  • 1995: Owner and skipper of Tag Heuer (NZL 39), third in the Louis Vuitton Cup
  • 2003: Skipper of Oracle BMW Racing (USA 76), second in the Louis Vuitton Cup
  • 2006/2007: CEO and skipper of BMW Oracle Racing , eliminated in the semifinals

The 2007 Cup was a serious setback for Dickson when he - at that time one of the highest paid sailors in the world - had to admit defeat by Luna Rossa 5-1 in the semifinals. Dickson then resigned as CEO of BMW Oracle Racing and left his place to the owner Larry Ellison , who brought the trophy back to the USA in the subsequent 2010 edition.

Private

Dickson is married with two children. He lives in Auckland and doesn't take part in sailing competitions that often anymore. But he still sails regattas, mainly with young crews.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Youth World Champions ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sailing.org
  2. ^ Rush to success for Dickson
  3. ↑ Americas Cup: Stormy Waters
  4. ^ Ten questions with Chris Dickson . Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved on August 25, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Dickson, Chris
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dickson, Christopher Stuart
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand sailor
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd November 1961
PLACE OF BIRTH Auckland , New Zealand