Congressional
Cup - Jobson Cancels Appearance; Hutchinson Salutes
His 'Mentor'
LONG
BEACH, Calif.---Terry Hutchinson is one of three
former winners competing in the Long Beach Yacht
Club's 40th Congressional Cup next Tuesday through
Saturday, along with Australia's Peter Gilmour
and New Zealand's Gavin Brady. All three have
found a good living in sailboat racing and, Hutchinson
says, they can thank Gary Jobson for that.
 |
Terry
Hutchinson, then Ken Read's tactician, helping
last year's Congressional Cup winner into
his Crimson Blazer. Photo © Rich Roberts
|
Jobson,
the sport's most respected international TV commentator
and author, won't be in Long Beach, as planned.
For his contributions to the sport, he was scheduled
to receive an honorary Crimson Blazer emblematic
of victory in the prestigious match racing event
but was forced to cancel because of recurring
health problems in his year-old battle with lymphoma.
Jobson
wrote in an e-mail, "You can't imagine how
disappointed I am to miss the Long Beach event.
I was really touched that LBYC thought of me.
This most recent setback has been the toughest
of the past year because it was unexpected. I'm
now working with a physical therapist to get walking
again. What a tough road. But I fully intend to
recover."
In
Jobson's absence, Bill Dalessi, himself an honorary
recipient as one of the founders of the Congressional
Cup, will receive the blazer for him during the
Skippers Dinner Monday night.
Hutchinson
won his in 1992 and, as tactician for Ken Read
last year, helped the winner into another. Jobson,
54, competed in the Congressional Cup in the late
70s and 80s and never won as a skipper but, Hutchinson
said, is more deserving of a jacket than some
who did. They grew up in the same town: Annapolis,
Md.
"We're
feeling the benefits now of the impact he has
had on our sport," Hutchinson said of Jobson.
"He's always been a mentor for me. Every
professional sailor has him to thank in some way
. . . paving the way to be a professional sailor,
to put it on TV and to show ESPN that this was
a viable sport to market."
For
example, Hutchinson leads Team Annapolis Volvo,
reflecting his sponsorship.
It
started with the spectacular 1986-87 America's
Cup at Fremantle, Western Australia, where Jobson
was the lead TV commentator for ESPN. Gilmour
was tactician and starting helmsman for defender
Australia II. The event also launched him onto
a successful career that bore immediate fruit
when he won the Congressional Cup a year later.
Brady, the winner in '96 and '97, and Hutchinson
were of the next generation.
"It's
amazing how much the game has evolved," Hutchinson
said. "It's a lot more aggressive."
Hutchinson,
now 35, didn't lack aggression when he won 12
years ago, but he says he's more prudent about
applying it now.
"Oh,
yeah," he said. "Three kids will do
that to you. The best guys are aggressive when
they need to be, but they never lose sight of
the big picture, which is to win the start and
sail the boat well. It's a matter of [knowing]
when to be aggressive and when to back off and
not lose the race trying to go for the kill."
Hutchinson,
who was with Paul Cayard's AmericaOne and Dennis
Conner's Stars & Stripes in the last two America's
Cups, has been practicing at home in Annapolis
with three other Congressional Cup entries: Brady,
who has made his home there for several years;
Ed Baird of St. Petersburg, Fla. and Kelvin Harrap
of New Zealand.
Although
Hutchinson felt he might be "rusty,"
he and his crew know how to win. Four of his five
crew members were in the Congressional Cup finals
last year. Tactician Chris Larson and Skip Baxter
sailed with Brady, while Hutchinson, Morgan Trubovich
and Andrew Scott were with Read. Greg Gendell
is the fifth crew member.
Others
in the lineup are local contender Scott Dickson,
Long Beach; Allan Coutts and Cameron Appleton
of New Zealand; Jes Gram-Hansen, Denmark, and
Mattias Rahm, Sweden.
Live
radio commentary of the racing will originate
on 810 AM, receivable within a four-mile radius
of the Belmont Pier spectator site, and be distributed
worldwide on www.KLBC.org
through a joint effort of the City of Long Beach
and Long Beach City College, in partnership with
LBYC.
Video
highlights of each day's racing will be shown
that evening on the club's Web site, www.LBYC.org.
Video of past Congressional Cup action is available
on the site now.
Sportshow
TV is producing a half-hour highlight video to
be aired later by the Outdoor Life Network.
MORE
INFORMATION:
Long Beach Yacht Club
(562) 598-9401
www.lbyc.org
Rich
Roberts
Press Officer
(310) 835-2526
richsail@earthlink.net
SWEDISH
MATCH TOUR
www.swedishmatchtour.com
