Sir Russell Coutts (born 1 March 1962) is a world champion New Zealand yachtsman.

Early and personal life

Coutts was educated at

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

(1975–1979) and is a Life Member of Paremata Boating Club, where he learnt to sail in a P class, and the Ravensbourne Boating Club. Coutts has three children, and has been married twice. In 2021 Coutts criticised the New Zealand Government's response to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, suggesting that the government was acting like a dictatorship by establishing vaccine mandates and enforcing managed isolation. In February 2022 Coutts announced that he would attend the

Convoy 2022 New Zealand The 2022 Wellington protest was an anti-vaccine, anti-mandate occupation of the grounds of Parliament House and Molesworth Street in Central Wellington during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It began in February 2022 and lasted just over ...

anti-mandate protest in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Career

Coutts' achievements include a gold medal in the Finn Class in the 1984 Olympic Games, winning the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

five times, the

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

World Youth championships, three World Match Racing Championships, numerous international match race wins and

IOR The abbreviation IOR may refer to: * Importer of record, term in import and export * inclusive or - as opposed to XOR (exclusive OR) * Independent Order of Rechabites * Index of refraction * India Office Records * Indian Ocean Region * Indian Ocea ...

, IMS and One Design World Championship victories. As skipper/helmsman in America's cup racing, he has a perfect record with 15 wins and no losses (1995, 2000, 2003). He was CEO of the Oracle Team when it won the America's Cup twice with 14 wins and 16 losses (2010, 2013 and 2017 each time with

James Spithill James Spithill (born 28 June 1979) is an Australian yachtsman. In 2010, as skipper and helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing, Spithill won the America's Cup. He defended the cup twice, both times against Emirates Team New Zealand, first successfully ...

as skipper/helmsman). In 2005 Slovenian designer Andrej Justin designed with input from him a new boat called the

RC44 The RC44 sailboat was designed by Russell Coutts and with the assistance of naval architect Andrej Justin the boat is built by Pauger Carbon Composite / Pauger Yachts and first launched in 2007. The class is recognised by the International Saili ...

; a high performance one design racer created for top level racing in international regattas under strictly controlled Class Rules. The concept and the design features of the RC44 are dedicated to the amateur helmsmen racing in fleet racing sailing events. In July 2007, Coutts was named CEO and Skipper of

BMW Oracle Racing Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club. ...

, sponsored by

Golden Gate Yacht Club The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) is a San Francisco, California, U.S. based yacht club founded in 1939. History In 1939 the first members built a clubhouse on a barge in the San Francisco Marina. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake severel ...

(GGYC), the United States Challenger to the 2010 America's Cup. He was involved in the pre-match litigation between the challengers Golden Gate Yacht Club and

Société Nautique de Genève The Société Nautique de Genève is a yacht club based in Geneva (Switzerland). It was founded in 1872 with the goal of developing nautical sports and high level sailors. Currently the club has about 3000 members. The club held the America's Cup ...

(SNG), in which the court decided that the GGYC was the rightful Challenger of Record. Cup Defender SNG's team was

Alinghi Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well as ...

. Coutts' yacht

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

beat the defending yacht

Alinghi 5 ''Alinghi 5'' is a ( LWL), beam sloop-rigged catamaran built by Alinghi for the 33rd America's Cup. The boat was launched on 8 July 2009 when the hull was lifted from the construction shed in Villeneuve, Vaud by a Mil Mi-26 helicopter and ...

by considerable margins in both races. Most observers stated that USA 17's rigid wing sail had given it a decisive advantage. Coutts again led the Oracle Team as CEO in the next America's Cup match against

Emirates Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup i ...

. This match took place in the bay of San Francisco in September 2013. Oracle managed to come back from 8 races to 1 by winning the following 8 races and to defend the cup in the longest America's cup match ever. Both skipper James Spithill and team owner Larry Ellison praised Coutts' role in the defense of the oldest trophy in sports history.

Achievements

*1981 –

World Youth Champion / Winner *1984 – 1984 Olympic Games / Los Angeles / Finn Class / Gold Medal *1992 – World Champion /

Match Racing A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consi ...

*1993 – World Champion /

–

Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbe ...

/ Pinta / /Winner *1994 – World Champion /

*1995 –

1995 Louis Vuitton Cup The 4th Louis Vuitton Cup was held in San Diego, United States in 1995. The winner, Team New Zealand, went on to challenge for and win the 1995 America's Cup. The teams Originally ten challengers from seven nations submitted bids to compete for t ...

Black Magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...

/ San Diego / Winner (37 victories, 1 loss) – Skipper & Helmsman /> – 1995 America's Cup /

(Challenger) /

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

/ Winner (5 to 0) – Skipper & Helmsman *1996 – World Champion /

*2000 – 2000 America’s Cup /

Team New Zealand Team New Zealand or TNZ is a sailing team based in Auckland, New Zealand representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Team New Zealand became a household name in their home country following their consecutive wins in the America's Cup in ...

(Defender) /

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

/ Winner (5 to 0) – Skipper & Helmsman *2001 – World Champion / 12 metre JI /

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

– World Champion /

Farr 40 The Farr 40 is a 40-foot one-design sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design in 1996 following after the Mumm 30. It was originally designed as a one design class but had some compromises in design to rate under the International Measurement Syst ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, UK *2003 – 2003 Louis Vuitton Cup /

/ Winner (30 victories, 4 losses) – Skipper & Helmsman
– 2003 America's Cup /

(Challenger) /

/ Winner (5 to 0) – Skipper & Helmsman *2006 – Bol d'Or Rolex / Decision 35 / Team Banque Gonet /

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

/ Winner
– World Champion /

/ Vincenzo Onorato Team / Newport, U.S. *2007 – World Champion / TP 52 / Team Artemis *2008 – Cagliari RC44 Cup,

/ RC44 /

BMW ORACLE Racing Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club. ...

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, Italy / Winner
– TP 52 Audi MedCup / TP 52 / Team USA 17 / Winner
– Malcesine SLAM Cup,

/ RC44 /

Malcesine Malcesine is a ''comune'' (municipality) on the eastern shore of Lake Garda in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Geography and divisions The comune of Malcesine ...

, Italy / Winner *2010 2010 America's Cup /

(Challenger) /

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

/ Winner (2 to 0) – Team

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

*2013

2013 America's Cup The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand r ...

Oracle Racing Oracle Team USA is an American yacht racing syndicate initially formed to compete for the 2003 America's Cup. They competed again in the 2007 event before winning the 33rd America's Cup regatta in 2010 – representing the Golden Gate Yacht Clu ...

(Defender) /

San Francisco, USA San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

/ Winner (9 to 8) – Team Chief Executive Officer

Awards

In New Zealand, Coutts has been honoured with appointment as a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1985 New Year Honours The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

''London Gazette'' (Supplement), No. 49970, 28 December 1984
retrieved 10 January 2013. and then elevation to the rank of

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours. He was made a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

in the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, and redesignated as a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

in August 2009. He has been named

Sailor of the Year twice. Other awards include: * 1984 – New Zealand Yachtsman of the Year * 1994 –

Silbernes Lorbeerblatt Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

, German National Award * 1995 – Sperry World Sailor of the Year * 1995 – Halberg Award * 1995 – ISAF World Sailor of the Year Award * 1996 –

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers, ...

* 1996 – World Trophy for Oceania * 2003 – ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award

References

External links

Profile
nzherald.co.nz; accessed 24 April 2016.
Sir Russell Coutts lobbied for Dean Barker to be in Team Japan mix for next America's Cup
stuff.co.nz; accessed 24 April 2016.

independent.co.uk; accessed 24 April 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coutts, Russell ISAF World Sailor of the Year (male) 1962 births Team New Zealand sailors Oracle Racing sailors New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Otago Boys' High School Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people New Zealand male sailors (sport) Olympic gold medalists for New Zealand in sailing Sailors at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Finn Sailors at the 1992 Summer Olympics – Soling People in sports awarded knighthoods University of Auckland alumni Alinghi sailors Etchells class sailors Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics 2003 America's Cup sailors 2000 America's Cup sailors 1995 America's Cup sailors 1992 America's Cup sailors Farr 40 class world champions World champions in sailing for New Zealand SailGP