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Dickson side-lined on Oracle team

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- New Zealand sailor Chris Dickson of America's Cup challenger Oracle has been transferred to a shore-based advisory role.

Oracle chief operating officer Bill Erkelens said Dickson would take on new duties with the team, but he was unable to say what those duties would be.

"Chris has been one of the world's leading professional sailors for 25 years, and I want to ensure he can contribute his knowledge over a wide range of challenger activities in the months ahead," Erkelens said.

Dickson said in a statement: "Although I would prefer to be on the water, I am happy to be assigned to whichever areas the team feels I could make the largest contribution.

"Oracle Racing has a fantastic team with a huge amount of talent, and I'll work wherever Larry Ellison and his advisors think I fit the best."

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American sailor Paul Cayard, a veteran of five America's Cups, was also moved to a lesser role on Oracle's advisory board before Christmas.

Rumours of personality conflicts within Oracle first circulated two weeks ago because Dickson was not going out training each day with the team, but the management reported he was on leave for the birth of his second daughter.

Dickson is the most experienced America's Cup helmsman on the Oracle team having skippered the first New Zealand America's Cup challenge in 1987 to the Louis Vuitton finals.

In 1992 he skippered the Japanese Nippon Challenge to the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals and in 1995 he skippered his own New Zealand Tag Heuer Challenge to third place.

Dickson has also been very successful on the match racing circuit winning three World Youth Championships and three World Match Racing Championship titles.

Even with Dickson ashore the Oracle team still have a highly talented

40-member sailing team led by John Cutler who took on the role of sailing director when Paul Cayard was sidelined.

The principal helmsman now looks likely to be Peter Holmberg from the Virgin Islands. Holmberg is currently number two in the world match racing circuit.