By SUZANNE McFADDEN
Chris Dickson has sold up, packed up his family and moved to California.
The Kiwi skipper has not quit his job with America's Cup syndicate Oracle Racing - in fact, he's taking the whole team with him.
First stop is Ventura, a seaside town 45 minutes north of Los Angeles, which will be the northern summer base for the sailing crew.
Oracle Racing, headed by the world's second-richest man, Larry Ellison, were the first challenge to set up in Auckland for the 2003 Cup, and now their first season here is over.
And it's been a rich season.
"We've learned that America's Cup boats without keels tip over," Dickson said, recalling the day last November when the keel snapped off USA-61.
"We've been reminded that you see every type of wind and weather condition on the Hauraki Gulf, and you see it all in a very short time.
"In four months, we have sailed in every condition imaginable - it's just what we wanted. By the time the end of February rolls around, summer in California is starting to look pretty good."
While four syndicates have shared the Gulf this summer, Oracle Racing have avoided any friendly match-ups.
"The others have been doing it, but we stuck to ourselves," Dickson said. "We figured we have enough to sort out on our own."
Most of the Oracle crew leave this weekend. They will take all four boats - two from the old AmericaOne campaign, two from Aloha Racing - to their next base, before returning in the spring.
Oracle Racing have yet to officially enter the Cup, and have still to confirm which yacht club's burgee they will fly from the backstay of their boat.
The first entry deadline is next Thursday - otherwise the entry fee of $US150,000 ($350,000) is doubled.
"There's 150,000 good reasons why getting our entry in before March 1 is good," Dickson said. "But if we can't sort it out before then, it's not the end of the world."
Dickson, who has New Zealand and American citizenship, left today with his wife, Sue, and their 18-month-old daughter, Grace.
After choosing not to sail in the last America's Cup, Dickson is happy to be back.
"There's no question, the America's Cup environment is pretty fast-moving," he said.
"There's never enough hours in the day to do all the work, and it leaves very few hours to do anything else. But it's lots of fun to be part of again."
Herald Online feature: America's Cup
Team NZ: who's in, who's out
Yachting: Dickson moves wife, baby and team Stateside
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