Yachting: Talkative tactician good foil for reserved Barker

TRAPANI - Team New Zealand tactician Terry Hutchinson is a chatty kind of guy.

Ask him a question and you get a more than adequate answer.

Ask him how his relationship with Dean Barker at the back of the boat is going, and he natters away non-stop.

It is no secret that a strong relationship between the helmsman and his tactician is crucial. New Zealanders Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth have shown how it is done over the past 10 years, and before that it was the Dennis Conner and Tom Whidden show.

But with single-nation teams now a thing of the past, developing afterguards has become a matter of merging people from different countries in a matter of months.

Before joining Emirates Team New Zealand, Hutchinson knew little about Barker. Apart from one Congressional Cup regatta, Hutchinson can't recall sailing against Barker, let alone with him.

"It was a forced relationship I guess and probably the best thing that happened was that we won the acts in Valencia [in 2004]. Whether we liked each other or not, we gained instant respect for each other's ability."

The relationship is based on trust. While Barker is concentrating on the boat and its speed, Hutchinson's job is to paint Barker a picture of what is going on around him and advise where he should head.

"A lot of times on the boat when we have a massive screw-up tactically, he doesn't say anything. He just looks at me like 'is that the best you can do? I hope we can do better than this because this is pretty average'.

"Fortunately at the time it is something I am thinking myself."

While Barker is reserved, Hutchinson is the opposite. He chuckles when reminded of the 2004 Congressional Cup, where he was seen bellowing at his crew after a tactical error.

"If there is a good thing about the way we are, it is that we are different as people so maybe that brings a bit of balance to both of us.

"Dean's demeanour and level-headedness in tight situations is good for me and when I see him getting amped up, I know that it is a good time to remain cool and be the voice of reason."

A capable helmsman himself, Hutchinson believes his experience behind the wheel has been helpful.

To help build their relationship, Barker and Hutchinson will compete in a number of regattas leading up to the 2007 Cup, including Swedish Match tour and Transpac 52 regattas.

With six America's Cup pre-regattas behind them Hutchinson said they were probably performing at about 65 to 70 per cent.

"It is a relationship that has to work for the team to be successful. You just don't want to screw it up because we have such a good opportunity here."