Terry Hutchinson: Calling the shots

Terry Hutchinson is one of the world’s best tacticians, but he’s yet to achieve his ultimate ambition. Yachting World’s Sean McNeill finds out what it takes to call the shots at the top:

American professional sailor Terry Hutchinson has been called many things in his 40-year career racing sailboats. Brash. Outspoken. A horse’s you-know-what. And they’re among the less incendiary labels, comments typically lodged from competitors who are turned off by Hutchinson’s histrionics on the racecourse or envious of his success as a tactician.

Those who know him best, the owners and sailors he races with, the beneficiaries of his talents, use more complimentary words. Intense. Driven. A softie. Emotional. An amazing talent. A close friend.

Words don’t faze Terry Hutchinson. Say something negative to his face, he’ll likely shrug his shoulders and reply with a more biting comment back about your own character. He’s developed thick skin over the years.

If it’s on the more complimentary side, he may return the favor, but still with a dash of bite. He falls on the brutally honest side of commentary, a trait developed through years of working at the back of the boat where a single word can determine a whole campaign’s fate.

“I’ve known Terry a long time, since he was a young guy in Annapolis, maybe around 12 years old,” says Gary Jobson, America’s Cup-winning tactician and mentor to Hutchinson. “Every time you hear about Terry, he’s at or near the front of the fleet. He’s very intense on a sailboat. He focuses hard, winning is really important to him. He doesn’t take any prisoners.”

“Terry is very good at what he does. He’s one of the best tacticians around,” says New Zealander Warwick Fleury, mainsail trimmer on Quantum Racing. “No matter what the program is, America’s Cup or TP52s or whatever, he absolutely gives 100%. I don’t think he differentiates between classes. When the race is on, it’s 100% effort. I really enjoy sailing with him.”

Terry Hutchinson has built a résumé that places him in the top echelon of sailing professionals. He has an ability to attract the best sailors to the programs he runs by offering them a chance to win and earn good money, while giving them control of their area. It’s incumbent on each sailor to pull their weight and push the team forward. “Win as a team, lose as a team” is his mantra.

Terry Hutchinson started sailing at the community-minded West River Sailing Club on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, and later moved into double-handed 420 dinghies. His first major title came at age 16, when he won the US 420 Nationals, and he graduated as a back-to-back (1989/90) College Sailor of the Year at Old Dominion University, no easy feat in a field of big egos.

Hutchinson has since won in the Farr 40s and TP52s, Melges 24s, Maxi 72s and IMS Worlds, J/24s and J/70s (his own current boat). He is currently skipper and president of sailing operations of the American Magic America’s Cup team, the New York Yacht Club team challenging for the America’s Cup. His career appears to be following the plan he laid out aged 22, shortly after graduating.

“I set three goals for myself,” says the 55-year-old Hutchinson. “I wanted to win the J/24 Worlds. I wanted to win the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. And I wanted to win the America’s Cup.” – Full story