HOME AND AWAY: Sailor Marcus Hutchinson

A LONG journey from the idyllic childhood of Howth and Sutton Creek to the world's premier regattas is about to turn full-circle for Marcus Hutchinson as the machinations of billionaire politics slams shut one door, but conveniently opens several more.

As the America's Cup (AC) continues to wrangle its way through the appellate courts of New York with little end in sight, Hutchinson, one of the public faces of the event for the media chasing the story of the world's oldest sporting trophy, found himself alongside the world's top sailors back on the job queue.

But not for long.

In the aftermath of the Swiss Alinghi team's successful defence of the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia last year, the long-term sponsor of the challenger series announced they would end their association with the event.

With the departure of Louis Vuitton, their principal director, Bruno Troublé, and Hutchinson ended their long relationship. But a soft landing was in store for the Irish shore-based sailor as he landed the top communications role for Team Origin, the British America's Cup campaign for the impending 33rd match.

Yet, within a year that campaign too had run its course as the row between Alinghi's Ernesto Bertarelli and BMW Oracle's Larry Ellison bounced from courtroom to courtroom, a confusing state of affairs that continues today.

It's a far cry from his early days when the only professionals in the sport were designers and sailmakers. That brought Hutchinson from Dublin to Southampton and, with a degree in naval architecture, he worked for Rob Humphreys at the time when Lawrie Smith's maxi Rothmans was being designed for the 1989-90 Whitbread race, the year NCB Ireland became this country's first entry in the event.

"The '80s and early '90s was a massive transition period," he recalls.

An offer to edit the industry journal Seahorse when the Observer newspaper bought the title introduced him to journalism despite formal training.

But the role as editor didn't allow any flexibility for travel or competitive sailing, and in 1993 he moved to France to become Troublé's right-hand man for the Louis Vuitton Cup. After each intense cup cycle, the down-time permitted competitive sailing once again and he became involved in the massive French offshore scene.

After the 1995 America's Cup, Hutchinson grabbed a chance to sail with legendary figure Michel Desjoyeaux for two-handed events. "Every (AC) event is very intense, and when it suddenly ends you can justifiably take some time off," says Hutchinson.

"Single-handed sailing is by far the most rewarding for me, but it's expensive and not something that someone raising a family can rely on," he admits. In 2001, he met his wife, Megan, from New Zealand, while both were working for the America's Cup. They now have two children.

Striking a happy balance between the demands of professional sailing and a stable family has resulted in a form of bi-location. The family have just moved to Kinsale and will split their time between Ireland and Valencia, the centre of what passes for America's Cup activity at present.

"Megan likes the itinerant lifestyle and we both agreed that the family will travel together," he said. "But when the kids are older, Kinsale will be ideal and its an ideal base near the airport."

The similarities between Ireland and New Zealand appeal to both. "Both are educated people with a strong sense of community. I only realised this after I left Ireland and found the same in the America's Cup."

But in a fresh, double-twist in good fortune, after the Team Origin project downsized amid the cup uncertainty, Hutchinson followed the herds to the Audi MedCup, where most of the top names can be found during the summer and which six-race series draws to an end in Portugal in two weeks.

That neatly fits Hutchinson's schedule. He has just been announced as director of communications for the Volvo Ocean Race that starts from Alicante on October 11th. With its headquarters near Southampton and direct air routes to Cork and Spain, luck has smiled once again.

But for someone whose life is dictated in two-year segments, where does he expect to be in 10 years? "I'll be pushing 60, so I do see myself sailing my classic off the Old Head and rowing my skiff to Innishannon to keep fit."

And possibly by then, Messrs Bertarelli and Ellison will have settled their differences too.