Sir Russell Coutts’ extraordinary attack against the Christchurch city council, the Department of Conservation and local iwi over sailing restrictions for Hector’s Dolphins at his sailing competition, and the chorus of angry voices that have supported him, manages to sum up New Zealand as a culture right now.
Once upon a time, the New Zealand I knew would have had a flotilla of boats out there protesting the SailGP racing as a rich mans toy boat game that was threatening the marine habitat of an endangered species of dolphin.
I’m surprised it was allowed to go ahead at all, but go ahead it did with the help of the Christchurch city council, the Department of Conservation and local iwi who ensured the SailGP racing could occur legally because it is illegal to harm endangered marine animals in a marine sanctuary!
The New Zealand I knew respected endangered dolphins over and above the shallowness of a rich man’s toy boat race.
The New Zealand I knew seems to increasingly be slipping away if the voices of the angry on this issue are anything to go by. The rage that the racing was postponed because endangered dolphins came into a protected marine reserve erupts with such snide confidence and dark revenge fantasies against the dolphins, I personally worry about their mental health.
Perhaps post-quake Christchurch has had too little entertainment, perhaps they desperately need something to collectively enjoy in public, but it almost seems for some in Christchurch, the entertainment would be the boats purposely attacking the dolphins!!!
Turning on local iwi who worked so hard to help the event occur just seems very mean spirited of Coutts.
This Government wants to open up conservation land to trans national mining interests and watching the anger protecting dolphins over a rich boat race caused, I fear our traditional love for our environment has been eroded for the shallowness of the immediate.
Christchurch hating dolphins manages to sum up NZ right now.
First published on Waatea News.
Well said Martyn.
Thank you.
What about Seymour picking up where Coutts left off, with the “we all face danger” and driving on roads is a risk but we do it? Is he actually talking to dolphins now?
How about don’t have a race in a marine sanctuary at the wrong time of year. Is there no where else in NZ? Those dolphins happen to make tourist money for the area too. Seymour and Luxon are trying to use it as an excuse, to destroy anything they like. Wankers to a man.
Wheel. Is Luxon anti-dolphin too ? Coutts is a precious jerk, but if PM Luxon doesn’t care about our marine life, and endangered marine life, then he’s a vandal.
Possibly. I did see Luxon using it, like Seymour, to moan about red tape.
I see now that one of the races in San Francisco had delays because of a whale on the course, so it’s bollocks to say it doesn’t happen anywhere else.
Did he really ? Luxon might impress media hacks with that sort of puerile comparison, but he under-estimates the rest of us if he thinks that we think it acceptable. I do recall him bleating about red tape somewhere, but don’t know the context.
And just because this scenario may not have occurred elsewhere, is no excuse for bullying dolphins – or anybody. We used to be world leaders in the odd thing, and even innovators, not dimwits too timid to go where no man has gone before. Cheers.
Wheel. Whoever made the ‘ driving on the road’ analogy, was being childish. It’s the sort of thing adolescent kids say thinking that they’re being clever. This has to be another diversion engineered to distract the punters from important political issues. Russell Coutts popped up conveniently at the Parliamentary grounds protest too. Chris Luxon weighing in against the dolphins is surreal and horrible, but he’s like that.
Cockwomble Dave can’t even stay on his bike so that sums up his imbeclic analogy of risk to dolphins. As for Coutts he’s always been an angry sniping little man who seems incapable of smiling. The whole fiasco is a big nothing in the greater sphere and if he takes his boat race elsewhere so what.
Yes i saw that stupid childlike analogy by Seymour and it only goes to highlight what a simpleton he is!
Coutts is yet another spoilt, pretentious , precious, petulant, privileged ,pull hard, who thinks he’s above everyone and everything else. What a wanker of the highest order!!
He should just fuck off back overseas!!!
Even Burling, the N.Z skipper, said the dolphins ,(of which their were many), were right in the start zone, which was the worst place of all, and it was the right thing to do to postpone racing until the next day.
So the media never asked Coutts, would he be complaining if the wind suddenly dropped off before the start, and they couldn’t race, as has happened with many America’s Cup races.
And also, he was never asked, who takes responsibility if a boat hits a dolphin at 100km per hour and the boat either cartwheels or sinks killing or injuring one or more of the sailors. Once again the media were pretty weak on it only skirting around the issue and not really drilling down into the issues of consequences and liability.
No one challenged Luxon, Seymour or Coutts on liability. They were allowed to just carry on and on and on ranting about red tape.
The event was held the next day anyway so, what the fuck are they on about!!!. What a weird, pathetic, small minded country we now are !!
Over all the sea dog’ s old yachts moaning. Stoppage for animals in the sea, is like the rain at the cricket, it’s going to happen.
Yes, how come the race was able to happen there at all? So wrong, and now Jimmy Spiteful has put his two ores in against the cancellation.
Martyn – Sir Russell Coutts is like many within the yachting community, greedy and tone deaf.
Well said Martin, I 100% agree with you. Having said that I don’t have any great objection to any form of boat racing but not in a marine sanctuary during the dolphins breeding season.
We don’t hate dolphins in Christchurch, Russell Coutts can take his boat race elsewhere if he wants to throw his toys out of the cot. The dolphins probably generate more income for the region than he ever will.
Well said, Dave McC. I agree about the dolphins being much more valuable to the area. I hope you are not a lone voice in the wilderness though, in Christchurch and elsewhere.
When these rich boys are thwarted, they make a huge noise about it, and we all wonder if they speak for the majority. I hope they don’t.
What we also know, is that Russell Coutts gets very precious about his boat racing and doesn’t have any patience with environmental issues. He’s quite happy to ‘name and shame’ as he’d call it, those who objected. So, we all need to do the same to him and his ilk. Don’t stand for their bellowing and complaining.
Spoilt brats shouldn’t be pandered to.
Thanks Dave,
I was thinking the same thing, I have not heard any negative comments among the people I know here so it is just a few loudmouths trying to dominate the discussion. I was impressed that they stopped the racing on Saturday and actions speak louder than words.
Quite agree Bonnie. I haven’t heard any negative comments either; quite the contrary. Local people seem proud that precious and rare sea mammals were given advantage over rich pricks in toy boats!
Internationally, this went down well too.
99.9% of the Christchurch population would be on the Dolphins side.
Thats for sure.
Anyone with even half a brain should have been over richos boat racing years ago. The NZ Govt. and Auckland City in particular have subsidised these wankers to the tune of millions over a number of years–to what enduring useful end?
As soon as a situation did not suit Faye, Coutts or Dalton they stamped their feet and made threats. Grant Dalton pleaded poverty and then when he got the concessions, immediately bought a new custom model Ducati.
I would not be surprised if dead Dolphins are discovered shortly. That is the dark kiwis for you.
I suspect the ratepayers of Christchurch paid out more than SailGP gave back. Only thing is that we’ll never know as the Christchurch City Council won’t be keen to release those figures.
As a Port Hills resident, I saw the huge amount of traffic management all over (most of Summit Rd was closed for access), security cameras everywhere, large numbers of police and security staff.
How much of that did you pay for, Russell Coutts?
One of the spectators quipped on TV, “Let’s enjoy a Dolphin Sushi.” His male companions all laughed. Sums them up to a T.
Maama Well they would quip like clowns, wouldn’t they, the crayfish brigade. It’s handy to have them naming and shaming themselves publicly on tv though. I hope there were no children watching. Coutts is unspeakably awful but he’s not exactly the thinking man’s environmentalist. He might be going dotty in his dotage.
Dolphin muffins when the Real Housewives of Auckland pay Mrs Luxon $100 each for the pleasure of afternoon tea- ing with her. Dolphin cupcakes and dolphin canapés, and ladies too jittery to say exactly of whom those the hairless upright mammals remind them. Oh Maama.
Albatross eggs and yellow eyed penguin chicks for lunch. God it’s all so revolting.
The mass extinction event while humans are at plague proportions. Climate change is a symptom of our totally mental species out of control. It’s like crack heads on a last gasp, they must go faster and faster into the brick wall of oblivion. Just a shame about all the collateral damage of beautiful nature.
Eh….you got this right?
Most commentsI saw on news pages and Stuffs poll gave the dolphins a majority vote which looked pretty pleasing.
The poll was a thin majority but hey in New Zealand thin majorities seem to be the way we roll.
Stuff??? Really
Meh – I was on a few boats that caught dolphins in my MAF days. Even Couts’ boats would struggle to hit one, or even distress one significantly.
Russell was in my chemistry class, a bit rough around the edges, and politically we wouldn’t agree. But he’s right in this instance. Regulators need to know a bit more about the fauna they’re regulating.
What about the baby calves? And the pregnant/birthing mothers ? Surely it’s more than just a question of “ hitting” one, but a major disturbance of their natural habitat.
Well they postponed racing in San Francisco due to the presence of a whale so I think Mr Coutts is being slightly economical with the past. If that was about boat safety as opposed to the whale’s well being then he is a complete idiot over his driving comparison.
Love Sashimi!!!! Yum!!!
Also a massive dope growing operation in Waipori Falls DOC land every year with police protection. Waipori Falls body corporate is used to set up fake crimes, a weapon of lies, manipulation, sabotage (of infrastructure), gas lighting fraud and a total fuckery all so the pack of nasty sick creeps including the police can control who lives up here. Micro managing farming DOC land year in and year out. Keeping the drug growers/ and cooking labs operation going. This country I beyond sick. The police are out of control in Dunedin/Mosgiel they are completely corrupt.
So you’ve said. On numerous ocasions. No go and have a cup of tea and a lie down.
The Ch Ch City council are bullies broadly writing and can do what they do because the good-people majority there fail to act. Dunedin is in a similar situation as is Invercargill now. Invercargill has a funny little thug mayor now called Knobby Clark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobby_Clark_(politician)
The Spin off
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/22-03-2024/disgraceful-anger-within-invercargill-council-over-mayors-latest-use-of-n-word
After lovely old Mayor Tim Shadbolt, Knobby the mean, bung eared mouse-like oddity is a bit of a rude awakening for the good people of an otherwise remarkably resilient little city.
Sometimes we just have to roll our trousers up then kick some arse holes.
Fuck yes!!
I can’t understand it – he knew about the Dolphins before he accepted the venue. It’s the equivalent of conservative saying “Don’t have kids unless you can afford them.” It’s also like moaning about censorship of your posts on various privately owned websites. Not only are they allowed to do it, but when you signed up they gave you a copy of the rules. You don’t read them or want to abide by them, that’s your tough luck.
Coutts should pack up his boats and fuck off simple really .
Coutts should pack up his boats and fuck off simple really .
Coutts is a traitor anyway. Ill never forgive him for saling for Alinghi in the 2003 America’s Cup.
Coutts well a big name and a big idiot.
Whoever up here is suggesting we don’t know anything about Dolphins and we should just go ahead.
To be honest I would rather trust those who specialise in this area, not just anyone mouthing off.
I hope the rich pricks don’t return to our harbour, it is all about money and to hell with anyone else.
Let em race and watch a dolphin get sliced. That’d do wonders for Coutts brand.
Epic racing though!
Where was the Green Party protesting and stopping the sail boats????? Oh yes, the dolphins aren’t Hamas.
Jonzie The Greens might have been out shopping…or practising nodding their heads up and down the way that they do every time one of their buddies has something to say.
As someone from Christchurch, and someone who likens GP Sailing to watching paint dry, I’ve been following this closely, including the many letters to editors and journalists articles. Right from the start everyone involved knew all to well about the threat posed to the Hector Dolphins – every single person involved. They ALL signed an agreement to suspend racing whenever the dolphins came near the course. It was only on this basis that the racing was permitted. Russell, call me Trump, Courts is a liar of the most blatant sort when he mouthed off, and locally, we don’t want his lying arse back. I invite readers to check the back copies of papers etc, to view the storm of protest when this was first mooted, and the subsequent letters, especially those since “Trump” Courts made his stupid comments. As for the redneck inbreds minority, yep, we’ve got ’em and we’re working on moving them out.