The 37th America’s Cup Ineos Britannia Challenge has ended, and the 38th America’s Cup Ineos Britannia Challenge has just begun. The Emirates New Zealand team won the ninth round of direct confrontations and the match with a score of 7-2. It means the New Zealanders are the first team in modern history to win the cup three times in a row, and that Great Britain’s 173-year wait to win the Auld Mug Cup will continue for how long. But in the moments following the defeat, Ineos Britannia captain Ben Ainslie confirmed that he would lead the team through another season and that they would, once again, be the official challenger for the record.
If they are to win, they will have to beat a New Zealand side that Ainslie fondly described as “the best team in the history of the Cup”.
They were too good for Britain this time, though. Team New Zealand’s boat, Taihoro, had the advantage in the calmer waters and lower winds that prevailed in Barcelona during the regatta. Their boat rides so well in light conditions that you can blow it up with a paper fan. It was no coincidence that Britain’s two wins came on the only race day when the waves were high, and Taihoro, who has smaller foils than Britannia, struggled to cope with the choppy waters.
The disparity between them on a calm day was so stark that once everyone woke up on Saturday and saw the flat seas and flags hanging at their poles around Port Vale, it was clear that if the wind could pick up enough for the race to the start, New Zealand would convert the match point. She must win both races held on Friday.
In the New Zealanders’ corner of the harbor, pre-race celebrations have begun, as if all they needed to do to win the Auld Mug was to lower their boat safely into the water. While they were docked outside, they turned the speakers on their sound system outward and were blasting a playlist of Kiwi classics across the Mediterranean, meaning OMC’s “How Bizarre” was bouncing around the high sails of the moored mega yachts owned by all the millionaires and billionaires. who traveled for this occasion.
Ben Ainslie insists he will not give up on winning the America’s Cup. Photography: Bernat Armangi/AP
Even some old-fashioned salt-sailing types among New Zealanders allowed themselves a few wrinkles of a wry smile. This was more than the British masses were able to achieve. But Ainsley promised to fight until the end, and he lived up to his word. He maneuvered his boat nicely during the pre-start, coming off the line with a slight advantage, but it didn’t last.
Taihoro swept into the lead through the first shift as they set out to race on the faster right side of the track. When they reached the first turn, they were 200 meters ahead and the race was already over.
It wasn’t. Ineos Britannia fought back in the second leg when the New Zealand team allowed them to use the same faster right side. Suddenly the gap began to shrink, from 200 metres, to 100 metres, to 20 metres, to 10 metres, until there was only one boat between the two boats when they reached the third turn in the middle of the race.
“I felt like it was our moment, our chance to get back into racing,” Ainsley said afterwards. “They gave us the chance, but it wasn’t quite enough.” After 10 years of work, it was the closest Britannia had come. Taihoro pulled back into the wind and remained in control for the rest of the race.
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“We had our moments in the finals, but at the end of the day the better team won,” Ainsley said.
He was proud of what his team had achieved, and was committed to returning as a record contender in the 38th America’s Cup. It is unclear where it will be held, or what the design specifications of the participating yachts will be, and it is also unclear whether he will be the skipper, or whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe will fund the team during the next cycle. “I know he wants to stay involved, but we have to figure out what that looks like,” Ainsley said. “There’s a lot to figure out, but Jim and Ineos are certainly keen to find out. Maybe we have to fight for some other backers to come and support them.”
Either way, Ainsley hasn’t given up on his dream yet. “This is our third round, and every time we get closer,” Ainslie said. “We’re close this time. We’re not quite there, but we’re determined to keep going until we get the job done. We built this 10 years ago to win the cup and I’m not one to give up.”