Sixty years of waiting for a British finalist in the America’s Cup gave way to a painful realization on a rain-soaked afternoon in Barcelona. Sir Ben Ainslie was certainly on to something when he described the other boys as favorites.
After being convincingly defeated by Emirates Team New Zealand in the opening two races, Ainslie and his INEOS Britannia team already need a significant comeback and more luck if they are to become the first team from these shores to lift the Auld Mug.
The Kiwis, chasing a third straight win, were faster, slicker and, crucially, free of technical gremlins. To illustrate the differences in Ainslie’s experiences, let’s look at the battery failure that occurred on his yacht less than 10 minutes before the first skirmish in this best of 13 series.
In the skipper’s words, the lithium-ion cell that powered their foils had entered a ‘meltdown’ and was in urgent need of replacement, both in preparation for take-off and, more fundamentally, to protect against a serious fire risk. They turned the switch, but got to the start just a little too late. When you’re operating under the weight of 173 years of lost history, there was no way for the British crew to capitalize on their great opportunity.
It was also quite strange for a 75-foot boat whose reliability was a major asset during the Challenger series.
New Zealand was faster, slicker and free of technical problems in Barcelona on Saturday
Sir Ben Ainslie acknowledges that Britain still has a lot of work to do if it is to prevail
Ainslie said: ‘Lithium-ion batteries are quite temperamental in all walks of life and unfortunately one of us literally decided to have a meltdown before the start of the race. We had to quickly remove it from the boat and replace it.
“The reliability of our boat was incredible, so that’s just one of those things. The fact that the guys noticed it and were able to get out might have saved the race for us because if we hadn’t mixed it up we could have been in big trouble.”
While that minor crisis was overcome, a sharper question will dominate Ainslie’s research: How are they holding up? The data offers a cold reality check, with Pete Burling’s New Zealanders winning the opening race by 40 seconds and the next by 27 seconds.
The second was certainly much more competitive, especially in the first four of eight stages where Ainslie twice had a narrow lead, but even that race had a deficit of around 400 meters on one stage. They were chastening things.
Ainslie struck an optimistic tone, believing the two rival boats were well matched on most counts, but it was nevertheless notable that the Kiwis had a good advantage going into the wind on a day with a changeable, light breeze. The theory within the Ainslie crew is that they will come into their own if the wind increases above the 12 knot peak of day one, so it is likely to be a concern that calm weather is forecast for Sunday’s two races.
Perhaps they are privately hoping for a postponement, but admitting that would be a concession too far in the mind game portion of this finale.
Ainslie said: “It was a tough, tough day. It wasn’t the start we were looking for, but there were some positives.
‘I think the performance, even though they had a small lead at times, was close and certainly that second race showed that we can give them a good fight. There is plenty that we will take away today in terms of improvements we can make and there is a long line ahead of us.
Britain’s hopes for success were hampered after they suffered a battery failure
‘We have shown that we are a resilient team and no one lowers their heads.
‘So there is still a long way to go and the opportunities are still there. We’ve said all along that taking on the Kiwis will be the ultimate challenge and today we more or less showed that. But at the same time, I think we’ll continue to learn and develop and come back.”
This last point was somewhat proven by quickly overcoming some desperately poor results in the preliminary rounds to win the challenger series.
But if hopes were pinned on combating rust among Berling’s crew, who haven’t raced in a month, they were misplaced.
Instead, responsibility will shift to the wider infrastructure of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS network, with their squadron of technicians at the Mercedes Formula 1 base in Brackley a
They could still have a few late nights ahead of them, although they will at least be encouraged to see that the British had a decent lead downwind, albeit one limited to deficit reduction rather than creating an advantage.
Responsibility will now shift to the wider infrastructure of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS network
Ainslie added: “Again, we knew it was going to be tough, but of course it’s going to be tough. Losing the first two races is not what we wanted.
‘But nothing has changed: we have to get seven wins and so that challenge remains and I think we can do it.
‘I thought New Zealand sailed two great races and performed well. Their speed was good. They managed to find the wind well and maneuvered well. But I think we can beat them.
‘We showed it in that second race; it wouldn’t have cost much to go the other way. It’s easy to look at it and say, ‘Oh, two wins.’ And you know, there’s a big gap there, but I think it might be closer than it seems.”
