The most successful British Challenge in over 90 years ended in defeat in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match after a spirited series against the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand, that was closer and more hard-fought than the 7-2 scoreline suggests.
What INEOS Britannia achieved in reaching the country’s first America’s Cup Match final since 1964 and then taking two races off the defender – a feat last achieved by Sir T.O.M. Sopwith in 1934 – was nothing short of remarkable and a huge shot in the arm for British sailing at the elite end of the sport.
Sir Ben Ainslie, the Skipper and Team Principal of INEOS Britannia, was quick to thank his team after the loss saying: “For our team to get into the America’s Cup itself was a huge achievement. We’ve been on quite a journey for the last 10 years – and especially the last three years. Ultimately, to fall short at the final hurdle is always tough, but we know that we’ve been up against one of the best, if not the best, teams in the history of the America’s Cup. We have to take that on the chin, and I think that the team have done a brilliant job to develop through this campaign, and as one very plucky Brit said, ‘it’s the courage to continue that counts’, so that’s what we’re up for.”
Looking to the future, as well as reflecting on the support the team has received in Barcelona, Ben added: “We can’t say enough about the support we’ve had here and back over in the UK, it has been unbelievable. I’ve never experienced anything like it, and it has made a huge difference to the team, a great motivator and a great driver. As for the future of the team, we set out to win the Cup, we got close and we’re getting closer every time. To my mind when you set out to achieve a target you’ve got to get there. So we continue, we keep going, and keep taking this organisation forward.”
Where this challenge began was immediately after the end of the last America’s Cup in Auckland in 2021, with INEOS Britannia becoming the Challenger of Record the moment Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the finish line on March 17. With the Challenger of Record status secured, behind the scenes, work began immediately as Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Sports Group fully integrated with the America’s Cup team. Investment in Formula 1 and cycling came to the fore as the Protocol that would govern the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup was agreed between Defender and Challenger of Record and in October 2021, it was confirmed that the sailing team could plug into the resources of both the Mercedes-AMG F1 Applied Science, a division of the all-conquering Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, and the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team.
Team signings announced in October 2021 included the highly experienced naval architect, Martin Fischer, a key part of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli’s design team for two America’s Cup campaigns, as well as Giles Scott, the team’s tactician in Auckland, who became one of the first sailors to re-sign following his superb gold medal in the Finn Class in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Furthermore, Dave Endean, Project Director for the team’s 36th America’s Cup campaign, completed the leadership team as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the day-to-day running and operations of the team’s campaign, alongside Ben Ainslie.
Speaking about the launch of the team’s 37th America’s Cup campaign Ben Ainslie said: “The America’s Cup is the ultimate team sport and to be successful you need continuity. It takes time to develop the IP, skills and know-how necessary to be a winning team, especially when you are up against teams with over 25 years’ experience. As we enter our third campaign, we have taken a lot of learnings from our previous challenges and assembled a world class team combining talent from Formula 1 and the America’s Cup. Mercedes-AMG F1 Applied Science bring a legacy of design to the table. They are proven winners, it’s in their DNA, it’s in their culture.”
INEOS Chairman and Founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe further added: “The America’s Cup has been 170 years of pain for us in Britain. We’ve had fantastic sailors in this country, but we’ve never had the boat that could win. We believe that assembling this unique collection of elite sports teams will give us a stronger chance of achieving what has never been done before. There are many synergies across our sporting family and what Mercedes F1’s engineering and organisational expertise can add to our America’s Cup challenge is one of the strongest examples of that.”
In early 2022 the first sailor signings were announced with the likes of Neil Hunter, Matt Gotrel, Bleddyn Mon, Luke Parkinson, Ben Cornish, Iain Jensen, David Carr, and Leigh McMillan being confirmed. By the end of 2022 further Cyclor strength was added with Matt Rositter coming on board and then in March 2023, it was confirmed that Dylan Fletcher, gold medallist in Tokyo 2020 and International Moth World Champion had been recruited. The following month, the power trio of sailor James Skulczuk, and elite rowers Harry Leask and Ryan Todhunter was additionally confirmed. Ben Ainslie had secured some mighty talent for the challenge that lay before them.
With the team in place and itching to get sailing, it was announced in May 2022 that the winter training base would be built in Mallorca at the Palma Ribera de San Carlos Quay just next to the Portopi lighthouse, in a partnership with the Ports de Balears. Meanwhile, work on the team’s first boat, an LEQ12, continued at pace back in the UK at Carrington Boats, in Hythe.
The summer of 2022 also heralded the announcement of the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup and the welcome return of the Youth America’s Cup. As Challenger of Record, INEOS Britannia fully embraced this initiative and an exciting new project was announced by Sir Ben Ainslie and Hannah Mills OBE at the beginning of August 2022 – Athena Pathway.
At the time, Hannah Mills commented: “Sailing has made great strides forward in gender equality in recent decades, led by the Olympic side of the sport where gender equality has now been reached on the water. But the professional side, particularly in high-performance foiling sailing, is far behind where it needs to be. We as a sport are uniquely placed to drive huge global change when it comes to gender equality. high-performance sailing has no major barriers to physical entry and through the Athena Pathway we will create a gender equal pathway for all, with sustainability at its heart. I am incredibly excited to be teaming up with Ben on this project to change the landscape of professional sailing in the UK. Young girls are already coming up to me excited by the potential opportunities within the America’s Cup, and beyond, as they get older – which is amazing to see. Equally, however, the knock-on effect this could have in terms of growth within our sport as more females see career opportunities within the marine industry could be huge.”
Much anticipation surrounded the arrival of the team’s first boat in October 2022, an angular creation that was named ‘T6’ and spearheaded a whole new and very defined process for the team. Having been built at Carrington Boats on the south coast of England, the boat was then transported to Brackley in the UK – the home of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team – for its fit out.
At the boat’s reveal in October 2022, James Allison, Chief Technical Officer of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, said: “We understand from our F1 experience, the vital importance of creating the best suite of tools for designing and engineering the vehicle. We also understand the crucial role that validation plays in improving and coming to trust those tools. T6 has been designed for that purpose, and we’re all looking forward to getting to grips with the data she can provide.”
A capsize in training on February 8 2023 saw T6 fully invert with the mast and double skinned mainsail submerged. The shore crew and sailors worked together for over two hours and after first getting T6 back on its side they were eventually able to fully right the yacht. T6 was then side towed by two support boats back to the team base, where a full assessment of the damage was conducted. The team also faced further challenges when the lithium batteries that power the yacht’s complex control systems reacted to seawater ingress causing a fire on board.
With T6 temporarily incapacitated, a stroke of luck came with the timely delivery and subsequent commissioning of the team’s first AC40 on February 13 2023. The new boat was named ‘Athena’ and officially christened by Operations Team member Athene Macrae. The sailing team were quick to adapt to the AC40 and set their sights on the first Preliminary Regatta in Vilanova i La Geltrú, Spain in September 2023. However, having spent so little time in the boat relative to the competition, it was not a successful regatta with INEOS Britannia finishing last and Ben Ainslie commenting: “We are really frustrated with our performance. Whilst we have focused our strategy on testing T6 and not the AC40 it’s still not acceptable for us to be at the back of the fleet. We clearly got the balance wrong and we need to put that right.”
The second Preliminary Regatta taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the end of November 2023 was an opportunity for the British reset. However, a fifth place overall result was again a disappointment, with Ben Ainslie commenting: “It’s a frustrating result but there is still plenty to take away, lots of learnings and massive improvement from last time out in Villanova. We have learned way more than we thought we would from these two AC40 events. Disappointing as the results are in many ways, they have been a massive boost to our campaign. Without these events, undoubtedly, we would not have been as competitive next year in Barcelona.”
The European winter was spent in Barcelona at the team’s outstanding facilities in the heart of the Port Vell, whilst the final fit-out of the team’s new AC75 was conducted up at the Turweston Airfield under the supervision of the Mercedes engineers. Finally, with everything placed upon a low-loader, the boat they codenamed ‘RB3’ began its four-day, 1,000-mile land and sea passage to Barcelona – the final journey after some two and a half years of design, build, and fit-out.
Arriving in Barcelona on April 6, INEOS Britannia Team Principal and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said: “It’s been a tense few days tracking the route of RB3 from a small Northamptonshire village to the busy city of Barcelona. The entire INEOS Britannia team and our partners have worked tirelessly to get us to this point and so it’s great to have RB3 arrive at its new home. Although it’s a relief to have the race boat in Barcelona, the work doesn’t stop. Our focus will now be on launching the boat and getting some good sailing hours in ahead of the Preliminary Regatta in August.”
Just 12 days later, on the 18 April, the team revealed a hyper-design, clearly a no-stone-left-unturned angular, muscular hull, so different from the other Challengers that it echoed the phrase of the Marquess of Anglesey: “If she is right, we must all be wrong.” The team also revealed the technical statistics: 120,000+ individual parts, 700+ sensors & channels, 33 onboard cameras linked back to shore, 30,000+ data channels, 50+ knots estimated top speed, length 20.7 metres, max beam five metres, weight 6,200 kg. All-in-all the finest British challenger for the America’s Cup of the modern era – perhaps ever in the Cup’s 173-year history.
Then 1 May 2024 was an apt milestone for the yacht’s first sail – a tentative commissioning as the sailors got used to the myriad technology at their disposal. Coming ashore afterwards, Ben Ainslie said: “This is a momentous day for the entire team. Everyone has worked incredibly hard to get us to this point and I want to thank all involved for their effort and commitment. After years of design and development, it felt amazing to be out on the Barcelona waters in RB3. We’ve spent a lot of time in our simulator recently, so it was great to be out there for real and putting all of our learnings into practice.”
A few weeks later, on May 17, INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe attended the British yacht’s naming ceremony as Julia Ratcliffe and Romane Polli officially named her ‘Britannia’ in their role as the boat’s godmothers. Speaking at the launch, Jim Ratcliffe said: “The America’s Cup has a long and rich history and continually sets the new standard in design, technology and innovation in racing. So, to be back as the British challenger racing Britannia – with all the legacy the name brings – is a real honour for the team. The challenge ahead is immense and one that I know the team will face with grit and determination.”
As racing began with the final Preliminary Regatta in August 2024, whispers around the Port Vell and indeed, around the world, suggested that the British had a super-boat and that the computing power at their disposal via the tie-up with Mercedes Formula 1 was going to be key. Early results however, proved to be frustrating for the sailing team as they finished, seemingly off the pace, in fourth place overall in a regatta that counted for zero points in the overall standings.
However, at the business end of the regatta ‘Britannia’ came alive with the team taking scalps and really getting to grips with their charge through the Louis Vuitton Round Robin Series. The stand-out performers amongst the Challengers were the Italian Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli campaign who led the series from the outset but at the conclusion of the second Round Robin, suddenly ‘Britannia’ was almost unbeatable across a variety of conditions – and crucially beat the Italians in a final race thriller to secure top spot overall.
For INEOS Britannia, their path through to the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Final was in their own hands and their selection of Alinghi Red Bull Racing in a first-to-five points series was, for sure, the most logical selection. On the water, ‘Britannia’ looked fast across a wide range of conditions and the British scored the first four points with consummate ease. A fightback from the Swiss was expected and it came in the lightest of airs, but the final scoreline at 5-2 reflected INEOS Britannia’s dominance and they proceeded to the Louis Vuitton Cup Final.
Meeting Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, the long-standing and experienced America’s Cup team from Cagliari, was the reward after the Italians had won a close fought battle with NYYC American Magic, and early results were even. The series began with an opening race win to Luna Rossa but immediately a die was cast as INEOS Britannia matched in top end conditions that really played to their yacht’s design.
Two races were awarded by default during the series when first the Italians broke their mainsail battens ahead of the pre-start for the third race and then incurred major structural damage in the seventh race before bouncing back and levelling the knife-edge series at 4-4 in race number eight. It was the last race that the Italians would win after INEOS Britannia went on a tear, closing out the series 7-4 and qualifying for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match, winning the Louis Vuitton Cup in the process.
It was a highlight for the team who celebrated wildly both on the water, where Sir Jim Ratcliffe joined the crew for the customary champagne spraying, and also shoreside as the INEOS Britannia team took to the main stage of the Race Village en masse. It was a just reward for a brilliantly executed campaign, but the challenge of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match lay around the corner and the team were well aware of the challenge facing them.
Meeting Emirates Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match was an immediate eye-opener. In lighter conditions mid-October, the Kiwis came out firing and scored four quick wins where they looked imperious. However, a lay day that INEOS Britannia used to train on the water, saw the British team make considerable speed gains – particularly in their tack and gybe execution. The following day, with a difficult residual swell in situ across the racecourse and light airs, Britannia came alive. Two race wins, one scored when the Kiwis fell off their foils in the pre-start and a second by just 7 seconds after a marvellous display of front-running by the British team, engendered belief and hope that they had halted Emirates Team New Zealand’s momentum and were on the cusp of taking the series deep.
Another lay day passed and the sense of anticipation grew in and around Barcelona with fans flying in from across the world to see history potentially being made. The colour and spectacle of fanatical British spectators was on display as sailing clubs back in the UK hosted watch-parties and revelled in the unique atmosphere around the team. However, a ruthless Emirates Team New Zealand came out the following day and delivered two crushing defeats in flatter water and tricky westerlies to take the series to Match point.
With the bit now firmly between their teeth, the Kiwis delivered the knock-out blow on 19 October in the opening race of the day sailed in lighter airs. Despite a spirited mid-race comeback from INEOS Britannia – very much in the mould of the never-say-die culture they had cultivated throughout their campaign – the 173-year dream was extinguished by a ruthless and dominant Emirates Team New Zealand performing at the top of their game.
Speaking afterwards Sir Ben Ainslie said: “Of course there are plenty of those ‘would’ve, could’ve, should’ve’ moments and in every team I’m sure there’s plenty of those too. I think we’ve got a great boat and we found more and more performance in it. Whether we found the full performance in it, that’s a question mark for us. The structure of the event and coming through it, was intense. It’s been a really intense six weeks. There are plenty of question marks about what we could do better: be that the performance of the boat, performance of the team, but all I can say is that I’m proud of everyone and the effort they’ve put into this has been amazing.”
Kevin Shoebridge, Chief Operating Officer of Emirates Team New Zealand paid tribute to the INEOS Britannia campaign saying: “We have got a really close relationship with Ben and his team. They are great competitors, had a great boat and it has been fantastic to have them in the competition. We just got the better of them this time, but it wasn’t easy – it was tough. So great respect to them for their campaign.”
Iain Murray, Race Director for the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup was also full of respect for the British team, saying: “I think what they brought to this Cup is to Ben Ainslie and Jim Radcliffe’s credit. They put together a very thorough team that has looked under every rock they could: new levels of technology, involvement from Mercedes-Benz and Formula 1 teams, and an incredibly gifted and young sailing team with plenty of potential.
“As well as all Ben’s experience, seeing Dylan Fletcher and the other young guys in there, holding the reins is great. They’ve come a long, long, way from Auckland. They have been very brave and they haven’t been afraid to try things that are probably not mainstream. Maybe some worked, maybe some didn’t work, but at the end of the day they brought that boat from looking like being a not-so-great boat to being a very good boat. They’ve driven it with incredible accuracy against probably one of the greatest Defenders that the America’s Cup has ever seen. The Kiwis are the complete package – an incredibly well sailed, well-oiled, and tight team – so Ben’s been up against, I think, the very best and he’s shown that he can mix it with them and win races, and it’s a credit to him and the team.”
The INEOS Britannia team, having come so far in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, can reflect on a performance unseen before in British yachting. Their approach, deep-rooted in technology, performance analysis, and the over-arching philosophy of ‘team’, was a credit to Great Britain and its thriving sailing community. Beyond that, they successfully fused so many parts of the INEOS Sports Group, integrating technology and excellence into everything they did. From a fan perspective they engaged like no-one else in the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup, getting wide praise for their dock-out shows and Inside Tack programme fronted by Cyclor Freddie Carr.
With so much intellectual property and having come so close this time the INEOS Britannia story in the America’s Cup looks set to continue and there’s a steely British determination to go one better with another campaign to try to secure the one trophy missing from the country’s sailing palmares.
