Ainslie off to strong start in America's Cup series

Ben Ainslie finished the first day of racing in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in Portsmouth at the top of the leaderboard on Saturday.

But Britain’s most successful sailor said he will not get carried away with his Landrover BAR team's success in winning the opening race and following it up in race two with a second place in a field of six America’s Cup teams.

“It was emotional for us when we got out of the harbour entrance and saw thousands of boats out there. I have never seen anything like that in my sailing career,” said Ainslie.

“We couldn’t have asked for anything better but we are certainly not getting carried away. Tomorrow, we are racing for double points so we need to perform well again in more breeze and different conditions. There’s a long way to go.”

It took Ainslie around 15 minutes into the first race to stamp his mark on the fleet after Jimmy Spithill’s Oracle Team USA made the strongest start of the line followed by Pete Burling’s Emirates Team New Zealand who posed the biggest threat to Ainslie all day.

The shifting breeze was rarely strong enough for the foiling AC45 catamarans to get up enough speed to lift out of the water and skim across the surface.

But they still reached boat speeds in excess of 15 knots downwind, to the excitement of the crowds lining the shore just 100 metres from the action.

In the second of the two 30 minute races, the British boat made an aggressive start but while Groupama’s Franck Cammas and Spithill became embroiled in a shouting match over an infringement on the start line, the Kiwis once again gained a foothold and seized the advantage.

They maintained their position to the finish to win by 20 seconds ahead of Landrover BAR.
By the end of the two races, Ainslie had the overall lead with a one point advantage over Emirates Team New Zealand with two double points races scheduled for Sunday.

For the America’s Cup defenders Oracle team USA, it was a disappointing start, admitted Spithill.

“I don’t think we were very good -– we did some things well but we need to sharpen up a lot," he said.

"That is the beauty of this format and tomorrow is the day we really need to shine. The guys who are at the top of the leaderboard deserve to be there. They sailed better.

“Anyone can win this. The fleet is so competitive anyone can win. No one won two consecutive races today which suggests it is wide open.”

“There were huge windholes on the race track which was why it was up and down, with so many snakes and ladders. We are expecting more wind tomorrow so a lot of us will have to go back and really try and sharpen up and take those lessons out tomorrow.”
Source: AFP