Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful sailor in Olympic history, is about to begin his greatest challenge. He already has one America’s Cup to his name yet this time the stakes have been raised, with Portsmouth poised for a weekend in the spotlight that – it is hoped – could see the city buoyed once again.
Ainslie will on Saturday lead his all-British team Land Rover BAR out on the Solent for the first time in a competitive race. The aim, to secure a place at the 2017 America’s Cup in Bermuda. Win that and it will not be just a World Series regatta brought to England’s south coast but the revered cup itself, with the victor choosing the next venue.
This weekend Ainslie’s crew will race against five others during the first leg of a series in which points are earned for a final qualification event, before the two-team America’s Cup final itself. There are further events scheduled in Gothenburg and Bermuda this year, before a number of others in 2016. The leading challenger will have the opportunity to go head-to-head with Oracle Team USA, whom Ainslie inspired to a breathtaking victory in 2013 over Team New Zealand.
If that was a dramatic turnaround in San Francisco, the prospect of a first British triumph in this old competition – founded in 1851 – excites Ainslie even more.
“I compete to win,” he says on the eve of the series curtain-raiser. “I’ve never made any bones about that, I’m not interested in coming second. I know the team behind me are only interested in winning as well. That’s what we’re working incredibly hard for. I think we could bring the America’s Cup back here and host it. I’ve got a vision of the harbour entrance being the finish line, with a southwesterly breeze like we’ve got today and two boats screaming through that finish line. It would be absolutely amazing and one of the biggest sporting events this country has ever hosted.”
These are bold ambitions given that a sail has yet to be officially hoisted. However, history shows if Ainslie sets his mind on something, he usually achieves it. The 38-year-old has won gold at every Olympics since 2000; without him Oracle would not have turned around their 8-1 deficit to defeat New Zealand two years ago.
What increases the pressure this time, though, is the expectations currently abound in Portsmouth, a city whose shipbuilding industry has declined rapidly in recent times, notably when the defence company BAE pulled out of the area. With the eyes of the sailing world now upon it, optimism has returned and a potential economic windfall is forecast.
The America’s Cup dominates talk here. The News, the local paper, provided 14 pages of coverage on Thursday including a front-page headline that read: “Today’s the Day.” Spectators enjoyed the sunshine on Southsea Common, which is filled with food and entertainment stalls, while 150,000-200,000 people are expected to watch six boats do battle on the water.
All six skippers have tested the course in recent days and praised the Solent setup as a potentially exciting stage. In a sport where technology and marginal gains count for so much, getting the upper hand early will be paramount.
Such is the desire for technological superiority that Ainslie has turned to Formula One for inspiration. Adrian Newey, the esteemed Red Bull engineer, has been heavily involved in the project while Martin Whitmarsh – the former McLaren chief – was recently appointed as Land Rover BAR’s chief executive.
The similarities between the America’s Cup and F1 are clear. Given that the 45ft catamarans will be flying along the water at speeds of more than 40mph, and that the AC45 boats use hydrofoils to lift the hull off the water, precision engineering is crucial. All crews will sail in AC45s, although when 2017 comes longer and wider boats are expected to be 25%-30% faster.
Bringing this event to Portsmouth, where another World Series regatta will be held next summer, has been a long-term project, the brainchild of influential individuals such as Sir Keith Mills – deputy chairman of the London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympics – and private investors including Sir Charles Dunstone, the cofounder of Carphone Warehouse. Such investors were able to underwrite the initial funds for a campaign through to 2017 that will cost around £80m, before corporate partners such as Land Rover came to the table.
That said, Ainslie’s project has not been without help. The government committed £7.5m of taxpayer money in July last year to assist the development of the new team headquarters at Camber Docks, which became fully operational in June. The city of Portsmouth also dipped into its pocket, providing £1.2m to help the process by relocating existing businesses on the Camber.
It is certainly an impressive site, standing out among the numerous old portside buildings. Portsmouth council owns the freehold and Land Rover BAR holds a 25-year lease, occupying the site rent-free for 10 years before paying £110,000 per annum. “The calculated judgment that we made was based on the impact to the city in the long-term,” said Donna Jones, the Tory leader of Portsmouth council. “If you look at the impact in previous host-nation cities of the America’s Cup like Valencia and Auckland, the cities completely transform and regenerate.
“This is what the gamble has been about. We’ve given them that land for nothing and put our public money into it on the basis that we’ll get an asset in the long run and have a unique and fantastic opportunity to host the racing here and get the windfall of people coming to Portsmouth and promoting the city.”
Whitmarsh added: “I think it’s a fantastic investment. We anticipate around 40,000 schoolchildren are going to be visiting this facility every year where we can inspire them in sports sailing in particular but in school subjects such as science, technology and maths. We’re going to be employing over 100 people here.”
Jones expects the local economy to receive a £2m boost from this week alone and, in the long run, that 2,000-3,000 jobs will be created, specifically in the tourism and hotel industries. The big gamble, though, is whether spectators will take to sailing and that their interest remains beyond this weekend. The golden goose for Portsmouth is potentially hosting an America’s Cup in 2021. No pressure, then, for Ainslie and his men, who will vie against Oracle and Team New Zealand as well as crews from Sweden, France and Japan.
“It’s inevitable that there’s a huge amount of expectation, people want us to do well and it’s fantastic to have this amount of support,” said Ainslie. “As a team we feel the responsibility. We’ve got a fantastic opportunity and a responsibility to go out and do the job. We’re trying to build this team up for the long term, we don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. We’re trying to build a sustainable team and business for the future.”
