INEOS Britannia is back in the America’s Cup final, scoring its first two wins against the Kiwis! The score is now 4-2 in this first to seven series.

It was a warm day in Barcelona with light winds, yet choppy seas. The mishap happened two minutes before the start of Race 5 when NZ fell off its foils. The reality is you have to capitalize on your advantage. “The gas off these boats is so big, particularly in the light airs,” says Britannia skipper Ben Ainslie. “If you can affect the other team in bad air, you’ve got to do it.”

Uncontested, INEOS Britannia shot out into a lead of over 1,700 meters before the Kiwis could get back up and flying. From that point on, for the British, the race was all about staying on the foils. And they took the win by 1 minute, 18 seconds!

In the second race of the day, as the clock ticked down to the start, Britannia aimed for a high-speed pin end start and Emirates Team New Zealand elected to tack off onto port and get to the right of the course, according to AmericasCup.com. Starting with 10 knots extra boat speed, the British sailors grabbed an early positional advantage that they were able to capitalize on to maintain their lead over the next eight legs.

The British fans who packed the Race Village and the beachfront Fanzones at Plaça del Mar and Bogatell nervously watched the final run to the finish. Emirates Team New Zealand were closing fast from behind. but the British made the cross of their bow on port gybe, sailed low and brought INEOS Britannia across the line to record a hard-fought seven-second victory.

“There is still a long way to go, but the comeback is on,” Britannia skipper Ben Ainslie said from his cockpit. “It’s a massive day for our team to really believe we can get back in this, and now the trick is to ride that momentum all the way.” (It has been since 1934 since the British won an America’s Cup race during the series.

Racing starts at 14:00 Friday, October 18. Stay tuned!

Photos/RIcardo Pinto, America’s Cup

 

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