Yachts & Yachting — February 2018

HARRY KH/LAND ROVER BAR

U

ltimately, Ben Ainslie’s

ambitions boil down to one

thing: to win the America’s

Cup for Great Britain.

His drive has only been

strengthened since Land Rover BAR

was knocked out of the 35th America’s

Cup in Bermuda. e determination

to improve on that result and step up is

without doubt – but there will be many

more goals to achieve along the way if

Ainslie is to bring the Cup home in 2021.

is time round, with Emirates Team

New Zealand as Defender holding all the

cards, there is plenty that’s dierent; the

boat and format, for starters – and also

the ethos. Change was expected, this is

the America’s Cup aer all. e intention

was always for a multi-Cup campaign,

but speaking to Ainslie you get the

impression that in some ways this is less

an evolution and more a clean sheet.

With the 75 foiling monohull

concept that the Kiwis have introduced,

the sport will move once again into

entirely new territory. “It’s an exciting

challenge,” says Ainslie. “As a team

principal it’s daunting – the logistics

and practicalities are daunting,

particularly as a European-based team.

As always, we are going to have to be

smart with the resources we have.”

In the six months since returning

from Bermuda, the team has undertaken

a full review process relating to their

structure and performance, on and

o the water. Ainslie explains: “We’ve

AINSLIE’S

AMBITIONS

GEORGIE CORLETT-PITT talks to Land Rover BAR’s skipper and

principal Ben Ainslie on team shake-ups, moving goal posts and

crash capsizes as the next America’s Cup gathers momentum

been looking thoroughly at what

worked well and what wasn’t so good,

and ultimately at why we weren’t able

to do a better job on the water. at’s

been a painful process at times, but I

have been impressed by how open and

honest the team has been. ere’s also

a lot of positivity. What’s clear is that

we made a lot of mistakes early on and

it was hard to pull back from that.”

While he declines to divulge specics,

Ainslie points to the design and tech

teams as areas of focus, adding: “As a

new team we had the added complexity

of setting up the team and everything

that comes with that to contend with.”

MOVING FORWARDS

Ainslie is determined to start this

campaign on the right track, and having

the ability to react quickly is central to

that. He says: “Early decisions are key;

equally having the exibility to adapt

is also important. ere is inevitably

exibility in the America’s Cup itself

and as a team you have to be able to

respond to that, whether that’s to your

opposition changing their approaches,

INTERVIEW BEN AINSLIE

Below

Grant Simmer

will oversee

performance as

the new CEO

February 2018 Yachts & Yachting 29

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