Key events
It’s been a great second leg downwind for the British team as both teams manoeuvre and turn back upwind. Team New Zealand are still holding strong, mind.
Into the third leg now.
Leg 2: Ineos Britannia is picking up speed, taking a different route to Team New Zealand, whose lead is being cut slightly in the past few moments. Looks like the Brits are getting more wind pressure now.
Leg 1: Team New Zealand have an advantage of around 100m, which they are holding, thanks to the breeze coming in from the left of both boats. It’s out towards 200m now.
The organisers are lengthening the course, which is a good sign re the wind, which is getting stronger all the time now.
We’re under way
Let’s go.
“The wind is building,” say the race organisers. The projected start time is now 1.50pm, UK time.
This must be agony for the two teams, who are still primed and ready. It’s a game of patience.
A potential start time of 1.40pm has been pushed back a little further until 1.45pm as the wind limit hasn’t been reached – it needs to average 6.5 knots.
The fans’ village in Barcelona is packed with Union Jacks; the British fans are out in force on this historic occasion. Gah, hopefully this doesn’t take too long.
British sailing fans have waited 60 years for the chance to compete for the America’s Cup.
Unfortunately the weather in Barcelona means that wait is going on a little longer right now.
The British crew are “fired up” and keen to get racing, says Ineos coach Rob Wilson. It must be infuriating to just sit there in the boat waiting to get going. Team New Zealand say they are “optimistic” that we’ll get some sailing today.
Waiting for the breeze, eh.
Start delayed due to lack of wind
The wind is currently a little too light to start racing. Alas, that’s the nature of sailing. Let’s hope it picks up sufficiently.
“Starts are always key in match racing,” Sir Ben tells Georgie Thompson on TNT Sports.
“We expect the Kiwis to be feisty in the pre-start. Then it’s about evaluating the performance of the two boats and it’s the first to win seven.
“We’ve got a very proud sporting and maritime heritage in Britain and we want to right that wrong. At the same time, we don’t want to switch anything up massively, we can go all the way. There’s a lot of noise but many of us have been through similar situations in the past.”
Please do get in touch on email – as Jeremy Boyce has just done:
“Hi Dom,” he says. “Looking forward to some great racing today on these new super-tech boats. I have a friend working on a big yacht who is there and she sent some great videos of the LV challenger series. It’s incredible what technical advancement can achieve, in terms of speeds especially, but [Ben] Ainslie expressed it well in his interview saying that it had all become very push-button now, rather than hands on ropes.
“The tech is very impressive, including the real-time tech support in-race, but the thing is, they’re not really sail boats anymore, are they?”
Alas, no, Jeremy, I think foil boats and high-tech sailing are here to stay.
As Jeremy adds: “You’re not actually sitting on the water, navigating the contours, you’re flying above it. And if you are actually on the water for a few seconds it may well cost you the race.”
A message from the main man:
A slight adjustment to my earlier post: the first race will commence at 1.15pm BST, which is 2.15pm local time (CET) in Barcelona.
The stage (sea) is set.
It’s only the 37th edition of the America’s Cup, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a sporting trophy with a greater, richer history. The first ever competition in 1851 was won by the only American ship in the field, hence its swift name change.
Some of these pictures are superb.
Other than a little bit of rain in the air, conditions are looking good for sailing.
Ben Ainslie: It’s a really proud moment for us. We’ve been going for 10 years to get ourselves into this final, so what an opportunity this is. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got.
Why?. It speaks for itself doesn’t it? Britain is a very proud sporting nation, and has a very proud maritime history, and this Cup is the one thing that’s missing. That’s why. The fact that Britain has never won the America’s Cup is what drives us.
Andy Bull reports from Barcelona.
This part of Yara’s explainer is particularly helpful to newcomers to the America’s Cup:
How does it work?
Teams must first compete in a series of regattas, culminating in the Louis Vuitton Cup, which determines the main event’s challenger. This year’s matchup will see Team New Zealand as the defender take on Ineos Britannia after the Britons won the right to challenge New Zealand by beating Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli comfortably in the decisive race. The current format features a best of 13 series; the first to win seven races takes home the Cup. This year’s edition begins with the first two races on 12 October. After that, the third and fourth races are set for 13 October. Subsequent races will occur on 16 October for the fifth and sixth races and on 18 October for the seventh. If necessary, the eighth race will be held on 18 October, the ninth and 10th on 19 October, the 11th and 12th on 20 October. The final race, if required, will take place on 21 October.
Preamble
Here we go: it’s the oldest trophy in sport, it’s a potential 13 races on the seas of Barcelona and it’s a British team masterminded by Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe going up against the ‘All Blacks of the Sea’, defenders New Zealand. Can Ineos Britannia rule the waves against Team New Zealand, led Peter Burling, a two-time Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist?
The first race gets under way at 1pm BST and the second will also take place in Port Vell, off the Barceloneta beachfront, this afternoon. We’ve got 173 years of sporting history on the line in the coming days, with Great Britain looking to land their first ever America’s Cup, competing in their first ‘final’ for 60 years.
And if you’re new to sailing and the competition, we’ve got the best place for you to start:
