Ben Ainslie loves nothing more than winning. Gold medals, World Championship titles or the historic Olympic record - all first places - characterise his life. Being first is important to this smart, exceptional athlete. And so he did not miss the opportunity to lead his America's Cup team Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) as the first team into the new Cup area off Bermuda. The British team spent a week there training intensively on their small 20-foot training catamarans and now proudly announced with a wink: "We were the first to sail on foils on - and under - the regatta course."
Ben Ainslie's men have started training in the new Cup area off Bermuda. For the time being, they are still testing the wind, waves and currents on small training catamarans to get a feel for the course on which they want to win in 2017, take the America's Cup home and bring it back to its roots.
However, the latter was not meant as a joke with a view to possible accidental sailing manoeuvres, but as a serious reference to the countless diving exercises that Ainslie's crew regularly complete with emergency oxygen equipment in order to be prepared for any eventuality. Ainslie's friend and sailing companion Andrew "Bart" Simpson was trapped in a capsize during a training mission in the Cup area off San Francisco on 9 May 2013 and drowned under the wreck.
At the end of the training camp in Bermuda, team boss and skipper Ben Ainslie was pleased to take stock: "It was great for the team to try and get to know the venue, the wind directions and the wave movements on our 20-foot training boats on foils. We learnt a lot. We can now go back to our design team and start developing our regatta boat for 2017."
It won't be quite that easy, but Ainslie now has the psychological advantage of a lightning start on his side. It is not without intention that he has sent this signal to the whole world. His message: Look, we're already here and working hard towards our big goal. He also took the opportunity to praise the future Cup hosts. Ainslie praised Bermuda as the "most beautiful island" and the hosts as "extremely friendly, warm and full of anticipation for the Cup". Those praised, in turn, were already proving to be loyal fans. One older resident of the archipelago said with a grin: "Well, it's obvious: they're the first team here, so they should be the first to cross the finish line. They're British boys after all!" Ainslie's team will certainly not be able to complain about a lack of fans in the America's Cup in two years' time, as Bermuda is a British overseas territory. The four-time Olympic champion and his team are likely to win many hearts.
BAR's Sailing Team Manager Jono Macbeth said: "We came here to hone our foiling skills and increase our physical fitness. We spent five or six hours a day on the water. The boys didn't have much time for other activities. We went straight from dinner to bed. It was all about training and sailing. We learnt that the course would be quite small."
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
