Key events
The British yacht is gaining on the leaders, metre-by-metre. This is so, so tight. The gap is less than 100m as we prepare for the final two legs.
We’re into leg four of this Women’s America’s Cup final and Italy still have the advantage. Both crews are working hard under darkening skies in Barcelona.
The Italians hold a very narrow lead at this stage, but the Athena Pathway, AKA British, team are not far away. This is much tighter than the opening race of the men’s event, currently in the second of six legs.
Women’s Americas Cup: Britain and Italy contest the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup final today in Barcelona too, with Hannah Mills leading the Athena Pathway team.
There’s history all over the place today. We’ll bring you reaction to that America’s Cup first race and updates from the women’s event.
An advantage of 420 metres (and 41 seconds) amounts to a pretty stonking win for New Zealand in that opening race. They’re a virtually unstoppable machine on the waves.
Sir Ben Ainslie admitted Ineos Britannia didn’t get a great start to the race but is full of praise for Emirates Team New Zealand.
He says the British team will evaluate their performance and “keep pushing” later today and in the races to come next week.
New Zealand skipper Peter Burling: “Always a bit nervous sitting and waiting for the wind at the start, and it wasn’t straightforward, but we managed to stay in control.
Nathan Outteridge: “It was quite a dynamic race but it was good to get a clear start. Very happy to get the win in the first race. This is what we’ve been working three years for.”
New Zealand win first race of America’s Cup
1-0 to the defender.
Emirates Team New Zealand started the stronger and never relinquished their lead, expertly holding off the challenger, the British yacht, as the wind changed significantly throughout that race.
A really tough start for Ineos Britannia, who find themselves down early on. It is only the start, mind you. There’s a lot more sailing to come.
Final leg: The wind is dropping somewhat, with Britain struggling to tack in the dirty air. This looks to be done.
Rob Wilson on the Ineos Britannia boat admits the British team “had a few issues with the batteries” [needed to work the foils] early on, which put them on the back foot immediately. He believes his team are ‘“edging in there, but the Kiwis are making it tough – they’ve got their elbows out and it’s hard to get around them”.
The gap is now at around 350m.
It’s fascinating just to listen to the comms from both crews as they negotiate the wind and the seas in perfect harmony.
We’re into the final two legs of this opening race now, with New Zealand still holding a comfortable lead. Remember first to seven race wins will take home the America’s Cup.
Leg 4: The defenders are defending supremely, with New Zealand especially expert upwind, holding off the British boat. This race might be getting out of reach for Sir Ben Ainslie’s team – unless they pull off something miraculous.
Leg 3: The Team New Zealand boat is still riding well above the waves and the lead is extending again. It’s up past the 300m mark.
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:
