- Great Britain fell 3-0 behind New Zealand in the America’s Cup on Sunday
- Sir Ben Ainslie’s Ineos Britannia boat had lost the first two races on Saturday.
- Ainslie had a heated exchange with a New Zealander after Sunday’s loss.
Sir Ben Ainslie is getting angry again. We know what that has meant to their rivals over the years, although it will take more than a few curses to turn the America’s Cup final into Great Britain’s favor once again.
Trailing Emirates Team New Zealand 3-0, Ainslie and his Ineos Britannia crew came closer to a cover-up than a comeback on the second day of racing in this best-of-13 series.
As a snapshot of the frustrations brewing in Ainslie’s mind, witness the exchange he had with a commentator immediately after his heaviest defeat to date off the coast of Barcelona.
Ainslie was still in the driver’s seat of his 75-foot yacht when one of the experts on the official broadcast, a New Zealander named Stephen McIvor, asked him if he still felt his team was close to its opponents in performance, because “no.” “You won’t get that feeling when you get off the boat.”
At first the four-time Olympic champion bristled slightly and said: “Maybe that’s the New Zealand commentator in you, mate.”
Sir Ben Ainslie and his team at Ineos Britannia came closer to a cover-up than a comeback
Ainslie watched his team lose 3-0 to New Zealand and punched a New Zealand commentator.
Ainslie branded New Zealand commentator Stephen McIvor (pictured) a ‘fucking whore’
But it was then, with the microphone still on, that Ainslie was heard muttering: ‘F****** w*****’.
The feeling on the dock was that McIvor’s investigation had been misinterpreted as a dig. But the Britannia captain was in no mood to back down, adding later in his press conference: “It was a stupid comment from the New Zealand commentator. I think it’s good for our team. I think it’s good motivation.”
He would go on to imply that he knew his microphone was still active, so perhaps this was a familiar case of the 47-year-old trying to access his higher speeds through anger. It has certainly been a theme of his magnificent career, especially at London 2012, when he gave his now famous speech: “You have made me angry and you don’t want to make me angry.”
That sparked one of his many great comebacks, but it’s doubtful the disputes with the commentators would have such a profound effect here. In fact, this was another race that only served to highlight the superiority of Pete Burling’s New Zealand team during the first half of their clash.
The key moment came before the start. As in Saturday’s opening race, when a battery aboard the British boat “blown out,” Britannia ran into trouble before even crossing the line, this time due to a penalty imposed on Ainslie at the dial-up for not give way when the The yachts came within a few centimeters of colliding.
Ainslie’s side now need a remarkable comeback to keep their Copa America hopes alive
The near miss was exciting to see and also a feather in Burling’s cap: he set a trap for Ainslie and caught him. With a 75 meter penalty, New Zealand’s cover tactics did the rest in a resounding 52-second victory.
At one point the defending champions had a 700m lead, thanks to smoother maneuvers and an apparent advantage in boat speed when sailing upwind in the light airs that have dominated the first two days.
Britain’s ambitions could now depend on the forecast for stronger breezes later in the week, which are considered more suitable for its yacht.
Ainslie, who viewed the decisive penalty incident as a ’50-50′ decision, is now aiming for a fresh start for his team, starting with the rescheduled fourth race on Monday after Sunday’s second duel was postponed due to light wind.
He said: “I think it’s probably time to do a bit of a reset in terms of our approach to how we’ve been sailing, how we’ve approached racing and trying to find more performance in the boat.” Once again, I’m sure we can do it.
“We always knew it was going to be difficult to come to this. It is the definitive fight and that is what it has proven to be.”