Please select your home edition
Edition
Vaikobi 2024 December

America's Cup Land Rover BAR - Dream start for British campaign

by Sarah Alexander on 27 Jul 2015
The team enjoyed racing in their home town of Portsmouth Lloyd Images
The second day of competition for the 35th America's Cup was cancelled as a low pressure system swept across Britain, bringing gale force winds. The loss of the final two races on Super Sunday meant that the prizes were settled on Saturday's results – leaving Land Rover BAR as winners.

Amongst many disappointed spectators were the royal couple, Their Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Like hundreds of thousands of others, they had visited Portsmouth hoping to see the America's Cup contenders go into battle.

Despite the lack of action on the water they still had a busy day, meeting the sailors from the different teams, and many of the people that had helped put on the event. They also visited the new home of Land Rover BAR, to meet both team members and their families, meet with the 1851 Trust, of which The Duchess is Royal Patron and concluded the day by presenting the prizes in a ceremony at the Historic Dockyard.



Gusts over 37 knots were recorded at Southsea Common, and the Waterfront Festival and Fanzone Arenas had to be shut down for public safety. Race organisers initially rescheduled the racing to a midday start, to try to beat the arrival of the worst of the weather. It wasn't to be though, and as the wind howled and the rain beat down, organisers reluctantly abandoned their efforts to put on the show.

It wasn't the end of the weather story though, as the teams struggled to get their boats out of the water. The process involves hoisting them on a crane, and the strong winds meant that the boats were swinging unpredictably taking many hands to bring them under control and safely to rest on the dock.



Overall thoughts on the event

Skipper and Team Principal; Ben Ainslie: 'I'm really proud of what the team has achieved this weekend, not just on the water but with our team here at the facility in Portsmouth. To win the first Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series of 2015 in front of our home crowd is massive for our team, and sets us up for a very exciting future.'

Bowman and tactician; Giles Scott: 'I think that as a crew we feel bad for all the people that turned up today. We've felt pretty confident sailing in a breeze, and we felt pretty good this morning - but it was too windy to go racing today, and it would have been a bit too much out there. So we just have to take that, a win is a win. Psychologically it's important. What we've managed to do all week is to make ourselves the team that everyone else is aiming at, racing these AC45Fs. So that felt good going into the regatta, and to get a good solid day yesterday with a one-two backed it up. To be consistent in those sort of conditions is always difficult, it was shifty, the wind was up and down – so to be able to pull that off was good.'

Wing trimmer; Paul 'CJ' Campbell-James: 'My first feeling when I heard the news was that I was absolutely gutted. Today would have just been the most awesome day for the TV and the spectators and for us out there sailing it would have been really good fun. I was also quite confident in our boat handling and preparation for big breeze, so there's a little bit of disappointment in there, but the overwhelming thing is that it's the first job done. There are many more steps to go, but we can only count this weekend as a success.'

Trimmer; Nick Hutton: 'We've just had a pretty hard time getting the boat out of the water and dropping the wing, so it was clearly too windy to race today. But having said that, we're pretty disappointed, we wanted to race, we've worked hard, and we wanted people to see that. But we've got the win and I think we just want to say thank you to all the people that came out to watch in the rain, and we're sorry we couldn't put on a show today.'

Sailing Team Manager; Jono Macbeth: 'I think it just goes to show that you need to go out there every day and race your hardest. The boys did a fantastic job yesterday, they got the boat round the track and they did what was required. We were hoping for another day like yesterday, but that wasn't to be, conditions out there were past top end, and not suitable for sailing. Onward and upwards, we have Gothenburg and Bermuda coming up, we're going to have a fantastic series and I think there's a lot of excitement to come in the future.'



Final standings:

1. Land Rover BAR - 19 points
2. Emirates Team New Zealand - 18 points
3. ORACLE TEAM USA - 16 points
4. Groupama Team France - 13 points
5. SoftBank Team Japan - 13 points
6. Artemis Racing - 11 points

Land Rover BAR Portsmouth line up:

- Ben Ainslie - Skipper and Team Principal
- Paul Campbell-James ¬- Wing trimmer
- David 'Freddie' Carr - Runner
- Nick Hutton - Trimmer
- Giles Scott ¬- Bow/tactician
- Jono Macbeth - Sailing Team Manager
- Andy Mclean - Race crew reserve
- Ian McCabe - Shore support
- Ian Pattison - Shore support
- Richy O'Farrell - Shore support
- Jo Lees - Boat Captain
- Rob Wilson - Coach
- Jessica Sweeney - Chief Meteorologist
- Ben Williams - Strength and Conditioning Coach
- Matt Cornwell - Analytical Support
- Bleddyn Mon - Analytical Support

Cyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTERZhik 2024 DecemberX-Yachts X4.3

Related Articles

Entry open for trio of Brisbane Finn events
For three weeks in February 2026 the Finn world will descend on the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Entry has opened for the main Finn events in 2026. For three weeks in February 2026 the Finn world will descend on the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, in Brisbane, Australia, for three back-to-back major regattas.
Posted today at 8:02 am
XR 41 ready for racing debut at MaiOR
All eyes on Kiel-Schilksee as the offshore racing season starts in northern Europe Every spring, the sailing world turns its eyes to Kiel-Schilksee, where the Mai Offshore Regatta (MaiOR) launches the offshore racing season in northern Europe.
Posted today at 7:20 am
60th Anniversary Congressional Day 1
Strong start for defending champion USA's Chris Poole, defending champion of the Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup leads the first day of the 60th Anniversary event with six straight wins in the opening round-robin stage.
Posted today at 5:18 am
Joker X2's Long Game in the Melbourne Osaka Cup
A quiet sense of achievement after thirty-six days and 5,500 nautical miles After thirty-six days and 5,500 nautical miles, the double-handed crew of Joker X2 crossed the Osaka finish line with a quiet sense of achievement.
Posted today at 1:46 am
New footage of the Nautitech 44 Open & Bavaria C46
Have a look at the latest from Ensign Yachts, plus the J/40 wins under ORC at Pasquavela in Italy In this edition, we highlight a new Yacht Charter service in the Mediterranean, showcase new footage of our award-winning Bavaria C46, and highlight a walkthrough of the Nautitech 44 Open. Plus the J/40 wins under ORC at the Pasquavela in Italy!
Posted on 30 Apr
McIntyre Mini Globe Race fleet battles Pacific
In historic 4,300-mile test of endurance Solo Sailors Face Doldrums, Equipment Failures and Avian Invaders in Unprecedented Small Boat Challenge - week five of leg 2
Posted on 30 Apr
Don't Risk Your Keys on the Water!
Keep them safe and dry in a Vaikobi Car Key Lock Box Don't risk taking your keys on the water... keep them safe and dry in a Vaikobi Car Key Lock Box.
Posted on 30 Apr
21st Sandberg PalmaVela kicks off tomorrow
With the spectacle of the Maxis in Palma Over one hundred teams representing 19 nationalities will gather in the Bay of Palma for the first major multi-class event of the season: the 21st Sandberg PalmaVela. The impressive Maxis will be the first to take the stage.
Posted on 30 Apr
52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup Day 1
Light winds prove insufficient to start racing Although the 11 boat fleet went afloat until mid-afternoon, crews filled with hope and anticipation, the wind refused to build enough for racing to take place on the first day of the new 52 SUPER SERIES season at the 52 SUPER SERIES Saint-Tropez Cup.
Posted on 30 Apr
Transat Paprec Day 11
The Battle of the Leaders Now past the halfway point and sailing through the heart of the Atlantic, the competitors in the Transat Paprec are still locked in an intense battle. A windless zone expected later this week is drawing everyone's attention and forcing tough decisions.
Posted on 30 Apr