Can Britain win the America’s Cup for the first time in history?
Now 4-0 down, the odds are stacked against them, but Sir Ben Ainslie and GB still think they can win.

The America’s Cup is widely considered a race of innovation. It’s one of the sporting world’s great spectacles, and is as much a challenge for the designers and aerodynamicists as it is for the sailors who pilot the yachts. Naturally, for a sport where design plays such a key part, there are a number of ways for teams to one up each other. One such technique, historically, is spying.
In 1992, before launching their boat, New Zealand’s team discovered something rather untoward below deck. "Just a routine day for New Zealand: Catch a spy, win a race," said LA Times’ Rich Roberts as he reported on the debacle on 31st January 1992. As they were preparing to launch their boat at 8:30 am for Thursday’s race in the first round of the America’s Cup challenger trials, two Kiwi divers discovered an intruding diver about 15 feet underwater at their dock. “He said he was ‘looking for lobster’- with a camera,” New Zealand diver Craig Kells said. “He found a couple of divers instead.” He was forced to the surface, where crewman Denis Kendall placed him in a headlock until three Coronado police cars responded.
It is a tradition that has always been a part of the sport. Teams in the past have often employed skilled information gatherers to glean as much data as possible from their rivals. Matteo Plazzi, Italian sailor who has competed for the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli team, told Yacht magazine that "understanding and knowing in which direction your opponents are moving is crucial. The more information you have, the more simulations you can carry out internally and get a feel for where you stand compared to your rivals." The sport has since opened up, with data from each training session and event available for all to view, making spying less prevalent. The competition, however, has only intensified.


Indeed, the 37th America’s Cup, taking place in Barcelona has provided plenty of action so far. For starters, it’s the first time since 1964 that Great Britain is competing for the trophy. Ineos Britannia, the team representing Great Britain, has plenty of firepower behind it. It’s being skippered by Sir Ben Ainslie, the four-time Olympic champion, with financial backing from Britain’s wealthiest individual, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The team beat Italy 7-4 in the qualifying round, ensuring a place in the final against the Defending champions, Emirates Team New Zealand.
So far, the competition hasn’t gone GB’s way. New Zealand are now up 4-0 in the first-to-seven series, with more racing to come later in the week. Currently, New Zealand only needs three more victories to secure their crown for the second year running. This is a fact that has caused emotions to run high in the British camp. After trailing 3-0 on Sunday, Ainslie was interviewed live while still at sea. An exchange with a New Zealand commentator resulted in Ainslie calling him a ‘fucking wanker’, not realising his mic was still on and broadcasting to the world. The final scheduled race of the day was then cancelled due to a lack of wind, meaning a shot at redemption would have to wait until the following day.






Sadly for Britain, redemption never came, and New Zealand took their decisive 4-0 lead with relative ease, winning by 23 seconds. "It was a good race," said Ainslie. "We had a good start, got the first cross but they are just going well, they are going really well."
"I think we have had our moments, but still there are moments where we are losing a click and I think that's really the difference." Can Great Britain make a comeback, and potentially win the America’s Cup for the first time in the event’s 173 year history? "We will push all the way," said Ainsley. "They've obviously had a strong start, but we can still come back from this."

