INEOS Britannia AC40-2 Day 6 Summary

Sir Ben Ainslie was back in Palma today having travelled back from his favourite sailing venue of Sydney, Australia to take charge of INEOS Britannia’s box-fresh AC40 with a clear remit to get stuck in and start throwing some shapes on the flat dancefloor of the Bay of Palma. Ben didn’t disappoint. The team threw in almost 60 manoeuvres with a 97% foil-to foil success rate on some thirty tacks and a more than respectable 89% foil-to-foil success rate on the gybes. The playground was flat, the wind was fair and gusting in at 12 knots at times, but the pervading sense of the racing sailors was that they are itching for more to really put some miles on the clock in Athena. A tow-up in the morning as the pervading boredom of waiting finally cracked, offered the first flight for Ainslie who liked what he saw, saying: “Yeah it's a great boat I'm really impressed…it was relatively easy to sail for these kind of boats and performed really well in this light to medium breeze so yeah I had a great time. I think it will be a great asset for all of the teams and of course looking forward to the Youth & Women’s Cup next year in Barcelona - great tool.” Section 41. Reconnaissance a) As a campaign cost reduction measure, COR/D has mutually agreed to cooperatively implement a centralised reconnaissance programme for all teams for the reconnaissance of all Competitors’ AC75 Yachts, AC40 Yachts and LEQ12 yachts including both on-land and on-water imagery (the “Joint Recon Programme”). b) Each team is assigned a two-person Recon Unit to follow their every on-water move, but it's not that simple. The cameras are supplied and identical for all Recon Units. Drones are not allowed, and they can't get that close, plus following a boat and keeping a camera steady at 45 knots isn't that easy to begin with. c) A three minute interview follows each on water day, and teams must answer the Recon Unit's questions while trying not to give too much away. It's a raw, unedited view of the never before seen behind-the-scenes development of a team and their boat to win the oldest trophy in international sports. #AC37Recon #AmericasCup #Barcelona2024