Portsmouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill said he did everything possible to stop Ben Ainslie from winning the America’s Cup World Series in Portsmouth but his bid to foil the Land Rover BAR star proved in vain.
The America’s Cup defenders had to make sure that Ainslie was at least two boats behind to deprive the British campaign of a Portsmouth victory, but in a nail-biting finale on Sunday, Ainslie fended off the challenge to come in second and win the event.
“We did everything we could without risking throwing the lead away,” said Spithill.
“Downwind there wasn’t much we could do but upwind we were smashing straight onto the front of him and slowing him up and trying to get another team up.
“But the third or fourth placed boats weren’t close enough to put enough pressure on.”
Their tactics came as no surprise to Ainslie, the four times Olympic gold medal winner who was previously a teammate of Spithill’s when Oracle Team USA won the America’s Cup in 2013.
“The whole last race was really tense,” Ainslie said.
“Oracle were trying to get us down the fleet so the guys did a good job defending that and sailed really well.
“We hung in there and were delighted to get the second place.
“It was quite emotional because you don’t often get the chance to race in front of a big crowd at home and to get the win meant a lot to us.”
The second day of the Portsmouth regatta proved more exciting and eventful than the first with stronger winds of around 15 knots which saw the entire fleet of AC45 catamarans flying across the surface of the water at stunning speeds in excess of 30 knots.
Thousands of spectators lined the shore at Southsea to witness the action and were delighted when the home team kicked off with a big win in the opening race of the day.
Looking comfortable in the stronger breezes in the Solent where they train every day, they made the most of another great start by charging off to the first mark at a rapid 25 knots.
A little over 12 minutes later, the race was over with Ainslie crossing the line to the sound of excited applause from the massive British crowds, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The resounding win boosted their score by 20 points and extended their lead at the top of the table to five points over Oracle Team USA.
But a comeback by the Americans in the second race, in which Spithill turned on the aggression and upped his speed, ended in a 10 second win for Oracle Team USA.
Victory put Land Rover BAR at the top of the series leaderboard, with Oracle trailing by one point in second.
Emirates Team New Zealand, series leaders before Portsmouth dropped down to fourth with Softbank Japan in third.
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