Ben Ainslie wants to add to a resume that already features three Olympic gold medals by helping Richard Branson make the fastest Atlantic crossing by a monohull sail boat.
The Briton is part of a 24-person crew assembled by Mike Sanderson, the New Zealander who will skipper Virgin Money along with Branson, as it seeks to break the record of six days, 17 hours, 52 minutes, 39 seconds set by Mari Cha IV in 2003, which Sanderson also skippered.
With a potential weather window approaching, the crew hoped to set sail yesterday.
For the 31-year-old Ainslie, it will be his first Atlantic crossing.
“Yeah, it’s not a bad way to start,” said Ainslie, who has won gold in three straight Olympics. “It’s a very historic record and if we can take it it’d be great to have on your CV [resume].”
The first couple of days are likely to be rough, as the boat heads out from North Cove Marina in New York into the Atlantic swell and gale force winds before finishing at Lizard Point, off the coast of Plymouth, England.
“We’re certainly expecting some pretty rough conditions the first two days out,” Ainslie said. “With winds of over 30 knots, it’s going to be pretty tough going at first.”
Ainslie has competed in the Sydney to Hobart race — one of the toughest bluewater sailing events in the world. So for him, the overwhelming feeling is one of excitement rather than trepidation.
“It’s a hugely significant record in sailing history, on obviously such a beast of a boat, with such a good team that Mike has put together,” he said. “It’s a massive challenge and should be a lot of fun.”
The boat in question is a 30m high-tech maxi-yacht designed by Juan Kuoyoumidjian and capable of reaching speeds of up to 45 knots. Kuoyoumidjian is the principal designer behind Team Origin, Britain’s planned America’s Cup challenger.
While there is no doubt that the boat has the speed to break the record, the real test is whether it can take the constant pounding of the waves.
“With this boat, with this level of performance, the key is not breaking anything,” Ainslie said. “The boat’s an amazing boat. There’s no question it has the performance to break the record, but the key is not breaking it. First, you’ve got to finish.”
While Ainslie is currently focusing on big boats, including Britain’s America’s Cup bid, he said there is no chance of him abandoning his bid to defend his Olympic title in the Finn class in London.
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS