“The comeback is on” – Brits claim first two wins of the America’s Cup Match + what we learnt from Day 4

A high tension day for INEOS Britannia sees the embattled Challengers take two wins - the first British wins in an America's Cup match since 1934 - against Emirates Team New Zealand

It was high tension at the INEOS Britannia base ahead of today’s racing – Day 4 of the America’s Cup. The team had been out practising in stronger winds and a heavier sea state yesterday, and was clearly hoping that wavier conditions would give them an opportunity to switch things up.

Key takeaways from the America’s Cup Day 4

• Emirates Team New Zealand are not invincible – a single mistake by the Kiwi boat took them out of the Race 5 before the start
• Boat handling for both teams was knife-edge in the waves, but INEOS Britannia seemed marginally more sure-footed
• INEOS Britannia have been focussing on manoeuvres and performance in wavier conditions – but with lighter winds forecast for the end of the week, will they have enough time left in the event to capitalise on those gains?
• British win first America’s Cup races since Sir Thomas Sopwith’s Endeavour took two races from the NYYC’s Rainbow in 1934

Race 5 Emirates Team New Zealand Vs INEOS Britannia

Skippers
Emirates Team New Zealand: Peter Burling & Nathan Outteridge 
INEOS Britannia: Ben Ainslie & Dylan Fletcher

While the British were fairly open about their hopes that the increased sea state would help INEOS Britannia’s chances, 1m waves combined with super light wind speeds that were nudging the bottom wind limit of 6.5 knots were always going to make it exceptionally challenging for the crews to keep their AC75s on the foils.

And so it proved – as early in the pre-start ETNZ came off the foils to, apparently gybing through their own ‘wingwash’. With 50 seconds to go until the gun, the Kiwi team were down to just two knots of boat speed.

The British, sensing an opportunity, sailed along the start line twice to use their own dirty air to try and keep the Emirates Team New Zealand boat down off their foils, before going for a dip start, crossing the line at 30 knots of boat speed.

Emirates Team New Zealand were further hampered by the boundaries as they tried to build speed and get back to foiling, finally crossing the line with the British AC75 around 800m along Leg 1.

From there it was a tense rollercoaster ride for INEOS Britannia, the big grey and black boat rolling over the waves as the team tried to minimise manoeuvres and keep in the best of the breeze. Emirates Team New Zealand did significantly reduce the advantage from around 1800m to 1200 by the final mark, but the British boat were sailing their own race, rather than covering.

British coach Rob Wilson was also confident that, despite boats not being close on the water, that INEOS Britannia was showing some speed improvements compared to the Kiwis. “The performance team and all the guys on the shore have worked bloody hard to make those improvements,” he told the commentary team, “Let’s hope we can see them in the next race.”

“That was a good win for us – we were training for these situations and managed to make it stick,” Ainslie said afterwards. “But there’s nothing comfortable about sailing these boats in this sea state, and the boys did a good job of getting around the course.”

Race 6 INEOS Britannia Vs Emirates Team New Zealand

Skippers
INEOS Britannia: Ben Ainslie & Dylan Fletcher
Emirates Team New Zealand: Peter Burling & Nathan Outteridge 

There were significantly different conditions for the second start of the day, with the breeze up to 10-12 knots and more solidly consistent across the course, but the rolling seas of earlier persisted.

Both teams swopped headsails anticipating stronger breezes, but in these conditions it’s a tricky balance between the search for power to overcome the sea state and the need to keep the finely balanced A75s on their feet.

In probably best pre-start of the Match so far, Emirates Team New Zealand took control and nearly pinned the British up over the start, but INEOS Britannia managed to gybe above them and accelerate over the top of the Kiwis.

Both teams were killing time on their approach to the line, diving low in the final seconds. INEOS Britannia went for the pin end, crossing on the gun at around 30 knots with impressively accurate time-on-distance. Emirates Team New Zealand split to tack off, crossing the line just a metre or so back but having shed a lot of boat speed in the manoeuvre.

“We had them on the ropes in the pre-start and just let them roll us, which was bit of a shame,” commented ETNZ coach Ray Davies mid-race.

At the first two key crosses on the upwind leg, INEOS Britannia led. But the British team chose to minimise manoeuvres rather than tack and cover, and rounded first by six seconds.

On the first downwind leg, Britannia gained around 3 boat lengths – but with the course extended to 8 legs there was no let up in tension.

Tension built too for Emirates Team New Zealand with a few wobbles during tricky bottom mark roundings in waves; potentially the Kiwis’s new super-slender rudder making life more challenging for helmsmen Burling and Outteridge.

On the second downwind leg the Brits gybed to cover ETNZ, but Emirates Team New Zealand kept the pressure on and by the third lap the breeze had faded to around 9 knots while the Kiwis had pulled back to within 120m of the Brits.

There were skittish moments from both boats, INEOS Britannia nose-diving on the penultimate leg before the crew managed to recover, and just 50m between the two boats on the last cross of the race. But Emirates Team New Zealand couldn’t get past and INEOS Britannia took their second win of the America’s Cup.

“That’s huge,” Dylan Fetcher could be heard telling his team as they crossed the line.

‘The comeback’s on,” Ben Ainslie said post-race. It looks like it really is.

Follow all of our 2024 America’s Cup coverage

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