Team UK's second boat 'Britannia' being launched in Auckland. Photo / INEOS TEAM UK
Team UK's second boat 'Britannia' being launched in Auckland. Photo / INEOS TEAM UK
Just 24 hours separated the launch of America's Cup Challengers American Magic and INEOS Team UK's second boat, but the teams have taken very different approaches to their timing of hitting the water.
American Magic unveiled their second boat 'Patriot' on Friday before immediately taking it out for a sailoff the coast of Auckland's North Shore.
Meanwhile, British Challenger INEOS Team UK officially christened their second AC75 'Britannia' from the team's base in Auckland on Saturday, conceding they'll wait at least a few days before taking their America's Cup race boat for a spin.
"We're quite methodical in our process and the structural testing we've done both in the UK and here and we've still got some more of that to go," skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said. "Good on the Americans for getting out there, a pretty ballsy approach, thankfully they didn't [capsize], would've been a bit embarrassing but they got away with it. We'll stick to our program, we're happy with that and we'll be sailing in a few days time."
Team UK skipper Sir Ben Ainslie. Photo / INEOS TEAM UK
Ainslie said he was impressed by the design and execution of their new boat and was looking forward to seeing how it performed.
"It's a beautiful boat, it's the best looking boat I think I've ever seen so we're incredibly proud of it. We hope it's as fast as it looks," he said.
"It's a big step up from the first boat, both in performance and ease of sailing it's been a great development. It's not just the hull shape, but the layout of the boat, the systems that go into the boat, how the grinders and the rest of the sailors operate the boat, it's a lot more efficient to sail because of that."
INEOS Team UK designer Nick Holmroyd admitted a lot of inspiration behind the new boat was based on close examination of opponents such as Team New Zealand.
Team UK's America's Cup boat 'Britannia'. Photo / INEOS TEAM UK
He said observing what the Kiwis were focusing on, helped determine what type of sailing to expect in Auckland.
"My first thought when I looked at particularly Team New Zealand who have significant event control, is to look at the boat and say what kind of racing are they envisaging to be drawing a boat like that so there was a lot for us to learn because they held a few cards that we hadn't seen at that stage," Holmroyd said.
"This game really is an incredibly elaborate version of paper scissors rock, we all pull out whatever we have at the end and go 'oh okay,' so practically when I look at other teams I'm interested in where their focus is ... we're a well-resourced team but still you have to make decisions of where you're going to focus your energy and spend your time."
Italian's Luna Rossa and Team New Zealand are set to unveil their own versions over the coming weeks ahead of the Christmas Cup regatta on December 17-20.
