KEY POINTS:
The dream is to take the America's Cup back to where it began 156 years ago.
That's when a radical-looking schooner named America ghosted out of the mist encompassing the Isle of Wight to win the Royal Yacht Squadron's 100 Guineas Cup, which they renamed the America's Cup.
While the cup will not be returning to British shores this time, a new British challenge spearheaded by Sir Keith Mills is hoping it will in the near future.
Mills, the British businessman who ran London's victorious bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games, has announced he is setting up a British team which will compete in the next two America's Cups.
The challenge called Origin - which reflects not only Britain's involvement in the formation of the cup in 1851 but also the creation of a new, fresh and innovative team - will be based in the UK and funded by a combination of private and commercial investment.
"Britain is the world's leading sailing nation at present and we hope this is the dawn of an exciting venture that will create sporting history," Mills said.
Britain has tried harder than any other nation to win the America's Cup, sending 19 boats to 31 regattas. While none has been successful, there is a feeling that this challenge will be different.
British sailing has never been more successful than it is today. The feats of Ben Ainslie and the British Olympic squad, who have headed the medals table at the past two Olympics, of Ellen MacArthur and Dee Caffari in the world of solo racing have made Britain the world's strongest sailing nation.
"In my view, there are three peaks in competitive racing. Britain has already scaled the heights in the Olympic and offshore arena and I believe we have the talent and expertise to create a winning America's Cup team," Mills said.
But can that be turned into America's Cup success?
"Without a doubt" says Andy Green, a British sailor who has been appointed Origin's head of logistics.
Green was part of the last British Challenge - GBR Challenge - who competed in the 2002/03 America's Cup in Auckland. The challenge was Britain's first flurry back in the cup after a 15-year absence.
Funded by the telecommunications billionaire, Peter Harrison, GBR Challenge aimed to set the foundations for future British challenges but a lack of funding meant a second challenge never got off the ground.
Despite that, Green said it did get a number of sailors into the America's Cup game, many of whom are now employed by other teams. He said there are 28 British sailors competing in this cup in Valencia across the 12 syndicates, compared to five in 2000.
Among those are double Olympic gold medallist Ainslie, back-up helmsman to Dean Barker at Team New Zealand, who has always made it clear that his ambition is to win the cup for Great Britain.
Another is Iain Percy, who is an Olympic gold medallist and the skipper and helmsman of Italy's +39 Challenge.
There are also a number involved in design teams including Andy Claughton, who heads Team New Zealand's design team; Ian Pitterson, who is part of Alinghi's sail design team; and David Le Pelley, who works in BMW Oracle Racing's research and design department.
"We have always said that the team will be made up of the most talented individuals from the UK and abroad. Naturally we would not, and in many cases cannot, disclose who we are in discussions with for reasons of confidentiality and due to existing contracts," Green said.
While talent is obviously not an issue, a question mark remains over whether funding will be. The team have set their sights on a budget of at least €30 million (NZ$57 million) a year.
The difficulty is that nobody is sure where and when the next cup will be held, which could make pinning down sponsors difficult.
On top of that, if the winners of this year's cup in Valencia decide to hold the cup every two years - which is what many suspect will happen, especially if Alinghi successfully defend it - then Origin will need to be well advanced by the end of this year.
"We have been extending the commercial team and talks with various interested companies and investors have already started in earnest," Green said.
"With a combination of Sir Keith's background and a fantastic brand proposition we have in Team Origin, we are very confident that we will be able to raise the necessary commercial sponsorship."
New Zealander David Barnes, an America's Cup veteran and famous for his 470 class exploits, was the general manager of GBR Challenge in the last cup. He rated highly Britain's chances of putting together a credible challenge.
"They have got great talent, if you look at their Olympic sailors they are exceptional and they have very good design expertise as well," Barnes said.
"They just need to channel everything in the right direction to get the result they need."
He also applauded plans for two consecutive challenges.
"There is an awful lot of money in British circles and the corporate world, it is a matter of having to right expertise to be able to tap into that. For any country without funding you go nowhere. The funding is still key."
