After an early morning photoshoot at the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, one of the truly iconic and stand-out features of the stunning city of Barcelona, the four helmsmen that will contest the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match, faced the glare of the world’s media at the Press Conference.
Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge represented the Defender, Emirates Team New Zealand whilst for INEOS Britannia, the Challenger of Record, Sir Ben Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher took to the stage.
A coin toss was conducted during the Press Conference to decide the starting ends and with Emirates Team New Zealand winning the toss, they will start from port entry.
The Press Conference began with the 173-year-old America’s Cup Trophy being led into the auditorium by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei followed by a stirring Haka to lay down the challenge with INEOS Britannia to contest the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match.
Peter Burling, skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand encapsulated the building sense of excitement and tension, saying: “It’s an incredibly special moment and incredibly exciting time, and we’re looking forward to getting out there, and getting racing underway tomorrow.
«I think the intrigue of the America’s Cup is that you don’t really know until you line up for the first start but we’re really happy with the package that we’ve put together – and I’m sure the British will be really happy with the package that they’ve put together. Two different looking boats, but probably going reasonably similar speeds and it will make for an awesome competition.”
Sir Ben Ainslie, skipper of INEOS Britannia contextualised just what reaching the final meant – not only for the team, but also for British sport – saying: “It’s a really proud moment for us as proud British, we’ve got a very proud sporting and maritime heritage, and the America’s Cup is the one thing that has always been missing from our trophy cabinet.
«So, this is an incredible opportunity for our team, but at the same time we are coming up against incredible Defenders – who are going for a third win in a row – and we know that’s the ultimate challenge. In a way, for us, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain – so we are fully up for that and excited for what’s ahead.”
Ainslie continued: “I’ve been really fortunate to have won the Cup before, but not with Britain. But it’s not about me, it’s about the team. We know that the America’s Cup is the ultimate team game and that’s what motivates us as an organisation. We’ve been going for ten years now on this mission to get ourselves into the final and what a great opportunity – we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”
Looking towards the racing, Nathan Outteridge was asked about the premium that was placed on the pre-start and getting off the line cleanly, commenting: “As everyone saw, the Louis Vuitton Cup Final was a great event and we saw some amazing battles in the pre-start and around the course as well.
«We’ve been watching pretty closely what Ben, Dylan, and the team have been up to, trying to study their moves and counter-moves and I’m sure they will be trying to guess what we’re going to do come tomorrow as well. I think what we’ve seen in the racing is these boats are incredibly close in terms of performance and the start is going to be really critical and both teams are going to put a lot of effort into their starting execution. I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow.”
Looking ahead to the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match, so many questions and permutations lie unanswered. In the previous America’s Cup matches there was an old saying that the moment the two boats lined up off the start line was the moment that ‘we know’ who would come out on top.
In this Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup Match, that is almost certainly not the case and with both teams able to change mode to adjust to the conditions and how their opponents are sailing, this is a series that is very unlikely to see a run-away winner.