The British have had to endure the longest dry spell in the history of the sport. After 173 years of waiting, the world's oldest sporting trophy could now return to Great Britain.
The return of the silver jug to the island will come about if Team Britannia dethrones Team New Zealand in the America's Cup from Saturday.
The British are on a high ahead of Barcelona. After the decisive victory in the challenger's cup, the celebration took place on the water. Every crew member lifted the trophy, and the owner of the yacht also jumped on board. Billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of the chemical company Ineos, which invests in numerous sports, did not want to miss out on this highlight.
From the British perspective, the America's Cup 2024 is set to become a historic event. For the first time since 1964, the chance to bring the Cup home again beckons from Saturday afternoon. The self-confidence and hunger for victory are high, but the final and most difficult step is still to come.
The bookmakers have the New Zealanders (still) ahead. The Kiwis, who as defending champions have been able to shape the rules, are the favorites in the best-of-13 series on the Spanish coast. They also underlined this status in the group phase of the Challengers' Cup, in which they sailed out of competition at the beginning of September - and generally sailed away.
Improving run
However, the Britannia skippered by Ben Ainslie has shown a steep learning curve in recent weeks in the semi-final against the Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing and in the final against the Italian representative Luna Rossa. The collaboration with the Mercedes Formula 1 team obviously makes it possible to adapt the boat to the prevailing conditions and to make changes quickly.
The fact that they are the "Challenger of Record" could also speak in the British team's favor. This means that they were the first challenger to draw up the Cup protocol for the 2024 event together with Team New Zealand and were therefore able to contribute their ideas or even exert influence.
The New Zealanders lack the competition practice of recent weeks. However, they have now had a month to analyze the data from the last regattas and optimize the boat for the hat-trick. The Kiwis have been at the forefront of the development of flying yachts for over a decade. In 2013, they were narrowly defeated by the USA 8:9, but since 2017 the trophy has been firmly in their hands.
The silver "Auld Mug"
In 1851, the first America's Cup regatta took place off the Isle of Wight in southern England. The British entered 14 boats in this competition, which was held as a supporting program to the first World's Fair in London. And yet it was not a local skipper who won the "100 Guinea Cup" (as it was originally called), but the yacht "America", which had been invited by the British for the showdown.
The guests from the USA took home the silver jug, now nicknamed the "Auld Mug", called the competition for what had become the most prestigious trophy in sailing the America's Cup, drew up the foundation charter and were never displaced until 1983. The British have not yet found a way to erase the shame of 1851, although they are now competing for the 17th time as challengers to claim what is now the oldest active international sporting trophy.
The boats in the AC75 class are 22.9 m long (75 feet) and the mast towers over 25 m high. The yachts in this year's America's Cup are named "Taihoro" (this Maori term also stands for the connection between sea and sky) and "Rita" (the name is in Britannia). The terms sea and sky are apt for the high-tech projectiles, as the flying boats move between these worlds. The foils lift the hull out of the water. In the challenger final against Italy at the end of September, the British pushed the speed record up to 101.86 km/h. A good omen. A good omen.
