The Olympic sailor set sail on the Solent with members of the BAR team
Olympic champion Sir
Ben Ainslie took to the Solent yesterday to sail his foiling AC45 alongside other
members of the BAR team.
Setting off from their
temporary base in Southampton for the first time, the crew enjoyed gusty winds
off the south coast.
The boat originally
race under BAR colours during the America’s Cup World Series in 2012/13 and has
subsequently been modified to fly on hydrofoils.
Ainslie said: “Ten
months ago we had nothing, so to be out there today foiling in one of these
boats – after such a short time frame – is the result of a huge amount of
effort from all of the team, especially the shore team and designers.
“For us sailors it’s a
real privilege to get out there and sail one of these boats. It’s been a great
first day and it’s a good start, but it’s only a start and we have a lot of
work to do over the coming months.”
The news comes a few
weeks after it was announced that Portsmouth
would host the America’s Cup World Series over the next two years in the
run up to the 35th cup in 2017.