Ainslie On Course To Create History!
It was announced at the Southampton Boat on Friday that Ben Ainslie was to be the Skipper and Helmsman of the TeamOrigin the British challenge for the 33rd Americas Cup to be staged in Valencia in 2009.
Ainslie has pursued a dream of helming a British Americas Cup boat for several years and with the Team assembled by Sir Keith Mills and Mike Sanderson I believe he is in with a great chance of actually regaining the “Auld Mugâ€.
 Kiwi Mike Sanderson was an inspired choice by Mills as the Team Director and the pair of them have recruited a formidable group of sailors and designers to mount a serious challenge to Alinghi the current Cup holders.
Sanderson is a proven winner at the highest level of international yacht racing winning the Volvo Ocean Race on board ABN AMRO ONE as skipper and team leader in 2006.
Prior to that victory he was also on board Grant Dalton’s two earlier Whitbread campaigns winning in 1993/4 in New Zealand Endeavour and finishing 2nd in 1997/98 in Merit.
Equally impressive is his performance in single-handed sailing finishing 3rd in the Open 60 Class in the 2004 Transat in Pindar AlphaGraphics, which but for a broken dagger board could have easily been a memorable debut victory.
Add in three previous Americas Cup campaigns with Tag Heuer in 1995, and BMW Oracle in 2003 and 2007 and a key involvement in the 150ft racing ketch Mari Cha IV and Moose’s CV is mightily impressive.
Sanderson visited Falmouth in 2003 in Mari Cha IV after shattering the East West Transatlantic Crossing Record and he must be now regarded as one of the top sailors in the world and a likely winner whatever the event.
Given his vast experience Sanderson has selected some of the best sailors in the world to partner Ben Ainslie. Stan Honey, Rob Greenhalgh and Justin Slattery join TeamOrigin and were part of the crew onboard ABN AMRO ONE.
Crucially Sanderson has also persuaded Juan Kouyoumdjian the designer of ABN AMRO to front up the TeamOrigin Design Team based in his office in Valencia.
Given Ainslie as the helmsman several of the leading members of the Team GBR Olympic and Performance Squads have also joined the team and these include Ian Percy, Andrew Simpson, Chris Brittle, David Carr and Andy Green.
It really is an immensely talented group of sailors and it must represent the best opportunity a British team has had of winning the Cup for decades.
Money has always been a stumbling block in previous AC campaigns but Charles Dunstone (Car Phone Warehouse) has joined with Keith Mills in providing part of the funding and several other sponsors are expected to be announced over the next few months.
Juan K designed ABN AMRO as one of the first of the new Volvo 70’s designed especially for the 2005/6 Volvo Ocean Race and it was easily the quickest Volvo 70 in the race winning 6 of the 9 offshore legs of the event.
2009 will mark the debut of a new design of Americas Cup yachts and so the defender and the challengers will be starting from a level playing field.
The feeling is that destiny awaits.
Ainslie really is entering a 2-year period in his life when he has the chance to rewrite history with a medal winning performance in Beijing next year and a Cup victory in Valencia in 2009 giving him a chance at immortality.
Victory in the Finn class at the Olympic Test Event at Qingdao last month has already given him an aura of invincibility in the Class having not set foot in the fleet for 12 months whilst on duty for Emirates Team New Zealand in the Americas Cup in Valencia.
Already a legend in the Finn for winning the Gold Cup (World Championship) 4 years in succession from 2002-2005 a feat never achieved before a win in Melbourne in January next year will confirm his position as red hot favourite for the Gold Medal at Qingdao in August.
Winning any medal at Qingdao will see Ben overtake Rodney Patterson as our greatest Olympic sailor with 4 medals at 4 different Games and then the stage is set for the Americas Cup at Valencia.
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