Ben Ainslie victorious at Portsmouth

On Saturday, in glorious sunshine, thousands of spectators watched six teams set off on the first race in a light breeze.

Three boats crossed early but Britain’s Land Rover BAR and Groupama Team France got away well. Skipper Franck Cammas had control of the race and sealed victory for Team France with a 1 minute 38 margin on second placed Oracle Team USA. Land Rover BAR finished 5th.

Penalties abounded on the next start when the only boat not to cross early was Groupama Team France allowing them to take the lead. Light winds and strong currents caused the helmsmen trouble at the second mark – apart from Land Rover BAR whose tactics edged them ahead to claim the day’s second race.

The third race began with two penalties – France and Britain came off best, but by the second gate they were separated only by Softbank Team Japan. It was the closest fought race of the day. On leg four, when the boats came together, skipper Sir Ben Ainslie snatched the initiative and got into the lead lengthening the gap on the final run in to the finish – another thrilling win for the British fans to celebrate.

Amongst the crowd were Tony and Lynn Higgins, who came down from Hereford for the day and said, “It’s a great afternoon to be in Portsmouth. We have always supported Ben and were here last year.”

Genevieve Clark from London and Berdien Fennema from Delft in Holland enjoyed it too. Berdien said she was supporting Britain. “It’s been super, super exciting. Spectacular racing and the British are very welcoming.”

Janet and Ian Wilkinson from East Grinstead were having a lovely weekend. They also watched the racing last year and Steve and Vicki Tite from Lilliput in Poole said, “It was very exciting watching Ben win.”

On the final day of racing, with much windier conditions, Sir Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR won the first race convincingly to the delight of the spectators.

Defending champions ORACLE TEAM USA claimed the next race, with Jimmy Spithill’s US crew seizing an early advantage and increasing their lead throughout the race. There was an almighty scrap for second, with the Brits pulling it off.

ORACLE got clear away in the final race, with Landrover BAR in pursuit. You could have heard a pin drop on shore as everyone held their breath hoping for Ben to close the gap. It didn’t look possible, and SoftBank Team Japan was coming up hard behind Land Rover BAR.

Then it was announced that if Land Rover BAR could hold second place, the British boat would win overall. The crew’s determination was almost palpable and the crowd were on their feet cheering as Land Rover BAR literally flew to the finish line in second place giving them the overall regatta win.

It also put the British team into first place on the overall Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series leaderboard, overtaking Emirates Team New Zealand who drop to third with ORACLE TEAM USA in second, Softbank Team Japan in Fourth, Artemis Racing 5th and Groupama Team France in sixth.

The winds presented the teams with perfect conditions for the AC45F boats to foil, wowing the tens of thousands of people along the Portsmouth shoreline.

“I think it’s been a brilliant weekend,” said Sir Ben Ainslie.

“For us to race in Portsmouth, in front of our home crowd with the weather playing its part and two cracking days of racing, as a home team to win in front of our home crowd is the best thing we could do. That was our goal for here, and with our long-term aim of bringing the Cup home, this weekend was just the start of it.”

The win was topped with royal icing when Sir Ben and his team took to the podium and received their trophy from Prince William and Princess Kate, who thrilled racing and royal fans with their presence.

Sir Ben said it was great to have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge present, “We are very proud of our British heritage and to have them here is very special. Finally, I want to thank the fans for coming out in such great numbers and for cheering us on. It has been a great weekend all round.”

A keen sailor, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge is patron of 1851 Trust, a sailing charity led by Sir Ben Ainslie.

Jimmy Spithill, Skipper, ORACLE TEAM USA: “”It was a good Sunday, we won the day, but it just wasn’t enough to win outright. In the end it came down to consistency. On Saturday BAR had a fifth and we had a sixth and that’s the one point that would have made the difference, but it was still great racing. We sailed very, very well today but we have to take our hats off to Ben and congratulate his team.

“The event overall was awesome. I think it’s one of the best Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series events. We had huge crowds and today was as good as it gets in terms of race conditions. We had a fantastic time and it was really great to see all the fans, especially the young kids, coming out and supporting all of the teams.

“Last but not least, this is probably the only time I’ve been to the UK and it hasn’t rained, so overall, a pretty good weekend!”

Dean Barker, CEO and Skipper, Softbank Team Japan: “We felt we had a good event here. We had another podium and I think for our team, it’s about building momentum and developing. It’s been a year since we came here and finished fifth, so we’re very happy with the result. We didn’t sail at our best, but I’m satisfied with the result.

“We have less than 12 months until the America’s Cup in Bermuda so we will just keep improving and getting better, it really is as simple as that.”