America's Cup: Ainslie firing sparks War of the Roses between English teams
by Richard Gladwell Sail-World NZ 24 Jan 00:28 UTC
INEOS Britannia recover their capsized test boat T6, Palma - February 8, 2023 © Ugo Fonolla / America's Cup
Thursday's announcement of a split between the skipper and backer of the British America's Cup came as a surprise with ramifications for upcoming America's Cup.
The announcement from INEOS Britannia the its Principal/CEO/Skipper, Ben Ainslie had been fired "astounded" the Olympic and America's Cup champion, who had led the last three British America's Cup Challenges. Two of those were under the INEOS sponsorship and patronage of Jim Ratcliffe. The America's Cup effort of 2024 was the most successfully performing of Ratcliffe's sporting properties.
Ainslie has been replaced as INEOS Britannia CEO by Kiwi David Endean, who was previously COO of the outfit.
Given the leaks into the British media in the lead-up to Ratcliffe's move, it is hard to believe that Ainslie had not anticipated that something was not going to blowup. According to UK company's office filings, Athena Racing's funding line from INEOS Group, ran out in December 2024. So a new deal with INEOS Group had to be confirmed, or Athena needed to start looking elsewhere.
The parties were already on the record as saying they were both keen to go again, but needed additional financial support from other partners.
Ironically when Ratcliffe and Ainslie first hooked up, Ainslie was only looking for a partner to work with his existing group from the 2017 America's Cup. However Ratcliffe wanted to be the sole backer, and Ainslie was put in the awkward position of saying "Thanks, but no thanks" to his financial backers.
For the America's Cup timing of the move could not have been worse.
Ainslie has enjoyed a close working relationship with Emirates Team New Zealand, of whom he was part in the buildup to 2007 America's Cup. Unlike previous Cups there were few disputes between the Defender and Challenger - with only six cases going before the AC Arbitration Panel - the worst of which involved Ainslie calling a TV commentator a "f*****g w****r". The case was largely dismissed.
The bust-up comes at a critical time in the negotiations between the Challenger and Defender of the 38th America's Cup. While some key points were announced over two months ago. It is now not clear exactly which British team is calling the shots from the Challenger perspective, on the key points for the Protocol for the next Cup and tweaks to the AC75 class rule.
The claim by INEOS Britannia that they "already have 100 scientists and engineers working on the design of our AC38 yacht," will not please those outside the COR/D (Challenger of Record/Defender) bubble. One of the the longstanding issues of this phase of the America's Cup cycle is that the CORD parties have an inside and advance knowledge of what is going into the new Protocol and Class Rule, and can brief their design teams accordingly.
The rest just have to work in the dark, refining their last boat (if they had one), hypothesizing about potential changes, tweaking simulators and the like. Knowing whether or not cyclors will be replaced with battery banks; whether mechatronics will reigned in, and replaced with manual systems like SailGP; how the cost cap will be implemented, are but a few of the issues for which the teams outside the COR/D inner sanctum would like answers. .
Then there is the vexed issue of loyalties within the British America's Cup community, who having got halfway up the America's Cup hill, now like the fabled Grand Old Duke of York, seem hell-bent on marching right back down again.
The split goes a lot deeper than just having two teams. INEOS Britannia, now run by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have the design expertise tied up in the INEOS F1 racing team facility in Brackley.
On the sailing side the British Olympic talent pool is not what it used to be. A Gold and Bronze in womens kite and windsurfing are as close to a Medal drought as the once all-powerful British Olympic team gets. The current AC sailing team players will all have another three years on their respective body-clocks come the 2027 Cup. The days have long passed, when America's Cup afterguards really only came into their own once they hit 50years old.
Ben Ainslie for all his perceived faults did a good job of handling the starboard helm position in the 2024 America's Cup - winning two races off the Emirates Team New Zealand, and usually nailing the all-important starts.
The team achieved the best ever result of an America's Cup team in sailing history, and now when on the point of being able to make a serious push for the summit of sailing's Everest, they have self-destructed.
Ainslie's team Athena Racing, signed a "follow-on" partner deal with INEOS Group to sponsor the the full AC37 Programme. Athena also operated the Athena Pathway Youth and Womens America's Cup program. The team said in a statement following the INEOS Group salvo that the INEOS Britannia plan "raises significant legal and practical obstacles for them that will play out in the coming days and weeks."
That is putting it mildly.
Constipated negotiations
At the heart of the 38th America's Cup are the negotiations between the Challenger and Defender. In this case they are the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd, and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. In the case of the latter there is a backend agreement between RNZYS and their team Emirates Team NZ which says in effect that the club can't make any binding decisions in respect of the Cup without the say-so of ETNZ.
Presumably a similar agreement exists between the Cowes based Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd and the INEOS Britannia group, formerly led by Sir Ben Ainslie.
In a note published on the Athena Racing website on November 8, 2024, the British team acknowledge INEOS Britannia as the Challenger team: "The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (RNZYS) and Emirates Team New Zealand have confirmed that the RNZYS has accepted a Notice of Challenge for the 38th America's Cup (AC38) from the Royal Yacht Squadron Limited, represented by INEOS Britannia, which will act as the Challenger of Record for AC38."
Who does RNZYS/ETNZ negotiate with now? One party has the money, and a design team but no sailing team or skipper. Do they go with their now estranged team who has a sailing team of at least one, and maybe several others, but no design team and no announced financial support?
In a strict sense, the Protocol has no standing under the Deed of Gift, the 19th century document registered with the New York State Court which controls the America's Cup. The Protocol takes its legal status from the Mutual Consent provisions of the Deed of Gift which allows the Challenger and Defender to make any arrangements they care about the upcoming match - except that it must be sailed in yachts, not powerboats, and must be sailed on an arm of the sea. There is also a constructed in country requirement, which gets watered down to a negotiated level in the Protocol.
In the modern era of the Cup, the two parties negotiate a Protocol that will expand the Cup and make it attractive to Challengers, without the Defender giving away too many of its big bag of Cup marbles.
In the current circumstance, who does the Royal Yacht Squadron interact with on the Challenger side? They can't do the bidding of two masters. Potentially this delays settlement of the Protocol. In fact the RYS Ltd as Challenger of Record (the first accepted Challenge) is not obliged to accept the entry of any other team, who could potentially take its place in the next America's Cup Match, expected to be sailed in 2027, at a venue yet to be announced.
Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd could of course consult with both British teams, however that is a very fraught situation, and could lead to legal action, by one or both, against the Club. The easiest way out is for RYS Ltd to withdraw its Challenge - leave ETNZ/RNZYS to negotiate with a new Challenger of Record - and for the two British teams to both enter the next Cup as Challengers and fight their respective battles out on the water.
But that withdrawal option is also fraught with the threat of legal action. The last thing the America's Cup needs at present is to be caught up in a duel in the British legal system, which is not noted for its alacrity of movement.
A Challenger without a Team?
In the current stand-off, it is unlikely that the Protocol discussions had progressed too far - and the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd could just sign-off a document that incorporated the points of agreement stated just over two months ago. RYS Ltd can remain as the Challenger of Record without a team in the event, as has happened several times before, most recently in the 2017 Cup in Bermuda, when Hamilton Island Yacht Club managed to negotiate a Protocol under which its financial backers were unable/unwilling to afford the entry of a team.
That one-sided document had a number of features favourable to the Defender (Golden Gate Yacht Club) including entry into the Challenger series and carrying points into the Match - with the Kiwi challenger starting the Match on negative points.
The current negotiation issues are likely to include how much human power would be used, and the extent of mechatronics permitted on the AC75s - with the expectations that the scope will be pulled back from the 2024 Cup - and that more sailing skill will be required rather than extensive use of electronic pre-sets.
The now Athena Racing were expected to hold out for a Female Quota on the AC75, although in the current circumstance that question is now moot with top sailor Hannah Mills now being able to command a position on the AC75 in her own right. She becomes a key player in the current stand-off and would be expected to stay with the Athena Racing team.
Similarly with the INEOS Britannia as to whether they can pull the likes of Giles Scott and another as co-helmsmen. Double Olympic Gold medallist Scott was swapped out just prior to the 2024 America's Cup and his helm position was taken by 49er Olympic Gold medallist Dylan Fletcher.
However in the murky relationships within the professional sailing circuit, Scott - formerly with Sir Ben Ainslie's SailGP team switched suddenly to become helmsman of the Canada Northstar SailGP team when it was taken over by private ownership from the SailGP League. So maybe Scott would remain with the INEOS Britannia team.
A short Short-list.
Within the current nationality rules, and acerbated by a team split, the Brits don't have too many options for shoulder-tapping.
One of the candidates for INEOS Britannia head-hunting team as Scott's helm co-partner could be Olympic Gold Medalist Paul Goodison. A British passport holder and Olympic Gold medalist, he sailed the last two America's Cups as a helmsman for the American Magic team. In the weekend Goodison sailed in Auckland as a strategist for the Brazil SailGP team.
The key question is whether the 2024 sailing and sailing operations squad under Ben Ainslie will remain loyal to their skipper, or if they will break away and go to a new group in INEOS Britannia.
One thing is for certain is that salaries for British America's Cup sailing teams, at least are expected to skyrocket - given that SailGP sailors earn more than their America's Cup counterparts. And if you can cut a deal into both circuits, then so much the better.
However in the Protocol negotiations between the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd and Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the subject of nationality clauses for the crews could become a vexed issue.
The November 8, 2024 statement by Athena Racing, repeating the statement made by COR/D said "the existing Crew Nationality rule in the AC37 Protocol will be retained with the Emerging Nations provisions to be reviewed."
The statement also made a number of points about the 38th Match for the America's Cup, the most surprising of which was that the Cup would be sailed in 2027. Emirates Team NZ's CEO Grant Dalton had earlier talked about a 2026 Cup - that was canned presumably to give new teams more start-up time.
The INEOS Britannia group could be pushing for a relaxation of the strict nationality rules allowing them to buy in top crew of nationalities other than British nationals. That is one of the advantages they have as the Challenger of Record and which leads to charges from the teams outside the COR/D bubble that the rules are being fiddled.
Loyalty over money
The 15th century War of the Roses, as the conflicts in England were known, was over control of the English Throne. According to Shakespeare's historical tetralogy noblemen picked red or white roses to symbolically display their loyalty to the House of Lancaster or the House of York.
Seven hundred years later in the equivalent battle, loyalty will again likely play a big role - unless it is gazumped by money.
If they get a say, the the House of Ainslie, personified by the Athena Racing Team will probably want no change in the nationality rules, as stated by COR/D on November 8. The assumption is that the 2024 Cup sailing group will remain loyal to Ainslie, and switch from the House of Ratcliffe which has the financial and design resources, but their racing team INEOS Britannia has no sailors. Quite who owns Britannia, the AC75 sailed in the 2024 America's Cup, will no doubt be one of the subjects of the expected legal siege. The matter will not doubt have been covered by various unpublished agreements between the two Houses before they became estranged this week.
With no financial backing announced, the House of Ainslie is unlikely to want to get into a bidding war with a billionaire well used to paying eye-watering transfer and other amounts for professional football players in a multi-national market.
Ainslie's financial support could come from his 2017 backers led by British sports impresario, Sir Keith Mills. Or from his new friends in the Middle East who are the naming sponsor on his Emirates GBR SailGP team.
Emirates Team New Zealand/RNZYS are unlikely to budge from the current nationality rules, just to accommodate the warring Brits.
The Kiwis will likely trim the exceptions allowing non-nationals to stay with a team they were with in 2021 in Auckland.
The nationality clause is the Defenders only real way of keeping their salary budget (60%-65% of team costs) under control, by effectively prohibiting the poaching of their talent by other, more well-heeled teams.
The War of the Roses, America's Cup style, is good news for coaches, support and designers, who are exempt, currently from the nationality clauses, and could be lured by the offer of a fat pay packet. But again, that gate could be at least partially closed - as a budget control measure by the Defender in Protocol negotiations.
Ainslie does hold an Ace card with his Emirates GBR SailGP team, and its ability to give British sailors competition in both the Cup and the SailGP League. That in turn gives his America's Cup team the chance to build combinations that can be carried over into the Cup.
Buying an existing SailGP team isn't really an option for Ratcliffe/INEOS, as under League rules only one team per country is permitted, and of the six crew only three non-nationals are permitted.
The only certain outcome from the War of the Roses is that the British America's Cup effort will be weakened, which will make the task of at least getting to the Challenger Final, much easier for the other teams from the 2024 America's Cup.
Of course with legal battle-lines drawn, the Cup is going nowhere. To attract a venue there has to be certainty - as to teams participating, certainty of timing - particularly if facilities have to be specialty constructed. Some venues like Auckland are good to go and have an empty dance card. Others are not so relaxed.
Under current edicts and in the absence of a Protocol, all teams are permitted to start sailing AC75s from this coming October.
While it may be an intriguing prospect to see two Knights of the Realm, lined up with legal lances at the ready, and set for a bloody battle, that is not in the best interests of the America's Cup.
It's also a battle neither can win. The simple situation is that Ainslie/Athena Racing has the sailing team, but no announced financial backing, and does not have the design team/facilities to get the design process underway - that's all locked up in Brackley. Trying to back Ben's bytes out of the INEOS/F1 design systems is far easier said than done.
Ratcliffe/INEOS Britannia does not have a sailing team, but does have the designers and F1 style design software. He does have the money - who if the stand-off continues - Ainslie's sailing team may be able to be brought. In the past the prospect of a regular paycheck overrides loyalty to your mates - as then Team NZ found out in April/May 2000. His ability to buy a sailing team is heavily constrained by nationality rules.
Now is the time for cool heads within the teams and the wider America's Cup family.