'WE WON'T QUIT TILL IT'S WON'

THE 37TH AMERICA'S CUP WAS ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS: WON BY THE GREATEST TEAM IN THE MODERN ERA AGAINST THE MOST SUCCESSFUL BRITISH CHALLENGER IN 90 YEARS. HELEN FRETTER FINDS OUT HOW IT WAS WON, PLUS WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE CUP... AND THE BRITS.

- HELEN FRETTER

Each morning of the 37th America’s Cup a reverential hush briefly fell in the Kiwi corner of Barcelona’s Port Vell, as Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei began the Defenders’ ‘dock out’ ritual with Maori cries and echoing horns, before paddling a hand-carved ‘waka’ canoe alongside the AC75 Taihoro. Across the basin, the British team answered with a deafening cacophony of superyacht horns, Union Jack-waving crowds, and DJs pumping out ‘Right Here, Right Now’ by Fatboy Slim.

Passion and patriotism, commitment and sheer hard cash – the essence of the America’s Cup. With each passing day the crowds on the dockside deepened with legions of black-shirted Emirates Team New Zealand fans who’d made the pilgrimage to Spain to cheer for a third historic win, while British supporters hurried to Barcelona to witness INEOS Britannia making history as the first Challenger to make it to the match since 1964.

ONE GIANT LEAP

Was the fact the Brits were even in the Cup unexpected? If history teaches us anything, then yes. The last time a GBR sail number lined up on an America’s Cup start was five years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

Moreover, while there were early signs that the British boat had promise – and team members doggedly repeated their conviction that performance would keep improving – there had been concerns the Brits might simply run out of time.

The British had taken a lot on in their bid to step up for the 37th Cup in their third campaign, merging with the INEOS-backed Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team and building what is probably the most expensive and complicated 40-footer ever conceived with their LEQ12 test yacht T6. They were open about the fact that those processes were challenging, and sometimes draining.