No one ever bothered to check whether the coin was two-sided or not, but Jesse Tuke, brother of Emirates Team New Zealand’s Blaire Tuke, flipped it into the air for the ceremonial coin toss that would determine entry assignments for the first race of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona on Saturday, October 12.

The $1 coin with the adorable and flightless Kiwi bird side skied above the America’s Cup’s Auld Mug, freshly polished and sitting its Louis Vuitton display case, before landing on the stage, rolling underneath the chair of INEOS Britannia’s Ben Ainslie and coming to rest at the foot of the trophy.

Ainslie leaned over to his right and eventually confirmed it was tails, earning Emirates Team New Zealand port entry when the two teams meet tomorrow afternoon on the waters off Barcelona.

Most weather models are in alignment with 10 knots from the southwest, which should allow the first-to-seven series to kick off on schedule. Sunday and Monday’s wind forecast has all the elements of an October skunk, however, putting even great pressure on Challenger and Defender alike to make a statement in the opening races.

Those statements will have to be made on the water, as the opening press conference was a cordial affair between the starting helmsmen—Peter Burling and Nathan Outteridge for Emirates Team New Zealand and Ainslie and Dylan Fletcher for INEOS Britannia. The Cup was carried into the auditorium of Barcelona’s World Trade Center and ushered in with a proper Maori Haka, a war dance that Ainslie and Fletcher were greeted to as they stepped onto the stage.

Was Ainslie intimidated by the hisses, the stomping, the tongue wagging and battle cries? “Not really intimidated,” he said when asked, “but it was a lot of fun.”

While able to brush off the Haka as standard New Zealand theatrics, there is, however, a true sense of uncertainty in going against the Defenders, who have been honing their craft and their playbook over the past several weeks while INEOS Britannia battled its way through the Louis Vuitton Cup. The British are battle hardened, but now face a new foe.

“We’re coming up against incredible defenders who are going for a third win in a row,” Ainslie said, “and in a way, for us, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

It was with this same mentality that INEOS Britannia eventually used to boss its way through the Louis Vuitton Cup Final races against Luna Rossa to win 7 to 4. Down the final stretch, the British team got the better of the Italians in the pre-start, showing a preference to lead to the starting line rather than push. That won’t be so easy against Team New Zealand, which in the Round Robins demonstrated that down-speed maneuverability was a strength. The Kiwis, now on their final (and smaller) foil package and rudder, have been seen pulling off a full foiling 720. 

“We’ve been watching pretty closely what Ben and Dylan and the team have been up to, trying to study their moves, trying to understand counter moves,” Outteridge said, “and I’m sure they’ll be trying to guess what we’re going to do come tomorrow as well.”
Ultimately, the starts will impact the races more than sail selection or anything else, Outteridge added, saying: “Being in front and in control is the most important.”

The last time these two teams raced each other was September 5, way back when in the second round of the Round Robins. Emirates Team New Zealand came out on top that one, but INEOS today, Ainslie says, is a faster and better boat, and development will continue through to the final match.

Still, there’s no denying the Defender has enjoyed the luxury of continued development outside of official measurement, as well as the ability to analyze a trove of race data that was available to all the teams throughout the Louis Vuitton Cup.

“In terms of who’s got the advantage, I would say for sure, Team New Zealand being able to take three weeks to look at the configuration of their boat and to get the data for competing boats,” Ainslie said. “So, there’s one team here who really knows the lineup of the competition. It’s team New Zealand. It’s not us. So that’s what we’re up against.”

Burling assured the world, with his characteristic chuckle, that Emirates Team New Zealand’s Taihoro will “definitely be quicker than when they last saw us, but I’m sure Ben and the INEOS team will be exactly the same. They’ll be quicker than when we last saw them. The America’s Cup, I think, very famously is a race to win the last race, and one of the few sporting events where you have to win the last race to actually win it. And our team knows that all too well.”

And with that said, and the softball questions answered, all four skippers were soon on board their respective AC75s for one final spin before the big dance. Let the defense commence.

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