The recent seemingly catastrophic breakdown in relations between Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Ben Ainslie has left British sailing fans dumbfounded. There has been no concrete new information since a shock press release from Ratcliffe – the sole funder of the British campaigns for the 36th and 37th America’s Cup under the banner INEOS Britannia – that the company would be challenging for AC38 without Ainslie.
If the news itself came as a massive surprise, what was even more surprising was the complete absence of any acknowledgement of Ainslie’s massive contribution to the syndicate over the past two America’s Cup cycles. Disputes and fallouts are not uncommon in professional sport but in the vast majority of cases an etiquette is observed that requires the outgoing party to be politely thanked for their efforts and wished the best for their future endeavours.
