Big name dropped from British America’s Cup lineup
Thursday, 22 August 2024
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One of the biggest names in British sailing, Giles Scott, has been left off the starting lineup for the country’s America’s Cup challenger INEOS Britannia.
The role of co-helmsman with skipper and team principal Sir Ben Ainslie has gone to Dylan Fletcher, another decorated and Olympic gold-medal winning sailor.
The announcement went out ahead of a helmsmens’ media conference that Ainslie attended, on the eve of racing in the Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta in Barcelona.
“It was always our plan to spin the chains, and in the end we chose what we thought was the strongest team,” Ainslie told journalists.
“We are very lucky to have the strength and depth with Dylan and Giles, who are exceptional helmsmen, and in the end we decided to go with Dylan and I (as co-helmsmen),” said Ainslie.
Scott has been with INEOS backing-up Ainslie, since the team debuted in the cup in Bermuda in 2017, carried out the same role in Auckland in 2021.
He remains at the Head of Sailing in team, which is trying to become the first British team to win the America’s Cup since it created the trophy 173 years ago.
Giles who is 37 and Fletcher who is 36, are both double Olympic gold medallists, and both have been awarded an MBE for services to sailing.
Fletcher is the current International Moth-class world champion.
Scott took over from Ainslie as the helmsman in the Sail GP team Emirates Great Britain, winning the Canadian round in June, and he and Fletcher have both helmed the AC75 together and with Ainslie.
Ainslie said in Barcelona that Scott was an “incredible talent”.
“The way he has moved forward since that (helming) decision and the leadership he has shown in the team, as the leader of the team itself, has been exceptional, and that says a lot about him,” said Ainslie.
The British sailing website Sail Web called it a “surprise” decision.