Recently, disappointing news spread through the sailing world as four-time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie left Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Britannia America’s Cup sailing team.

According to reports, the 47-year-old Ainslie had significant disagreements with Manchester United co-owner Ratcliffe over plans for the next America’s Cup, leading to strained relations and ultimately a split between the two. Ainslie was the skipper and captain of the Britannia sailing team, and in 2018, he received support from Ratcliffe with the hope of winning the first championship for Britain since the Britannia sailing race in 1851.

However, Ineos revealed in a statement that they failed to reach an agreement with Ainslie on the terms for their next steps following New Zealand’s victory at last year’s event in Barcelona. This news undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to Ainslie and the British sailing community.

Ineos plans to continue participating in the next America’s Cup under the name Britannia, but Ainslie’s team expressed shock at this decision and said it posed significant legal and practical obstacles for them. This change led Ainslie’s America’s Cup sailing team to rename itself Athena Sailing Team, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty and uncertainty of their participation.

Although Ratcliffe did not directly address the disagreements with Ainslie in Ineos’ statement, he expressed pride in developing truly competitive British vessels for decades, which seemed to imply that Ainslie’s departure did not have a significant impact on Ineos’ overall plans.

Ainslie has won medals at five consecutive Olympics since 1996 and gold medals at four consecutive Olympics from 2000 to 2012. However, since winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics, despite his dream of winning the America’s Cup for Britain, all the races he sailed for Britain, including those supported by Ineos, ended in failure. This breakup with Ineos is undoubtedly a major blow to him and raises concerns about the future of British sailing.