Britain has made a stuttering start to its historic battle for America's Cup glory America's Cup

£100 million can buy a lot of things, but it turns out a good start in the America's Cup isn't one of them. After 10 years of work, Ineos Britannia had the worst start to their clash against Emirates New Zealand, trailing 2-0 in the best-of-13 series after the first day of racing.

Their captain Ben Ainslie and his team must find a way to catch up quickly before the series gets away from them. “This isn’t the beginning we were looking for,” Ainslie admitted with a rueful look on his face at the blatantly obvious. “We just couldn’t quite keep up with them down the stretch.”

If one thing was clear after the opening day, it was that they would gain nothing by waiting for New Zealand to hand them victory if they made mistakes themselves. Their performance, led by Captain Peter Burling, was almost flawless. Burling and his co-driver Nathan Outteridge controlled both races, outmaneuvering Ainslie and his co-driver Dylan Fletcher in both pre-starts. The British boat spent most of the day dribbling in the tide.

It didn't help that Ineos Britannia was forced out of the race at the last minute before the opening race due to a battery problem, meaning they were late to the start box. This mistake allowed Burling to take control of the race before it had even begun, and his boat led through all six stages, winning by a comfortable margin of 54 seconds. In the moments after the finish, Ainslie, who knows better than most, reminded everyone that “there's still a long way to go, so don't worry, we'll keep pushing.”

He kept his word, as the second of the day's two races was much closer. The two boats were neck and neck in the first two legs as the lead changed back and forth five times. But New Zealand made better use of the favorable conditions on one side of the track and prevailed by 27 seconds.

“I always said it was going to be tough,” Ainslie said. “But that’s the game we’re in and we’ll keep working on it.”

He admitted his boat “didn't get off to the perfect start” in the first race, but said his crew “didn't do much wrong” from that point on. “The Kiwis just had a slightly better race.”

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Italy wins the Women's America's Cup for the first time

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Italy's Luna Rossa made history in Barcelona when she won the inaugural women's America's Cup, beating Britain's Athena Pathway by eight seconds in a one-off match race final.

For Italy captain Giulia Conti it was the greatest moment of her career. “I’m speechless,” she said. “It’s a moment of great joy.”

As Conti and her crew began the celebrations, Athena Pathway's skipper, two-time Olympic gold medalist Hannah Mills, held back tears. “Kudos to Giulia and the Italian sailors, it was a great race,” said Mills. “I am so proud of all the participants in this women’s race and the way they performed on the world stage.”

The Women's America's Cup Project is a long-overdue step to increase the representation of women in elite sailing. Athena Pathway was supported by Ineos Britannia, whose Ben Ainslie co-founded the team with Mills. “We have a fantastic opportunity with the Athena Pathway program,” he said, “and I think this is just the beginning for the team.” Andy Bull

Photo: Nacho Doce/REUTERS

Ainslie said he felt the New Zealand boat, named Taihoro, had made a “leap forward” in the weeks since it was last on the water. It has not been seen in racing trim since the beginning of September. The New Zealanders were able to spend this time tinkering with their configuration while Ineos Britannia and the four other challengers battled each other for the right to compete in the final. It also meant New Zealand had every opportunity to study Ainslie's racing strategy and the boat's strengths and weaknesses.

Ainslie's team, on the other hand, did their best to determine the defender's condition. Burling mischievously decided to ensure that Ineos Britannia's crew and coaches got the good looks they craved by humming their chase boats as they circled the track before the start. It became clear that his team had made a few changes that proved particularly meaningful in light winds. In the second race they used a smaller jib and a thinner rudder, which gave them a significant advantage when sailing into the wind.

Britain's hopes now rest on its team of analysts, based 1,000 miles away at the Mercedes F1 factory in Brackley, working out how to improve the boat's performance overnight.

Ainslie is also hoping the weather breaks so they can see how the boats fare in difficult conditions, but another day of light winds is forecast. There was so little of it on the opening day that everyone had to endure a painful half-hour delay until the minimum speed of six and a half knots was reached for the racing to begin.

Even that couldn't dampen the excitement around the harbor. Saturday was a national holiday in Spain and the water was lined with thousands of spectators fighting to get a glimpse of the large racing boats behind them through the thicket of masts. There were many British fans among them. They've waited a long time for this chance: the last time the British fought for victory in the America's Cup was in 1964, but if Ainslie and his team don't find the edge they need, they'll all be waiting. It takes a while, until they actually win.