Please select your home edition
Edition
Leaderboard brokerage

SailGP: Ainslie suggests that Chief Umpire should be "sent to the Tower"

by Tom Cary, Daily Telegraph 1 Aug 2022 13:27 BST 1 August 2022
Great Britain SailGP Team, Denmark SailGP Team and Australia SailGP Team in action on Race Day 2 of the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Plymouth in Plymouth, England. 31st July . Photo: Jon Super for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGP © Jon Super/SailGP

A frustrated Sir Ben Ainslie hit out at chief umpire Craig Mitchell after Great Britain were controversially denied a spot in the final three-boat sail-off at SailGP Plymouth on Sunday. Ainslie suggested, only half-jokingly, that the watching Duchess of Cambridge should “send him to the Tower”.

The four-time Olympic champion was angered by Mitchell’s call to penalise Great Britain after a tight cross with Australia right at the end of the final fleet race. Australia had right of way and Mitchell, a British umpire, decreed Australia’s helm Tom Slingsby had had to take evasive action to avoid a potential collision.

Ainslie insisted that Slingsby had in fact pulled a “Hollywood”; a term used to describe a manoeuvre designed to make something look worse than it is in an effort to sway the umpire.

“It was tight,” Ainslie admitted in a television interview immediately after the race. “The big question in the umpire’s mind will be the ghost boat [the simulator tool umpires use to predict boats’ positions in three boat length’s time].

“Obviously I don’t agree with the decision. It’s not the first time I haven't agreed with Craig Mitchell and it won’t be the last.”

Ainslie was referring in particular to the Danish round of SailGP last year when he was furious with Mitchell’s call to penalise Great Britain in the final.

The penalty meant Great Britain had to drop behind Australia on the line, finishing fourth in the race rather than third. The loss of that place meant Ainslie’s team finished level with Denmark on points, the Danes advancing to the final by virtue of the fact they finished the final fleet race in second place. Denmark went on to finish the regatta in third place behind New Zealand and Australia.

'It was a pivotal moment in the final race'

After returning to the dock and reviewing the footage, Ainslie said he was even more convinced that Great Britain had been wronged, adding that he was “getting pretty annoyed” with Mitchell’s calls.

“I’ve had a look at a replay and I have to say, yeah, it’s a bad call,” he told Telegraph Sport. “In Denmark last year we had a similar incident which we thought was pretty clear cut. It was a pivotal moment in the final race.

“I mean it's a tough job umpiring. And some might say ‘Well you shouldn’t leave it in the hands of an umpire’. But at that point we had to cross to get to the finish line.”

Ainslie said the issue with the predictive “ghost boat” software was that it did not take accelerations or decelerations into account, with Britain still accelerating out of a gybe when they crossed.

He added that it might be time to bring in some sort of review or protest mechanism for tight calls, rather than decide everything in real time. “That's something we’ve really steered away from because traditionally in sailing, you’d get protest hearings which went on for hours and hours. But I think maybe we should because it’s getting pretty serious. It’s high stakes now.”

Ainslie added: “I’m actually getting more and more irritated because I try to defend umpires. It’s a difficult job. But in my opinion it was 50-50 at worst. And if it’s 50-50 then it should be a green flag because the umpires shouldn’t be deciding the outcome of the race. He [Mitchell] does have a tendency to want to decide the outcome of a race in my experience.”

For the full story and Ainslie's thoughts on a difficult Day 1, where the Brits were involved in a pre-start collision with the Spanish entry click here

The finish line incident viewed from onboard cameras

(N.B. The effect of the camera lens shooting end-on in Images 1, 2, 3 and to some extent in 4, is to give the distorted impression of distances being shorter than is actually the situation. Images 5 and 6 give a better indication of distance between the two F50's.)

Related Articles

Australia SailGP Team wing collapse video
Looking at all the angles of the incident in San Francisco With salvage under way, the SailGP Technical Team will now begin an in-depth analysis to determine what caused the incident. Posted on 24 Mar
Spain SailGP Team snags San Francisco repeat
While Australia suffers 'heartbreaking' wing collapse Spain has triumphed once again in San Francisco, defeating NorthStar Canada (2nd) and France (3rd) to become the fifth winner in five events this season. Posted on 24 Mar
SailGP: Flying Roos dismasted in Pre-start
The Flying Roos (AUS) broke their wingsail in the final seconds leading up to the start of Race 7 The Flying Roos (AUS) broke their wingsail in the final seconds leading up to the start of Race 7 of the Oracle SailGP Regatta in San Francisco. Conditions at the time were a rising breeze of 10-15kts - well within the capability of the 24metre tall rig. Posted on 23 Mar
NorthStar Canada SailGP Team flies to the top
On Day 1 of Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix NorthStar Canada picked up where they left off, leading the fleet with 35 points after a dynamic first day of the Oracle San Francisco Sail Grand Prix. Driver Giles Scott enjoyed three podium finishes - including two wins - in the first four fleet races. Posted on 23 Mar
SailGP: Bravery required in San Francisco
"San Francisco conditions require a lot of bravery' to compete" - Slingsby This weekend's racing venue of San Francisco poses the ‘most extreme conditions of the circuit', which require ‘a lot of bravery' to compete, Australia driver Tom Slingsby remarked at this morning's media conference in San Franciso. Posted on 21 Mar
SailGP: Denmark out for San Francisco
Damage sustained in Los Angeles was deemed too extensive to repair in time for the weekend. The Rockwool Denmark Racing SailGP Team will not compete in San Francisco after damage sustained in Los Angeles was deemed too extensive to repair in time for the weekend. Posted on 21 Mar
Brazil tops the podium in SailGP's Impact League
Clean up project of Pombeda Island in Guanabara Bay, Rio praised by judges The Mubadala Brazil SailGP team secured the top spot in the first Focus Area of the 2025 season Impact League - SailGP's "Podium for the Planet" - the season-long competition that rewards teams for driving environmental action. Posted on 20 Mar
SailGP 2025 season technological advances
Advanced AI integration and new fan experiences put SailGP at the forefront of the industry The 2025 season of the Rolex SailGP Championship will be the most technologically advanced in sailing history as the league heads to the world's epicenter of tech - San Francisco. Posted on 18 Mar
Canada claims first season win
At Rolex Los Angeles Sail Grand Prix Northstar Canada claimed their inaugural win of the 2025 Season - the first for the team since March 2023 (Season 3) and the first with double Olympic gold medalist Giles Scott as driver. Posted on 17 Mar
SailGP: Stellar Finals win for Northstar Canada
Northstar Canada team turned in a superlative performance to win the Rolex Los Angeles SailGP The regrouped Northstar Canada team turned in a superlative performance in the Final Day of Rolex Los Angeles SailGP, to score a big win - their first under Giles Scott (GBR) as skipper - and their first in two years. Posted on 16 Mar