INEOS Britannia, the British Challenger of Record racing for the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd in the 37th America’s Cup, has christened its AC75 race boat “Britannia” at an official naming ceremony in Barcelona.
- INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe joined INEOS Britannia CEO and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie in Barcelona to lead the naming ceremony for their America’s Cup race boat
- Julia Ratcliffe and Romane Polli, the daughters of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his partner Catherine Polli, who are both 16 years old, officially name AC75 Race Boat ‘Britannia’ in their role as godmothers
- Britannia chosen as name in homage to one of Britain’s most famous yachts
The event was led by INEOS Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and INEOS Britannia CEO and Skipper Sir Ben Ainslie.
Julia Ratcliffe and Romane Polli, the daughters of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his partner Catherine Polli, who are both 16 years old, were appointed the godmothers of Britannia and christened the boat by spraying Nyetimber’s English sparkling wine on the bow, a traditional act performed on all new boats for good luck.
More than 200 people gathered at the INEOS Britannia base for the ceremony, including team members, their friends and families and senior representatives from INEOS, the Royal Yacht Squadron and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, whose Applied Science division helped design and develop Britannia.
Alongside the Mercedes F1 Team, INEOS Britannia have been able to draw on experience from across the INEOS Sport group, including the INEOS Grenadiers cycling team, the All Blacks and now Manchester United, in support of the America’s Cup Challenge.
The name Britannia was chosen by Sir Jim in homage to one of Britain’s most famous racing yachts.
Built in 1893 for King Edward VII, King George V took ownership of Britannia in her later years and converted her into a J Class racing yacht where she became a formidable force on water, with her lifetime record consisting of 231 race wins and 129 further podiums.
INEOS Britannia is the first British team to compete in three consecutive America’s Cups since 1903, and the current Britannia is the third America’s Cup race boat for the British team; which was the reasoning behind her previous code name “RB3”. She follows her AC75 predecessor of the same moniker that was raced in the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, New Zealand in 2021.
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