America’s Cup, San Francisco 2013

The 2013 America’s Cup will go down as one of the biggest comebacks in sporting history.

Oracle Team USA (the reigning champions) were 7-1 down to Emirates Team New Zealand in the first to nine final, before deciding to bring in the services of Sir Ben Ainslie as a replacement tactician.

Most of you will know that Sir Ben grew up in the Falmouth area, having been taught to sail by one of Falmouth’s finest sailors – Phil ‘Doc’ Slater at Restronguet Sailing Club.

By the time Ainslie landed in San Francisco, they’d lost another race and were on the brink of losing the America’s Cup. In a phenomenal turnaround, Ainslie’s tactics changed the course of the final and Oracle won eight straight races to pip the New Zealanders 9-8, with a dramatic final race seeing the Americans winning by 44 seconds and retaining the cup.

I’d been following the cup since the qualifying stages and the culmination was enthralling.

Being a marine artist, I felt I had to paint an America’s Cup scene one day, despite the challenges of not being allowed anywhere near the courses to take my own reference shots. As this story evolved, I decided this is the one I had to paint, particularly with the local involvement of Sir Ben. The fact they went on to win it in such memorable circumstance sealed it!

So now, how to get the reference I needed?

I trawled through hundreds of hours of race footage, thousands and thousands of photos from all the official photographers who were allowed on the race course until eventually I found the series of photos I needed to compose the perfect scene. I then had to contact all the relevant photographers and negotiate buying the rights to use their pictures.

Thousands of hours later, working ridiculous 20+ hours per day for months on end to hit the deadline for the Christie’s auction, I finally produced what I’d hoped for and a painting I’m incredibly proud of.

The resulting painting was then chosen to grace the front and back cover of the auction catalogue (the only time this has ever been allowed), and was also included in the Sky Arts TV programme ‘Auction’. It is also pencilled in to be the inside double page spread in the last of a nine volume book on the America’s Cup by Bill Koch – ‘The Holy Grail Of Yachting – The Art Of The America’s Cup’.

(Main photographic reference courtesy of Gilles Martin-Raget)

A limited edition Giclée print from an original oil painting.