‘We ended up crashing the boat’… Sir Ben Ainslie recalls dramatic experience with Lewis Hamilton

EXCLUSIVE: Sir Ben Ainslie has had many a memorable experience in his sailing career, with getting into a boat crash with Lewis Hamilton being one of his most intense.

The sporting legend, who’s picked up an astonishing four Olympic gold medals, has a love for sailing coursing through his veins, with the 49-year-old incredibly excited for the Emirates GB Sail Grand Prix, which commences on Saturday.

Sir Ben Ainslie had a crazy experience with Lewis Hamilton

While Lewis Hamilton is an exceptional driver when it comes to F1, sailing a boat is a completely different kettle of fish. However, Sir Ben Ainslie was extremely impressed by what the gifted athlete could do on the water, especially considering what they’d gone through just prior.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, the 49-year-old explained: “We were doing the Around the Island race many years ago. Lewis choppered in last minute, got on the boat, and we’d just started this race, and it’s a race where there are thousands of boats on the start line. It wasn’t my fault for once; I wasn’t steering the boat at the time, and neither was Lewis, but we ended up crashing into another boat, and their mast fell down, and it was a bit of a disaster.

“Anyway, we got through that, set off, did the race, and it wasn’t long before Lewis was on the helm steering the boat. I think everybody was blown away by his natural feel for the balance of the boat. He did an amazing job. It was super nice to meet him; he’s a great guy. Lewis has gone on to have an incredible career, and recently coming onto great things with Ferrari.”

Sir Ben Ainslie is excited for Emirates GB Sail Grand Prix

Ainslie, who’s the CEO and team principal of Emirates GBR, can’t wait for the action to commence. With boats going at over 100km/h the competition looks destined to excite. And with the rivalry against Australia reaching boiling point, this is a sporting spectacle that fans can’t afford to miss.

The superstar explained: “The storyline is that we’re the current champions of Sail GP in our GBR team. Right now, we’re second overall in the season. The Australians — we’ve got this amazing sporting rivalry with them; they’re currently leading the circuit, and they’re having a really dominant season. So, this British event is a chance for us to get closer to the Aussies. What’s really important with Sale GP is being a top three overall at the end of the season, because you then go into a winner-takes-all final race to decide the podium and the championship”

The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix returns to Portsmouth on 25-26 July. Tickets are on sale now at Tickets.SailGP.com/Portsmouth

Featured Image Credit: Getty/Sail GP