COAL Point sailor Kyle Langford's tip that the English boat loomed as a serious threat to the Australian team's chances of winning the opening round of the 2020 SailGP season on Sydney Harbour on Saturday proved well founded.
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Four-time Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Ben Ainslie and the British team spoiled the party for Langford and the Aussie team led by Tom Slingsby.
The Englishmen won four of the five races held on the harbour over the two days to score a commanding win in the opening round of SailGP Season 2.
Ainslie's boat amassed 47 points over the weekend, to relegate Australia (42 points) and Japan (39) to minor placings.
Australia scored a consolation win in the final race of the weekend.
Lake Macquarie sailor Iain Jensen was among the crew on the English boat, while his Olympic sailing partner Nathan Outteridge, of Wangi Wangi, was helmsman for the Japanese team.
Thousands of spectators crowded Sydney Harbour to watch the world's fastest sail racing.
The victory marked Great Britain's first event win in the global championship, and Ainslee was rapt.
"It's certainly been one of the best sailing events I've ever taken part in," he said.