From Falmouth Marine School:    A man from Falmouth has sailed himself into Ben Ainslie’s America Cup team, as they challenge to become the first ever British outfit to lift the prestigious title.

Ben Davis secured the position of wing manager for the Land Rover BAR team thanks to his expertise in boat technology and is thrilled to be taking on the challenge of the Cup, which is described as the ‘Formula One of sailing’.

Teams from around the world work tirelessly to create the fastest, most technologically advanced catamarans and The Ben Ainslie team’s quest in Bermuda this summer is to become the first ever British team to grab the coveted title.

Ben studied boatbuilding at Falmouth Marine School after finishing his GCSE’s at Falmouth School.  He said his course “provided me with a fantastic stepping stone for my career”.

“The most important thing I learnt is laminating epoxy systems, which is now what I’m using every day as wing manager,” he continued.

The wing is a vital part of the boat as without it the boat can’t foil and lift up out of the water.

“Everyone’s  job complement each other, they have to  as we are all working for the same goal, to build the fastest race boat that can help us win the America’s Cup,” Ben continued.

“At the moment we are based in Bermuda, ahead of the 35th America’s Cup which takes place this summer.   We are all staying in the capital, Hamilton and commute to work via RIB.  The team starts the day with a daily briefing – to plan the sailing and testing schedule.”
The team try and sail every day, “but we allow for one or two days for boat maintenance” Ben explained.

“As wingmaster, before sailing I prep the wing, ready for the ‘wing lift’. The boat is in two parts: the platform and the wing sail.  We lift the wing onto the platform via crane, and once fixed we lift the whole boat into the water.”

The team have a series of test boats and have recently finished building the America’s Cup Class race boat, which the team will race in the 35th America’s Cup.

Since graduating From Falmouth Marine School Ben has worked all over the world:  Wally yachts in Monaco, Latini Marine in Rome, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Persico Marine in Italy.

Falmouth Marine School boatbuilding course manager, Jonny Mills said “our students really do go on have amazing careers”.

“As a trainer, there’s nothing better than an ex-student getting in touch and sharing their successes with us,” he continued.

“There is no better place to study – Falmouth has the world’s third largest natural deep-water harbour and is the country’s first and last port, boats are part of its foundation.  We have been delivering boatbuilding apprenticeships since the 1920’s and running fulltime course since the 1970’s.  We pride ourselves in ensuring that our students are skilled and ready to enter the work place.”

If you are interested in Boatbuilding, please visit www.falmouthmarineschool.ac.uk
or call 01326310310.