AC36: Royal Yacht Squadron's new AC 75 nicknamed "RB1" has been formally christened BR

PORTSMOUTH, GBR (#1222) — As we predicted in our Thursday evening post here on Sailing Illustrated, the new yacht of Sir Ben Ainslie's INEOS Team UK, representing the Royal Yacht Squadron, is the most "different" of the lot. Radical? Well, one supposes that's in the eye of the beholder. Is she right and the others wrong? Time will tell.

The first of two new AC 75s that each team is permitted to build under the 2021 America's Cup rules has been christened BRITANNIA at the the team's base in Portsmouth Friday afternoon.

Sir Ben's team also took the road less traveled in the actual champagne ceremony — choosing not to smash the bottle on the yacht's bowsprit, but to spray it. Nice visual effect if not also, dare we say, sexually suggestive.

All three photos in this post are courtesy of INEOS Team UK via their Instagram page. To see the photos by Shaun Roster we posted earlier today, click here.

Much more on today's (Friday) TFE LIVE as always on our Sailing Illustrated Facebook page at 1300 Pacific / 1600 Eastern / 2000 UTC / 0900 +1 NZT. Our special guest, live via Skype from Auckland, will be veteran AC rules and Deed of Gift guru Hamish Ross (NZL).

Finally, the YouTube video released by the team concurrent with the christening at their team base in Portsmouth, GBR Friday afternoon. The team has announced that both AC 75s will be named BRITANNIA (I and II), and the rendering of RITA in red links to the name Sir Ben used on all his boats used to win Olympic medals....