The newest round of espionage, lawsuits and vast egos (and boats, too.) Group Origin (on right) race against the French/German group All4One in last month's Louis Vuitton Trophy off the coast of Sardinia It's a standoff in the midday sun. Our boat is slowing and our Russian rivals canada goose outlet store toronto are closing in. They eye us hungrily throughout a couple of yards of distinct Mediterranean water. We, normally sufficient, return the stares. Their 17man crew have a peaceful menace about them even though it might just be the canada goose outlet online matching baseball caps and wraparound shades. For a couple of seconds there's silence, the only sound the lapping of the waves against the hull, as the 24ton boats drift at any time nearer together. Bizarrely, we haven't actually begun racing yet. This is only the prestart, the 5 minutes of jockeying for place prior to the race even begins. It is a ease and comfort to know that our skipper is tripleOlympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie. He stands coolly at his wheel, occasionally darting a glance across at his opposite quantity from powering his Prada sun shades. He is thinking: How much time do I have left to perform with? How do I get in the very best position to strike the start line at good pace? And probably how do I not beats by dre australia ruin a extremely expensive yacht? The Team Origin crew at work, with Ben Ainslie and Iain Percy in the centre, standing, and grinder Chris Brittle in the foreground Two days prior to, the French skipper of the Aleph racing group almost knocked the bow off his boat when he smashed into the back again of the Italian Azzurra team as the pair of them sped towards the begin. The crash canada goose outlet toronto put both boats out of motion, each of which is worth about one million. With the sails and gear, it's nearer three million. If Ainslie goes over the start line early there's a penalty too late, or too sluggish, and he'll have lost the race before it is even begun, which is not the very best way to make sure you his paymaster the entrepreneur Sir Keith Mills, who is gambling hundreds of thousands of his own money in his bid to coax Ainslie to America's Cup glory. Ainslie experienced warned the crew that his rival skipper could be 'feisty' and ' aggressive'. He doesn't disappoint he wants to push us wide and block us as we try to flip. As Iain Percy, a doublegold Olympian and the tactician on board, states: 'It's like chess with a wobbly board.' The crews competing head to head off La Maddalena, an island north of Sardinia, are the 10 best matchracing groups in the world, and all are potential challengers for the subsequent America's Cup. Amongst them is the starstudded British Group Origin, that includes the elite of our Olympic sailors Ainslie, Percy and Andrew 'Bart' Simpson, with six Olympic gold medals beats by dre between them. They hope