A Journey of Incomparable Experiences

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INEOS TEAM UK’s journey to Auckland and the PRADA Cup has been a long one. Three years of designing, developing, and testing have led to this moment. The journey has seen the team build two 75-foot, 6.5 tonne AC75s, both named BRITANNIA, and a smaller test boat, T5. One consistent thread throughout the team’s development, however, has been an internationally celebrated artist known for his extraordinary fluency and technical skill in watercolour, Alexander Creswell.

Alexander is mainly an architectural watercolour painter, within which he includes marine architecture, and he has been painting boats, mostly classic yachts, for many years alongside his most celebrated works. In May 2019, however, he took on a completely different challenge, and began drawing the journey of INEOS TEAM UK and BRITANNIA.

Ever since, Alexander and his wife Mary have been an ever-present within the team, keeping a keen eye on proceedings and bringing them to life in a series of paintings and sketches. From the builds of BRITANNIA, both RB1 & RB2, through to their respective launches and first sails in the waters of Portsmouth and Auckland, Alexander has depicted it all beautifully in a magnificent series of works that have captured the innovation, dedication, and teamwork behind INEOS TEAM UK.

“I scratched my head when the opportunity first arose, but I thought I’d give it a go”, explained Alexander, “We went into the yard at Carrington Boats to see the beginnings of the hull and deck of what would become RB1 being put together and from then on it has just been a journey of incomparable experiences.

“From the construction of both AC75s, the transfers from Carrington Boats to Portsmouth to Auckland and then finally the sailing training and trialling itself, it has been an amazing storyboard. It has been an organic process that has just rolled on and on.”

Over the past two years Alexander has spent countless hours with the team, meeting everyone, learning what everyone does and sketching and painting everything from the intricate sail sewing in the sail loft through to the boat builders, rigging teams, hydraulics teams, painters and more in the shed.

To really bring to life the power of these AC75 boats, however, it was equally important for Alexander to get out on the water and follow BRITANNIA in action. To enable him to sketch on the water Alexander created his own ‘drawing machine’, a device that allows him to keep his rolls dry whilst sketching on a RIB at 40+ knots.

“It came about when I was drawing some of the classic yachts. I invented this machine to keep the paper dry, before and after using it. It works a bit like an old film camera where you only have one piece at a time and if it gets wet it does not matter.

“Sketching BRITANNIA, however, at speeds of over 40 knots was completely different. When you are chasing a stately classic yacht going along in a modest breeze you have all day, it’s wonderful, it’s a languid occupation. This, however, is the nearest thing to Formula 1 racing on the water. I noted 49 knots on one of my drawings which was pretty impressive. I have never drawn that fast!”.

“As far as I know I am the only artist ever to go out on the water at that speed and draw there, as opposed to taking photographs and painting from them later. I do it because to go out on the RIB chasing BRITANNIA at sea is to experience the movement, the atmosphere, the sounds, and the evolution of the story of the day. It is not the easiest situation to draw in, but it captures an immense amount of the spirit of the action and the boat in motion. I certainly can’t draw as fast as BRITANNIA moves but I can draw it over and over again, and that gives a real sense of the movement”.

Alexander has had a lengthy and decorated career which includes experiences ranging from painting the ashes of Windsor Castle and an exhibition of Westminster Abbey through to travelling through Europe with the Prince of Wales. For him, however, bringing to life the journey of INEOS TEAM UK is one experience he will never forget.

“It is certainly one of the most exciting projects I have ever worked one. It has been amazing to see and document the minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour progress that has been made by the team over the past few years. It’s been one of the most exhausting projects of my life, and certainly the fastest!”.

“It has been a great privilege to note and record each moment as it happens, so often forgotten as it passes, but each one a vital part of the history of this brilliant team”.

A selection of from Alexander Creswell's works over the past two years telling the story of INEOS TEAM UK: