But it’s the look in his brown eyes, the glare that offers a glimpse of the other side of sailing’s Jekyll and Hyde.
His friend and America’s Cup rival skipper Iain Percy once described him as the “most competitive man on the planet.”
And on an industrial estate in a small, understated office — quintessentially Ainslie — in Portsmouth on England’s south coast, Britain’s greatest ever sailor is plotting how to win the America’s Cup.
“It’s the same drive to win,” he says of Britain’s bid to seal their first win in the event’s 163-year history.
“Until we’re on the start line we won’t know for sure how we’ve done. It’s exciting and terrifying so you have to keep the intensity.”
Even Ainslie admits to having different personalities on and off the water: “I’m pretty aggressive and I certainly wouldn’t want to be like that on land.”
On the water, there’s no shut-off valve, just an unabated desire to win.
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Newey’s pedigree is very much in the mold of Ainslie, whose role of super sub in Oracle’s overturning of an 8-1 deficit to win the 2013 America’s Cup led to one British newspaper hailing him a modern-day Horatio Nelson.
“People talk about individuals but it really was a team effort,” he insisted. “The designers that helped with the development changes, the shore team, the boat builders that implemented those changes and sailors that pulled it off on the water.
“There are so many lessons to learn that you never stop developing, never give up, keep pushing through. It would have been easy to pack up our bags and disappear. But it’s never over, you have to keep going.”
It’s no surprise then that Ainslie’s favorite quote lends itself to another British military leader — Winston Churchill.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is courage to continue that counts.”
And Ainslie’s thirst for victory still remains unquenched after all his victories.
“Our goal ends up with us bringing the Cup back to Britain.”
