Grand Central Station Test

There is a famous story in America’s Cup lore of a certain sailor whose self-assessed commercial worth was being challenged. To settle the debate, the ‘Grand Central Station Test’ was suggested.

The terms of the test was if the sailor could stand in the center of this major railroad terminal in New York City, and be recognized, his commercial worth would be confirmed. Given the general awareness of sailors at the time, there was no chance at success.

But how about now? Not sure what the equivalent of the ‘Grand Central Station Test’ is in England, but we suspect that British America’s Cup challenge skipper Ben Ainslie would crush it. This week he attended, with his wife Georgie Thompson, the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards in London.

Their appearance was worthy of a photo spread and story in the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail. A sample excerpt:

“Olympic gold-medallist Ben towered over his wife as they posed on the red carpet at the event which took place at Claridge’s Hotel. The 38-year-old Olympic athlete made a sensible style choice and looked suitably suave in a two-piece black suit which he paired with a white shirt, a black tie, a white pocket square and black leather slip-on shoes.”

The America’s Cup isn’t until 2017, but Ben already has his hand on the Commercial Cup.