IT is the first time in 164 years that the America’s Cup will return to British waters – and it’s set to be spectacular.

The oldest trophy in world sport, which Britain lost in its inaugural year in 1851 off the coast of the Isle of Wight to a schooner from the American New York Yachting Club, is back and it falls on one of the most iconic British sailors in history to make sure it stays on these shores.

Portsmouth will host the America’s Cup World Series, one of the preliminary rounds to the qualifying stage, this week where Lymington’s Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful sailor in Olympic history, will get his campaign to win the 2017 America’s Cup under way.

The 38-year-old, and his crew, on the Land Rover Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) AC45F catamaran will battle it out against five other teams to collect points to carry forward into America’s Cup Qualifiers in 2017.

It is the embryonic stage of the competition but, with an expectant crowd watching on the shores of the Solent, Ainslie will be hoping that this will propel his BAR team to glory.

There probably isn’t a better man to be the face of the British challenge.

After all Ainslie, a four-time Olympic champion, galvanised Oracle Team USA to victory from 8-1 down in the first to nine competition in 2013 to become the first British sailor to win it in 110 years.

Ainslie and BAR chief executive Martin Whitmarsh, the former McLaren Formula One head from Lyndhurst, New Forest, are now trying to topple Oracle, starting in Portsmouth this weekend.

The racing starts on Saturday and climaxes on Sunday.

The foiling AC45 boats make for a spectacular sight as they glide across the water at speeds of nearly 50mph.

Off the water, the event gets underway tomorrow with opening press conferences and the arrival of the America’s Cup trophy.

In the evening there is the official opening ceremony, which starts at 7pm, and is followed by the South Coast Proms that features The Massed Bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines from 8pm.

That will be repeated from 7.15 on Friday.

That isn’t the end of the royal links, either, because the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attending as VIP guests. They will be presenting the medals on the final day of racing on Sunday.

There is further entertainment over the weekend, with the likes of Spandau Ballet, McBusted, Wet Wet Wet and Carly Rae Jepsen playing at the America’s Cup Portsmouth Live! concert on Saturday night.