The Oracle team’s AC72 carbon fibre racing yacht capsized during training on Tuesday in San Francisco Bay. All crew are safe. It was the boat’s eighth day on the water since the launch in August.
The full extent of the damage to the $8 million carbon-fibre boat has not yet been fully assessed, but team officials said the wing – the long, mast-like apparatus that shoots in the air to catch the wind was destroyed.
The team was training throughout the afternoon in San Francisco, with winds slowly building as the day progressed.
Tactician Tom Slingsby explains;
We called for a bear-away as we were out training, the winds were blowing about 25 knots, and there was strong ebb current at the time. We started the bear-away, and as the boat accelerated it pitch-poled. We didn’t know what was going to happen with the new boat, when the nose went down, the wing hit and a few guys went in the water. We were unsure if the wing would snap, so we all climbed off the boat. Luckily, everyone is accounted for and no one was hurt. The wing is pretty badly damaged.
The boat and crew safely returned to the team base at Pier 80, Oracle Team USA support boats were on hand throughout the training period, and they towed the AC72 from the capsize area near the Golden Gate Bridge back to the team base.
skipper Jimmy Spithill commented;
It’s going to be a big test for this team. But, I’ve seen this team in a similar situation in the last campaign, before we won the America’s Cup. A strong team will bounce back, and this won’t stop us from winning the America’s Cup. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work, and we have to look at our plan now. I’m still confident in the team we’ve got and we can go out and win again.
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