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The crash happened shortly after the start of the third race of the day. Peter Burling’s Black Foils crew lost control of their boat on the first reaching leg of the course when the boat flew too high and went into a sideways slide before rounding up in front of the oncoming DS France team.
This video starts just prior to the crash.
With the French travelling at close to 50 knots, helmsman Quentin Delapierre had only a split second to react as he tried to head up to minimise the impact. The bow of the leeward hull of the French boat rode over the windward hull of the New Zealand yacht just in front of the shrouds and daggerboard, scarily close to the front crew cockpit.
Safety teams were quickly in attendance and two sailors were taken ashore and transferred to hospital for assessment. Both were reported to be in a stable condition.
UPDATE: A statement from the Black Foils later confirmed that grinder louis Sinclair had broken both his legs in the crash.
“Sinclair is receiving treatment for compound fractures to both legs but is in a stable condition,” the statement said.
“Thank you for all of the messages of support since the incident. Special thank you to all of the medical staff involved in the response to the crash and subsequent treatment of all the athletes involved.”
The French team confirmed that strategist Manon Audinet was thrown forward into the boat's port steering wheel during the collision and was "being assessed for abdominal injuries caused by the impact"
“The entire DS Automobiles SailGP Team France has Manon Audinet and Louis Sinclair in their thoughts and stands fully alongside them during this time," a team statement said.
The race was stopped soon after the incident before the fleet was sent ashore sometime later.
The damage to both boats is extensive with the rig on the New Zealand F50 coming down at some point after the crash. Neither team will play any further part in the regatta.
Clearly still in shock after the collision, French skipper Delapierre later declined to comment on how the incident played out.
“I can’t really say anything,” he said. “Everything happened so quickly – it’s still super cloudy in my head and I haven’t reviewed the footage or seen the umpire app – so I can’t really say anything.”
“I think both teams are OK. I want to give my thoughts to the New Zealand team and also to my teammates. This was tough for everyone on both teams. I believe we’ll find some solutions to make sure we never see this kind of thing happen again.”
The racing in the two previous heats had been fast and furious with strong gusty and shifty southwesterly winds making for high speed sailing around the tight course set adjacent to a packed 10,000-seat grandstand.
Tom Slingsby’s Australian BONDS Flying Roos crew won the opening race with the French in second and the Kiwis in third. In race two the Black Foils took the win ahead of Dylan Fletcher’s Emirates GBR in second and the French once again on the podium in third.
In the overall standings at the end of the first day in Auckland, France lead but are tied on points with Australia in second. Diego Botin’s Spanish Los Gallos crew sit in third after finishing fourth in the first race and sixth in the second race.
A stormy forecast for Sunday afternoon has resulted in tomorrow’s scheduled 1630 start to racing being shifted to 1100.
