Yesterday’s PlanetSail video by British sailing journalist Matt Sheahan, which asked whether SailGP had ‘gone too far’ has already attracted 50,000 views and prompted over 300 comments from viewers in 24 hours.
Many were critical of the event organisers for cramming too many boats into too small a racing area and prioritising spectacle over sailor safety.
“IMO a fatality was avoided by sheer dumb luck, while one possibly two sailors are severely injured, these boats are where F1 was in the 80s in terms of safety,” said one commenter.
“Spectacle is perfect but stop racing formula 1 boats on a go kart track,” said another.