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Saturday’s forecast calls for easterly winds in the 12-17-knot-range with the breeze coming off the Vaucluse peninsula likely to be shifty and unpredictable. Conditions on Sunday may be steadier as the wind is expected to shift to the northeast and potentially reduce in velocity slightly. Flat water is expected for both days.
For the second event in a row the SailGP crews have been denied any Friday practice racing, after the threat of thunderstorms meant time on the water has had to be limited to ‘shakedown’ sailing.
The crash between Peter Burling’s Black Foils and Quentin Delapierre’s DS Automobiles 15 seconds after the start of the third race on Saturday at the previous event in Auckland two weekends ago caused serious damage to both boats and saw Louis Sinclair (NZL) and Manon Audinet (FRA) each hospitalised – the former with two broken legs. Both sailors have since been released from hospital and are expected to make a full recovery.
Following the crash, Sunday’s racing was conducted in two flights, although this caused some unfortunate scoring anomalies. Earlier this week, the findings of a SailGP investigation into the incident revealed that there had been no hardware or software malfunctions aboard the Kiwi boat, and that the side-slide that triggered the collision was caused by the New Zealand crew flying the boat too high.
The crash has prompted a lot of heated discussion on social media between sailing fans around the world, with opinion divided on whether split-fleet racing should be adopted going forward. The organisers’ decision to return to a single fleet may indicate that the option of dividing the teams into two flights will be reserved for instances of extreme conditions or limited space on the racecourse.
Whether the teams have been briefed to limit ride height on the power reach to the first mark is not known, it will be no surprise to see some teams erring on the side of caution for the first few races at least.
France are understood to likely be the first team to return to racing action, aboard a boat made up of the salvageable hull components from the two damaged F50s. When that will be is still the subject of conjecture – as is the future of the New Zealand team who could need a complete new boat to rejoin the fleet.
With plans for the Spanish Los Gallos crew to receive the next new hull produced and for their current boat to be used at the newly announced American Magic training facility in Pensacola later this year – as well as plans for a 14th team to be introduced at some point – just where the Kiwis fit into the build schedule is hard to assess.
