Action Video- ORMA60 drops rig at 25kts while chased by AC45
by Richard Gladwell on 14 Feb 2011
TeamVodafoneSailing drops her rig at 25kts SW
Last week we reported on the dismasting of the ORMA60 TVS dropping her wing mast rig in the early stages of a Wednesday evening race, on Auckland's Waitemata harbour.
We now feature a video taken by a spectator capturing the actual moment of the dismasting as TeamVodafoneSailing was flying two hulls and travelling at over 25kts when a shroud gave way.
She was leading the race at the time, but was being pursued by the prototype AC45 sailed by Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker at the time time of the incident. The AC45 was reported to be catching TVS, but had not yet passed her.
No injuries were reported to the crew, and damage to the wingsail is also reported to be minimal.
After the incident the wing mast was still afloat as was towed back by two Emirates team NZ tenders who were quickly on the scene.
We have added a shot showing the only real damage to the wing mast - a broken rotation arm and a few paint scratches.
TVS is the former Geant3, the highly successful French crewed trans-oceanic racer
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