America's Cup: Alinghi Red Bull Racing capsizes during training - Video
by Richard Gladwell/Alinghi Red Bull Racing Media 1 Oct 2024 18:37 AEST
1 October 2024
Alinghi Red Bull Racing's AC75, well down on her marks, returns to base in Barcelona, after capsizing- September 30, 2024 © Alex Carabi / Alinghi Red Bull Racing
As previously advised, Alinghi Red Bull Racing, the now-eliminated Swiss America's Cup Challenger, capsized during training on Monday.
The team has issued a statement confirming that the AC75 struck an underwater object with its starboard foil.
Emirates Team New Zealand was training in the area at the time, and the Kiwi team assisted with the recovery - having been in this situation several times themselves.
The accompanying video was shot by America's Cup Media.
The team statement is as follows:
"Despite out of the running for the 37th America’s Cup, Alinghi Red Bull Racing decided to keep on training for a few weeks with the aim of extracting the full potential from their AC75. Taking advantage of their facilities in Barcelona, the Team had a planned training session on Sunday.
"The Swiss team was out on the water for an hour when the boat capsized. Silvio Arrivabene, Co-General Manager, described the events: “The incident happened as the boat was sailing downwind in fresh breeze and suddenly the foil let go resulting in an abrupt deceleration and consequent capsize. As the boat was hauled out of the water back at the base, it became apparent, and the data confirmed it, that the incident was linked to a failure in the starboard foil that could only have resulted from external factors, like a collision with a submerged object or material failure.”
"Fortunately, no crew members onboard were harmed, and everyone in the team acted swiftly and professionally to secure the boat. After the recovery process, BoatOne was towed back to the team base and retrieved in the shed. A thorough investigation is underway to further characterise the incident ahead of starting the repair process.
"Alinghi Red Bull Racing would like to take the opportunity to thank Emirates Team New Zealand for their crucial support on the water, along with all others involved."