SailGP: US Team React To F50 Capsize
The U.S. team has debriefed the dramatic capsize which ruled it out of competing in Bermuda after damage sustained to the F50 was deemed too severe to be repaired in time.
A spokesperson said, “The incident occurred during Bermuda’s practice racing, when the top of the wing inverted – or bent the wrong way – resulting in the F50 suddenly flipping over.
“Data from the boat later revealed the capsize was caused by wing trimmer Victor Diaz de Leon pressing the wrong button by accident.
“Reflecting on the incident, Diaz de Leon said he was ‘disappointed’ by the error and described the incident – which saw five of the team’s six crew members fall overboard – as ‘scary’.
“I’m thankful all my teammates are safe – I’m going to look into it, what went wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said. He paid tribute to his team, adding he was ‘thankful of how supportive [they’ve been] during this situation.”
“Team CEO and strategist Mike Buckley said the team ‘knew what went wrong right away’ but said ‘all [the team] can do is learn from it’.
“We compete as a team and whatever the outcome is, we win as a team and we lose as a team and we learn from it,” he said.
He likened the incident to high speed crashes in motorsport. “I think every Formula 1 driver has had a high speed crash into the wall and we’ve just joined that club.”
“He pointed to the team’s lack of on water practice days since joining the league, adding that Bermuda’s practice day marked only the team’s ‘fifth day foiling as a team’.
“We’ve been fairly unlucky with practice days this season,” he said. “We’ve had either no wind or mechanical issues or logistical issues – we’ve got to get more days on the water.”
“It comes after ROCKWOOL DEN driver Nicolai Sehested and Australia driver Tom Slingsby echoed this argument, blaming lack of practice for the increased on water incidents in Christchurch.”
