Growing Pains
by Mark Jardine 16 Feb 18:00 GMT
The damaged Black Foils SailGP Team F50 catamaran is craned out of the water on Race Day 1 of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland, New Zealand © Felix Diemer for SailGP
The SailGP event in Auckland this weekend was extraordinary on many fronts. Thirteen F50 foiling catamarans on the startline, wild conditions with unpredictable gusts, and possibly the worst crash we've seen on the circuit since its inception.
Firstly our thoughts go out to the two injured sailors. The New Zealand Black Foils' grinder Louis Sinclair has undergone surgery on his legs after suffering two compound fractures, and the DS Autos Team France strategist Manon Audinet suffered abdominal injuries after hitting and breaking the leeward wheel. We wish them a full and speedy recovery and hope to see them both back out on the water soon.
There is no doubt that the race course was tight and the boats crammed closely together with the full thirteen teams racing, especially with the conditions being on the edge. Controlling an F50 is tricky at the best of times, but with some of the gusts that were bulleting across Waitemata Harbour it looked harder than ever. These are some of the best sailors in the world, with Olympic gold medallists, America's Cup winners, and International Moth world titles aplenty out on the water. We're seeing the crème de la crème being pushed to the absolute limit.
The balance between excitement and safety is an incredibly difficult one to strike. Let's not forget, SailGP is an entertainment product, and is designed to appeal to a far wider audience than just sailors. In fact, Russell Coutts is very open about how sailors are not the audience he's looking for - it's those who consume all kinds of sports and sport entertainment - and we as sailors are a fraction of the total that this 'sporting property' is aiming coverage at.
Nevertheless, Russell and the SailGP team have to think about the welfare of the sailors, and the kind of severe crash and injuries that we saw on Saturday aren't good for business. For sure they'll get the views and clicks, as incidents like this do, but wrecking two F50s, and the human cost of the injuries to two great sailors, costs both financially and reputationally.
Huge credit must go to DS Autos Team France helm Quentin Delapierre, who by my calculations, looking at the footage frame by frame, had 1/25th of a second to react the New Zealand F50's change of course, and managed to spin the wheel right just enough to move the impact point of their port hull to be just forward of the cockpit. This instinctive move by one of the best in the business may well have saved lives.
Social media, as it is prone to do, was instantly judgemental. The Kiwi team, and Peter Burling especially, were called out for causing this collision and described as a danger to everyone on the racecourse. Yes, they have been found at fault for the collision, but in Burling we are talking about a sailor who has won three Olympic medals, nine World Championships, and the America's Cup three times as a helm. Yes, he's pushing hard to win, but has also been unfortunate to be involved in a couple of serious incidents recently.
On Sunday I received a message from Bill Dawes, the editor of Boards magazine back in the day, who was watching the racing from the grandstand. As an avid and very knowledgeable windsurfer he understands a thing or two about spotting the breeze, and from his high vantage point he commented on the blast of wind approaching and thought it was going to cause trouble. From the sailors' viewpoint on board the F50s, these gusts are simply impossible to see.
Bill was upset to see some of the vitriol aimed at Peter Burling, who is no doubt feeling very upset himself about the consequences of the crash, but the blame cannot be solely pinned on him. When you put that number of boats in a tight space, all travelling at around 50 knots on the edge of control, there are going to be racing incidents, and this was one.
The format was rightly changed for the Sunday, with the fleet split into two. There were calls for this to happen sooner, but there were also those who applauded the thirteen boat startline. It was, without doubt, a sight to behold, and may well be the only time it's seen in these kinds of conditions. As mentioned earlier, the balancing act for SailGP between entertainment and safety is a hard one to judge, and this may well have been a tipping point.
Joel Marginson and the exceptional team at SailGP Technologies in Southampton have already been working overtime to keep the fleet numbers up after the spate of recent crashes, but the damage to the French and New Zealand F50s is so extensive that it's hard to see how they'll be back in action for Sydney in a fortnight's time. They'd already been working incredibly hard to build the thirteenth boat, which is now the Swedish Artemis Racing team's, and the boat for the as yet unnamed fourteenth team; they would have had their fingers and toes crossed for an incident-free weekend, especially having only just completed the new stern section for the port hull on the Kiwi boat. The already weary laminators and technicians are going to be burning the midnight oil again...
Much has also been said about how safety can be improved on the F50, as the sailors do look dangerously exposed at times. Could the abdominal injuries be prevented with airbags? Might a halo system, similar to Formula One, help? Inevitably things are different on a boat compared to a car, but everything needs to be considered, trialled, and evaluated. Nothing should be off the table or classed as too costly when it comes to sailor safety as these are people with families we're talking about. SailGP is entertainment, but not entertainment at all costs.
Outside of SailGP, the first Preliminary Regatta of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup was announced for the 21st to the 24th May in Cagliari, Sardinia. This is going to be the only event where we see the AC40s racing - not the AC75s - in 2026. This is the build up for the main event which is taking place next year, and things are awfully quiet.
Interest in the America's Cup does wax and wane, almost inherently due to its format, but right now SailGP is stealing its thunder. Combined with the teams all using the same hulls as the 37th America's Cup - with a few major modifications due to crew changes and no cyclors in this edition - any big reveal, which is so much of the intrigue of the event, is gone. In addition to this, American Magic has defected to SailGP, buying the Danish Rockwool team, meaning that it's more than likely there will be no American involvement in the America's Cup for the first time ever.
We are at the trough of the America's Cup cycle though, and the crest is mighty, so I'd be unwise to cast judgement on the event, but I do believe it's facing a challenging period. The Auld Mug has weathered them before though, and will no doubt weather them again. Just like the tide, fortunes ebb and flow.
Back in the real world - i.e. the type of sailing most of us enjoy - it's the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show this weekend in the UK. This is the starting gun for the season over here and has the best atmosphere you'll ever see at a show. The stalwarts, the volunteers, the keen club sailors, Olympic champions and those new to the sport mingle and chat about everything that is right and wrong in sailing. If you happen to be nearby then I strongly urge you to go, as you'll come away from it feeling energised and raring to go sailing. Covering it all is exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Mark Jardine
Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com Managing Editor