Source: Radio New Zealand
A sudden increase in wind speed caused the Black Foils to lose control of their boat moments before their high-speed crash with Team France in this month’s SailGP regatta in Auckland, an investigation has found.
The horrifying crash, which unfolded just 15 seconds after the start of the third race on day one, left two sailors hospitalised, and significantly reshaped the seasons of both teams, with the two boats suffering extensive damage.
Black Foils grinder Louis Sinclair sustained compound fractures to both legs in the incident, while France strategist Manon Audinet suffered internal abdominal injuries after the French F50 catamaran ploughed into the out-of-control Kiwi boat at speeds approaching 90 km/hour. Both sailors have since left hospital and are recovering at home.
SailGP officials on Wednesday released the findings of its technical review of the incident, revealing its engineers had found “no evidence of system malfunction”.
Alex Reid, SailGP’s director of performance and engineering, said the incident occurred after the Black Foils’ boat Amokura hit a gust of wind as it charged towards the first mark at 90 km/h. The extra wind pressure caused the foiling catamaran to accelerate rapidly and lift higher out of the water.
That increased “ride height” proved critical.
Black Foils SailGP Team and DS Automobiles SailGP Team France collide during Race 3, on Race Day 1. Simon Bruty for SailGP
As the hull rose, the leeward hydrofoil pierced the surface – a phenomenon known as ventilation – destabilising the boat. What followed was, according to Reid, “a very fast chain of aerodynamic and hydrodynamic events” that unfolded within seconds.
Data from onboard telemetry, high-rate performance systems and simulator recreations show the F50 began to sideslip, generating lift in unintended ways. Despite control inputs from flight controller Blair Tuke, the boat could not be brought down quickly enough.
As the crew fought to regain control – increasing rudder angle while trying to avoid nearby boats – the rudder briefly lost effective flow. The windward bow then dipped, the boat rounded sharply into the wind and decelerated hard.
Immediately behind, the French F50 was travelling at roughly 86km/h. At those closing speeds, there was no time or room to avoid impact.
“There is no evidence of a system malfunction or structural failure prior to the incident,” Reid said.
“What we see in the data is a very fast chain of aerodynamic and hydrodynamic events that pushed the boat beyond its controllable envelope at that moment.”
A penalty review has upheld the on-water decision that New Zealand breached rule 14 (avoiding contact) handing the Black Foils an eight-event-point penalty. France was deemed to have had no reasonable opportunity to avoid the crash.
Speaking to media last week after Black Foils driver and team boss Peter Burling described the incident as “horrific”.
Black Foils driver Peter Burling and team are expected to be off the water for some time after the crash caused significant damage to Amokura. Alan Lee/Photosport
“We started off race three and were going down reach one to windward of the Italian boat. We ended up high on the foil and ended up sliding sideways.
“We hit a system limit, which drastically escalated that situation, and had to take quite drastic action to avoid the Italian boat to leeward, which resulted in us touching down. Obviously, the incident followed that.”
Both teams have since been ruled out of the upcoming Sydney Sail Grand Prix as repairs continue.
SailGP says it is now examining potential mitigations to help crews better manage similar gust-driven scenarios in future regattas.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
