Drama on day 1 of the New York SailGP with the Great Britain SailGP Team capsizing just minutes before the start of Race 1.
The wipe-out meant that the British team took no part in the three, day 1 races on Friday. All the sailors are safe, with no injuries.
British skipper Dylan Fletcher remains optimistic that the Brits will be back on the water for Saturday’s racing.
“All was going to plan with pre-start preparations, then we got hit by a massive gust of wind, the boat did a porpoise jump and we were over. The guys did an amazing job to get her upright quickly, but as can be expected, we are totally gutted and disappointed.”
The overall standings put Japan SailGP Team in the lead, followed by the Australia SailGP Team.
The China SailGP Team earns a podium spot on the first day of racing in third place, closely followed by the France SailGP Team. The United States SailGP Team is ranked fifth going into day two.
In Race 1 the fleet was gun-shy right from the start.
The Australia and Japan SailGP Teams led off the start line, followed closely by the French. Coming around the first mark, Japan came out with a strong lead.
However, it was anything but smooth sailing challenging the teams with gusts ranging from 10 knots to 30 knots in matters of seconds.
Skippers were constantly looking over their shoulders for gusts that could make or break the racing.
On the second upwind leg, Australia moved into the lead and didn’t look back, putting more than two minutes between themselves and the Rising Sun Japanese boat.
The China SailGP Team took third.The United States SailGP team finished fourth, leading the French, who struggled in the difficult breeze to the finish line.
Race two saw three lead changes in the very first leg, but the Japan SailGP Team ultimately prevailed at the first gate taking the lead, they were followed by Australia and China.
Japan SailGP of Nathan Outteridge and crew were able to move into first by keeping the boat foiling on the lulls and away with the race.
The Australians finished in second place, followed by Billy Besson and his French team, then China and finally the United States SailGP Team.
Race 3 begin with China SailGP Team leading at the first mark.
Shortly thereafter a gust knocked them off the foils, opening the door for Japan to move into the lead.
Undeterred China continued to chase them down the course, followed by the Australians.
Japan triumphed, taking their second race of the day followed by Australia 15-seconds later, China, France and finally the United States.
SailGP Overall Leaderboard after Day 1 New York
1st Australia – Tom Slingsby – 123 pts
2nd Japan – Nathan Outteridge – 120 pts
3rd Great Britain – Dylan Fletcher – 91 pts
4th United States – Rome Kirby – 88 pts
5th France – Billy Besson – 83 pts
6th China – Phil Robertson – 82 pts
RSS – Posts