SYDNEY (AP) — SailGP organizers say the ultra-fast catamaran series is considering fitting the fleet with air bags and Kevlar safety straps after two sailors were seriously injured in the last race.
Two weeks ago, New Zealand grinder Louis Sinclair broke both his legs and France’s Manon Audinet spent two weeks in hospital with a chest injury when their boats crashed in a race at Auckland, New Zealand.
SailGP chief executive Russell Coutts said Friday on the eve of the Sydney races that the series is continuing its review into the Auckland crash, the most serious since the league’s inception in 2019.
Coutts, who won an Olympic gold medal for New Zealand and skippered three America’s Cup victories, said SailGP is satisfied with the immediate emergency response, but will investigate whether better safety equipment could be implemented to minimize future risk.
“There are a whole host of ideas,” Coutts told Australian Associated Press. “Could you have air bags on the inside of the cockpit? A Kevlar strap (could) be on the outside of the cockpit, for example, stopping a penetration (by another boat).”
Sailors expect accidents will happen when 13 identical 50-foot foiling catamarans jostle for space on a tight course at speeds above 100 kilometers at hour (60 mph).
Tom Slingsby, skipper of the Australian team which won the Auckland event, says he does not expect more crashes this weekend on Sydney harbor. Calmer winds are forecast, although the easterly breeze will still make for challenging sailing.
“Getting rainy easterlies at this time of year is very uncommon,” Slingsby said. “This weekend’s forecast, I don’t see any danger (of more crashes). It should be moderate breezes, light to moderate breezes.”
But Slingsby said accidents are part of the high-speed racing.
“It’s an extreme sport and we will have injuries,” he said. “As for the incident in Auckland, it’s tough, there’s no way of putting on an exciting show without a level of risk.”
Slingsby, whose Australia team includes actors Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds as co-owners, believes sailors want that risk reduced but not removed.
“We’ve trained our whole lives for these situations and we want to be out there pushing our skills to the limit, not dulling them down in the name of safety,” he said. “At the same time, we don’t want to see people hurt. It’s a fine line.”
Both French and New Zealand boats will be absent for the Sydney event.
SailGP is hopeful damage to the French boat will be repaired in time for Quentin Delapierre’s team to line up in the next regatta off Rio de Janeiro in April. But New Zealand’s hopes of reaching this season’s $2 million event final are in jeopardy as the crew expects to miss Sydney, Rio and possibly the two events to follow.
Twilight racing — the seventh time SailGP has been raced on Sydney harbor — will be held on Saturday and Sunday, with the winning boat to be determined on Sunday.
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