The Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing suffered a catastrophic failure of their mast Thursday in Barcelona
The afternoon sea-breeze was well and truly in, with what the locals call a ‘strong Garbi’ of 20 kmots.
Sailing upwind, while bearing away on the left hand mark at top pace, mast bend was evident before the forestay went slack as the lower section in the bottom third of the mast gave way under forward pressure.
The rig collapsed into the water to leeward . . . no injuries were reported.
The integrity of the boat was the next priority, and this was secured quickly with only minor scratches observed initially around the bow area. To recover the rig and mast pieces, the sheets and mainsail skins were cut open.
As the team docked in, the hull was craned out followed by the mast pieces and mainsail skins recovered by divers.
Silvio Arrivabene, the Co-General Manager of Alinghi Red Bull Racing commented . . . “Incidents like this are part of the sport. The team is prepared for this kind of situation and ready with all the necessary spare parts, so the focus is now on getting BoatOne back on the water as soon as possible.”
