A severe weather event has resulted in significant damage to the wing sails and at least one boat at the SailGP technical site, following the day’s racing at the KPMG Australia Sail Grand Prix in Sydney on Saturday (18 February 2023).

According to SailGP, no one was seriously injured during the incident, but racing was cancelled for the second day of the Sydney event.

Video taken at the scene shows a gale picking up just as the Canada team’s F50 catamaran was being craned out. As the wind picks up the wing sail, the boat becomes partially untethered. The sail starts flying uncontrollably, still attached to the crane at the top, before ricocheting off the marquees and fences as nearby ground crew and spectators scatter and flee to safety.

A full assessment of the damage is now underway, with organisers admitting it is likely some of the future SailGP events will be delayed. NSW fire and rescue told local media that the temporary structures set up for the race were “seriously damaged”.

“It was all hands on deck, but ultimately mother nature won,” says United States SailGP team CEO and driver Jimmy Spithill.

According to SailGP rules, three completed races are enough to constitute an event.

Now the site is secured, SailGP is carrying out a full assessment of the damage to the boats and equipment. After an initial review, it’s clear that there was significant damage to the wing sails across the fleet and at least one boat. Six boats remained moored on the water and are relatively unscathed.

SailGP says it works closely with local experts and has extensive in-house knowledge of the forecast. It says it had a window to crane the boats and, with the advice received, proceeded to do so.

The storm that ripped through Sydney and Newcastle late on Saturday has left more than 60,000 people without power. Winds of up to 43km/h were reported blowing through Sydney’s CBD on Saturday evening, reaching 50km/h at Kingsford Smith Airport and up to 70km/h on Newcastle’s Nobbys Beach.

The news comes just a month after the New Zealand team’s F50 was hit by a lightning strike in Singapore. The strike occurred when the boat was being towed back to the tech site and resulted in the injury of one of four athletes on board at the time.

Earlier this month, SailGP announced a new structure as it approaches the end of its third season and builds towards an expanded season four. It will be split into different business units including SailGP League, covering commercial, marketing, events, technology and strategy. SailGP Productions covers broadcast and content while SailGP Technologies becomes the boatbuilding, design and applied technologies division of the company.

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