By Alexander Smith
(Reuters) – America’s Cup defenders New Zealand said on Thursday that a crane had failed while lifting their AC75 boat out of the water after racing in Barcelona, but all team members were safe.
The onshore incident took place as the competition for the oldest international sporting trophy — known as the ‘Auld Mug’ — began in the Mediterranean city in the east of Spain, bringing together some of the world’s best-known sailors.
“While retrieving the AC75 from sailing today the crane failed while lifting onto its cradle and landed heavily. All team members are safe,” Team New Zealand said.
“The extent of the damage will be assessed as soon as possible,” they added in a statement on social media.
The America’s Cup AC75 boats are craned ashore after racing and sit on huge cradles which keep their hulls supported and their huge foils and deep rudders protected.
As defenders, New Zealand do not have to qualify for the head-to-head final but are nevertheless participating in the six boat round-robin series which will decide which of the five potential challengers faces them in October.
Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland and the United States have all entered crews hoping to become the challenger in their huge high-tech ‘foiling’ mono-hull boats, which ‘fly’ above the water on hydrofoils at speeds of more than 30 knots.
Before the crane incident, New Zealand beat Italy in a tightly fought race, while Britain scored a victory over the U.S. after their boat came off its foils before the start, leaving them with too much to do despite a strong recovery.
France beat the Swiss in their race, before Italy bounced back from their loss to Kiwis with a win over the French.
The ‘double round-robin’ series sees all the teams compete against each other twice and will decide which four teams go through to the semi-finals, which start in mid-September.
New Zealand won a preliminary regatta for the event last week, throwing down the gauntlet to their challengers.
(Reporting by Alexander Smith; Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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