News: Nasty Storm Hits Canadian Sail GP Boat Down Under
Feb 23, 2023
Two weekends ago on the Sunday of Australia Sail Grand Prix racing in Sydney, a severe weather system passed through while the Canada SailGP Team’s F50 catamaran was craning out. The Canadian wing was severely damaged. Thankfully, no one on the team was seriously injured.
Given the extensive damage to several wings and the team’s F50, racing for today (Sunday) has been cancelled. The storm wreaked havoc in parts of the city and left 60,000 people without power.
The team has been onsite all day evaluating the damage to the new boat, which was christened just two days earlier. Working closely with SailGP to deal with this unprecedented occurrence, the team will assess the impact this incident will have on the team going forward.
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.
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.
