SailGP Bermuda: USA capsize caused by crew error, league finds

A crew member pushing the wrong button on his control panel caused the USA SailGP Team to capsize in Bermuda.

On Saturday morning, the American crew had a scary moment when their boat went up on its side and caused five of the six athletes on board to fall from their cockpit on to the wingsail. No one was significantly injured, however the wing was damaged and the vessel could not be repaired in time to get the team back on the starting line for the weekend’s event.

After reviewing the data in the day since the capsize, SailGP found the wing inverted, or bent the wrong way, just before the vessel flipped. Data from the USA F50 foiling catamaran helped the league understand how it happened, with wing trimmer Victor Diaz de Leon pressing the wrong button as he intended to flatten the wing, not invert it, while operating on the starboard [right] side of the boat.

SailGP said the button had already been used seven times before the capsize, so ruled out a technological fault as a potential cause.

Reflecting on the incident, Diaz de Leon said it was a disappointing error for him to have made, while team chief executive Mike Buckley, who also sails with the team as a strategist, said they knew immediately what had happened to cause the capsize.

“We compete as a team and whatever the outcome is - whether it’s what we want - we win and lose as a team and we learn from it,” Buckley said.

Being ruled out of the event is a huge setback for the American outfit, who went into Bermuda as a mid-table team, seven points outside of the top three.

With only four events, including Bermuda, to go before the grand final shootout in San Francisco - which replaces that regatta’s podium race - they will lose ground on Spain, Denmark and France, while Canada look poised to take advantage of the USA’s inability to race to leapfrog them on the table with a strong start to racing on Sunday.

The Canadians, helmed by Kiwi Phil Robertson, claimed two second-place finishes as well as a sixth through the first three fleet races, which saw them sitting second on the event ladder at the end of the day. Australia, who won two races and added a third, led the way, with Denmark third and New Zealand fourth.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.