A big get-together was called this morning at the America’s Cup headquarters to debrief the first weekend of the Prada Cup challenger series where safety was, unsurprisingly, top of the agenda.
American Magic’s dramatic capsize on Sunday didn’t just send shockwaves through the water with race director Iain Murray telling 1 NEWS the accident has caused everyone involved to sit up and take note.
“It only takes a slight hiccup and we will have another capsize,” he said.
All the challengers and Team New Zealand were involved in today’s meeting where the general consensus was the reaction to American Magic's topple was on point, however lessons were learnt when it comes to co-ordination, equipment and communication.
“We don't need a free-for-all, we need a well-managed situation,” Murray said.
“The fact the boat is back here speaks volumes for the fact that the process was generally right.”
Officials are happy with the speed of assisting boats, noting a head count was also done within 60 seconds.
Murray said they also back the call to sail in the changing conditions.
“The sea state that was there Sunday morning, that was on our upper limit,” he said.
“When the boats actually raced with the breeze in the north west, that was fine.
“They've had the opportunity to review that, they're sticking with what they've got.”
Murray added there clearly won't be as many races to keep an eye on this weekend with American Magic confirming they’ll miss the rest of the round robins to repair their boat.
“We'll only have two races, just when they are, we're working through that with the teams,” he said.
SHARE ME