America’s Cup: American Magic ship seriously damaged in dramatic capsize

The New Zealand team rushed to help save the American Magic’s AC75 Patriot after the ship capsized at high speed and hit the water in a dramatic finale to Prada Cup action on Sunday.

Dean Barker set the Americans on track for the first victory, taking Luna Rossa to the upper mark for the last time when a bear move spun out of control.

Patriot jumped out of the water, spun and crashed sideways.

All 11 crew members were tallied, but the frenzied scenes saw chasing boats from rival teams enter to assist in a lengthy salvage operation that ultimately managed to save the ship that suffered major damage to its bow.

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Among them was the New Zealand team that was in the water, training and watching the race action of the challengers.

American Magic expressed its appreciation for the efforts of its opponents in an incident that no team would want to experience. They confirmed that there were no injuries to the crew.

Patriot was badly damaged with water entering his hull and threatening to sink.

Coast guard, police, firefighters and divers were dispatched to the scene to assist with recovery along with chase boats from rival teams.

Flotation devices were fitted to the expensive boat in an attempt to keep it above the surface. Pumps were being used to remove the water from the hull.

A flotation device was also fitted to the top of the mast when the ship threatened to tip over onto its side again in an increasingly desperate salvage operation near Milford in some 40 feet of water.

The huge double-walled wing sail was eventually removed as the Americans sought to get what they could from the ship.

The rough seas were softening to help with the process.

At 7pm, only the mast was above the water and the support boats prevented the hull from sinking further.

A move to place floatation devices under the hull was successful and the ship rose encouragingly.

Barker and Skipper Hutchinson remained on the ship, helping to direct the low-light operations. Other members of the US crew also participated along with some of their ground crew.

There was a great success. Patriot was being suckled back to base at the stern first, tied down to hold the boats, at a speed of about 2-3 knots. It was an 11 nautical mile journey given that the races were taking place on the northernmost field of the Cup, off the bays on Auckland’s east coast.

As night fell in the rescue attempt with the boat still on the North Head turn, another Team New Zealand boat arrived with pizza and soft drinks.

Ironically, the incident involved the New York Yacht Club, which had expressed a desire to move away from frustrated boats and return to traditional displacement monohulls if they won the America’s Cup in Auckland.

AC75s have been prone to capsizing.

The New Zealand team has capsized their boats three times, but has been able to continue sailing.

That won’t be the case for American Magic.

The next races in the Prada Cup round-robin are on Friday and it remains to be seen if they will be able to compete.

They have their first Defiant ship in Auckland, although it has been cannibalized with many parts aboard the Patriot.

The interior of these boats is packed with expensive technology, including electronics, crucial to their performance, and the Patriot will surely have struggled in this area.

Sitting at the bottom of the no-win points table, American Magic was already facing the prospect of having to advance to the repchage semifinal that doesn’t start until Jan. 29.

It is the second major America Cup accident for a team representing the New York Yacht Club.

In 1999, during the Challenger series, Young America suffered structural failure in Auckland and, although it did not sink, it was severely damaged without injury to the crew.

In 1995, the last America’s Cup ship to sink was One Australia, which broke in half in San Diego. One of the crew who ended up in the water was Iain Murray, the race director for this cup.

In 2013, defenders Oracle Team USA seriously damaged their 72-foot foil catamaran in a training capsize.

The New Zealand team launched their 50ft foiled catamaran in a Challenger series semi-final in Bermuda. They managed to repair the damage in time to race the next day and won the America’s Cup.