All hands survived and they kept the boat from sinking, but it was a real mess. In the leadup to the America's Cup, there is a Prada Cup sequence of races between three boats to determine who the challenger will be. The American boat hadn't been doing well in light winds the previous two races, and hadn't accumulated any points, but this day the wind was up. American Magic was way ahead and screaming along at about 40 knots, but rounding the final mark before the downwind dash to home, they ran into a puff; the windspeed suddenly doubled, they couldn't depower the main fast enough, the boat went airborne then crashed down hard and broke. The American boat couldn't make it back for the remainder of the round robin part of the Prada Cup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I595VdiBLRo
American Magic is not totally out though. They think they can be back in the water for the Prada Cup semi-finals at the end of January. If they're the fastest boat out there, they could still be the challenger to New Zealand for the America's Cup.
Stay tuned…
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