Two Americans bidding to bring home the country's first Olympic gold medal in catamaran sailing have taken a tumble in the Auckland Harbour today.
Ravi Parent and Caroline Atwood, of Parent Atwood Racing, were practising when both sailors were flung into the water.
Caught on camera, the jaw-dropping incident happened when the crew turned left briefly before attempting to tack right sharply - their bodies digging into the water.
The mast was then caught in the wind and began to flip when the pair were lifted into the air - still holding onto ropes - before they were tugged down to the water by the flipped vessel.
Parent and Atwood have only recently touched down in New Zealand after 28 hours of travel, writing on Facebook, "Lots to learn about this new venue, step one is figuring out how to turn to gravity back on."