America’s Cup: American Magic helm Paul Goodison confirms broken ribs ahead of semifinal

American Magic’s port helmsman Paul Goodison will remain out of action when the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals get under way after sustaining broken ribs in an onboard incident.

Goodison fell through an open hatch and into the hull of his team’s AC75 Patriot while lifting the mainsail across the deck after racing on the penultimate day of the round-robins last weekend.

The 46-year-old posted a statement on Instagram confirming he broke five ribs in the fall.

“I struggled to breathe after the impact, but the extent of the injury wasn’t fully clear until further examination and imaging at the hospital. I’m now working closely with the medical team to assess my return to racing as soon as possible, while continuing to support the team’s path to the semifinals,” Goodison said.

As a result, Cup rookie Lucas Calabrese will remain at the helm on the port side of the boat for the start of American Magic’s semifinal against Italy’s Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli early tomorrow morning (NZ time).

Calabrese, 37, made his debut in American Magic’s loss to Team New Zealand on the last day of the round-robins, and will have had a few days now to build on the communications with starboard helmsman Tom Slingsby; a key factor in sailing with the dual helmsman set-up of the third generation AC75s as the sails prevent sailors from seeing the opposite side of the course.

Slingsby said Goodison had weighed in for the team prior to the semifinals and American Magic were hopeful to see him back in action soon, but backed Calabrese to step up in his absence.

“We’re still taking it day-by-day for when he will return but Lucas Calabrese has stepped into the role. He’s doing an amazing job, he’s taking it all on and it’s really exciting,” Slingsby said.

“We all wish Goody a quick recovery and we hope we can still see him in this competition.”

The match between American Magic and Luna Rossa shapes up as an exciting contest as the two were highly touted coming into the regatta for their boat speed and performance. Before the preliminary regatta in Barcelona last month, Ineos Britannia skipper Sir Ben Ainslie said as much and told the Herald his crew were a bit of a dark horse “coming at it with a late charge”.

They look to have timed their run nicely, finishing the round-robins as the top-ranked team and getting their choice of semifinal opponent.

The British chose to take on Swiss challenger Alinghi Red Bull Racing, who also showed big improvements in the second of the two round-robins after failing to win a race in the first.

The semifinals will get under way at midnight (NZ time), with Luna Rossa and American Magic up first – Luna Rossa selecting port entry for race one – and Ineos Britannia meeting Alinghi in the second, with the British opting for starboard entry.

The two series’ are a best-of-nine, with the winners moving on to meet in the best-of-13 final to earn the right to challenge Team NZ in the Cup match, which begins on October 13 (NZ time).

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