Black Foils co-chief executives Blair Tuke and Peter Burling have spoken about the major crash at their home SailGP event on Saturday, with Tuke calling the incident “a very traumatic one”.
The New Zealand crew suffered major damage to their F50 foiling catamaran in a collision with the French early in the Auckland regatta, which saw a sailor from each team hospitalised.
Black Foils grinder Louis Sinclair suffered compound fractures in both legs and required surgery on his right, while French strategist Manon Audinet was hospitalised with concerns of an internal injury.
In a statement on social media, team driver Burling said Sinclair’s recovery was going well.
“The review of the incident is still ongoing but at the moment the priority is definitely with Louis,” Burling said.
“He’s been through surgery now and has had a really good outcome there. They’ve pinned his right leg and he can weight-bear again now, which is great.
“So we just want to say a massive thank you to everyone that’s been involved in that process. All the caregivers and staff at Auckland Hospital that helped him out along the way. It’s been absolutely awesome and meant the world.”
On the incident itself, wing trimmer Tuke said it was traumatic for everyone involved.
“Saturday’s incident was obviously a very traumatic one, not only for us as the Black Foils but also the French boat and everyone around it.
“Just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped with the incident, the first responders, but also to the fans all over the world and of course the ones watching live in Auckland.
“It was tough for everyone, but the message we’ve had, we’re really feeling the aroha and it helps bind us together as we pave the way forward.”
The incident happened in the third race of the day on the opening high-speed reach after the Black Foils appeared to lose control of their vessel.
They fell into the pathway of the French, who collided with the Black Foils’ F50 near the grinders’ pod, where Sinclair and Marcus Hansen were situated.
As the G2 grinder, the frontmost position on the boat with his back to the racecourse, Sinclair was the closest to the impact zone when the French hull went over the top of the New Zealand boat.
Replays showed the Kiwi crew prepared for impact in the moments before the boats came together, with all members on the right side of the boat ducking into their pods about two seconds before the eventual collision.
League chief executive Sir Russell Coutts confirmed a sailor was trapped in their compartment in the aftermath. The Herald understands that sailor was Sinclair and his right leg had been pinned between the two boats.
SailGP would not comment on the specifics around Sinclair’s extraction from the vessel when contacted by the Herald.
“For privacy reasons, we cannot share specific medical or rescue details. However, we can confirm that in addition to the personal air supply carried by athletes, our on-water safety teams are equipped with back-up oxygen provisions sufficient to last several hours, if required,” a statement from the league said.
As part of SailGP’s safety protocol, all sailors are equipped with a personal supply of air built into their life jacket which has approximately 2.5 minutes worth of oxygen. Sailors must undergo safety training, in which they are taught how to maximise how long that supply lasts.
There is also a knife built into the jacket in case the sailor needs to cut themselves or a teammate free. There are four slots for knives to be kept on the boat, while there are two additional canisters of oxygen on each side of the boat.
Sailors are put through extensive safety testing which takes them through how to best react in the case of a major crash or on-board injury, while their life jackets are designed to limit the impact on an athlete’s body if they are thrown about the boat in a collision.
Audinet, whose Kiwi partner Jason Saunders is flight controller on the French boat, was said to have been “violently thrown” inside her cockpit, with enough force to break the steering wheel.
Coutts praised the response from the SailGP safety team after the collision between the two boats and said a thorough review would be carried out.
“We always review the entire weekend, but when we get a situation like that, there’s always learnings out of it. There were learnings out of the response. I thought the response team did a fantastic job,” Coutts said.
“When you look at it, we had a sailor trapped in a compartment on the boat and the response to that was, I thought, excellent.
“But there were lessons to be learned about the communications and the way we assess the situation, and there always are.
“Fortunately, nobody was really seriously injured and you can take those lessons away and perhaps respond in a better way in the future and learn by it, and perhaps save a life if you have a similar situation in the future.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.