The Black Foils will begin the SailGP season with a negative points total following a review into a crash on the opening day of racing in Perth.
The Kiwi crew were ruled out of the weekend’s action less than two legs into the firstrace after a crash with Switzerland saw their F50 catamaran badly damaged.
Initially judged to be at fault by the umpires, the Black Foils appealed that decision after the day’s action. They were unable to sway the umpires in a hearing after racing, but did limit the hit to their season tally.
The Black Foils confirmed the team was given a three-point penalty for their season count, meaning when the regatta ends they will move in the wrong direction on the scoreboard.
They were also handed seven penalty points for the Perth event.
The ruling saw a decrease of one point from the initial decision, with the Black Foils tentatively penalised eight event points.
Speaking after the day’s racing, Black Foils driver Peter Burling said he felt his team did everything possible to avoid an incident and the decision set a worrying precedent moving forward.
“We did everything we could to keep clear and I am not sure what else we could have done in the situation. It’s frustrating to have an incident like this but we just have to review from here and see what the situation is with the repairs,” he said.
Black Foils team members assess the damage to their F50 catamaran after day one of racing in Perth. Photo / SailGP
“We obviously saw the incident a different way to the umpires so made an appeal and disagree with the subsequent outcome. They have made their decision and we have to deal with it now, but believe it sets a concerning precedent for the season.
“As we do with everything as a team, we will reflect and review things but it’s certainly not the outcome we’d hoped for. It’s important now that we come together and use our time together here productively before Auckland.”
There were no injuries after the incident, however, Burling was left shaken as the Swiss vessel collided with that of the Black Foils in close proximity to when the Black Foils’ driver was on the boat.
“Everyone’s obviously pretty shaken up,” he told media after the day’s racing.
“We felt like we did a really good job through the build-up, we were building nicely through this whole period and to have an incident like that happen first race of the season’s definitely not ideal.
“I think it’ll continue to sink in over the next couple of days, but yeah, these are the incidents that I think bring teams together and we’re really lucky we’ve got such an amazing group to kind of support one another and get through it.”
The team would now turn their attention to the regatta in Auckland on February 14-15, hoping that SailGP Technologies would be able to repair the vessel in time for racing.
Work was expected to continue on the team’s F50 on Sunday in Perth.
“Everyone has seen the extent of the damage - there is no transom on our boat,” Burling said.
