US' Oracle counts cost of capsize
Source: AFP |
October 20, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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THE spectacular capsizing this week of Oracle Racing's 72-foot catamaran will cost it valuable testing time as its prepares to defend its America's Cup title next year.
Grant Simmer, the syndicate's general manager, said on Thursday that the boat's 131-foot wing sail was left in pieces and it will take three to four months to rebuild.
The team is scheduled to receive a new wing sail early next year. It's being built in Auckland, New Zealand, and was to have been used for a second AC72 catamaran.
"The biggest setback is losing the rest of October," Simmer said. "When you're sailing in a new class of boat, every day we're sailing, we're learning. So now we have to just get as much value as we can from the eight days we were able to sail."
None of the crew was hurt in the spectacular incident on Tuesday on San Francisco Bay, which Tom Slingsby, the gold medalist in Laser sailing at the London Olympics, called "pretty scary".
The fast catamarans are expected to add excitement to the venerable America's Cup.
An America's Cup World Series of races is being held in 45-foot catamarans, with the 72-foot craft to be used in San Francisco Bay for the 34th America's Cup regatta next year.
The Oracle syndicate, owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, defeated Switzerland's Alinghi in a trimaran to win the last edition of the America's Cup in 2010. Ellison pushed for the switch to the catamarans as part of an effort to make the event more television-friendly.
The Louis Vuitton Cup to decide a challenger will be held from July 4 through September 1 of next year. The winner will take on Oracle Racing for the America's Cup from September 7-22.
Grant Simmer, the syndicate's general manager, said on Thursday that the boat's 131-foot wing sail was left in pieces and it will take three to four months to rebuild.
The team is scheduled to receive a new wing sail early next year. It's being built in Auckland, New Zealand, and was to have been used for a second AC72 catamaran.
"The biggest setback is losing the rest of October," Simmer said. "When you're sailing in a new class of boat, every day we're sailing, we're learning. So now we have to just get as much value as we can from the eight days we were able to sail."
None of the crew was hurt in the spectacular incident on Tuesday on San Francisco Bay, which Tom Slingsby, the gold medalist in Laser sailing at the London Olympics, called "pretty scary".
The fast catamarans are expected to add excitement to the venerable America's Cup.
An America's Cup World Series of races is being held in 45-foot catamarans, with the 72-foot craft to be used in San Francisco Bay for the 34th America's Cup regatta next year.
The Oracle syndicate, owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, defeated Switzerland's Alinghi in a trimaran to win the last edition of the America's Cup in 2010. Ellison pushed for the switch to the catamarans as part of an effort to make the event more television-friendly.
The Louis Vuitton Cup to decide a challenger will be held from July 4 through September 1 of next year. The winner will take on Oracle Racing for the America's Cup from September 7-22.
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