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The head of the America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) Stephen Barclay this morning announced an independent inquiry into the crash of Artemis Racing’s AC72, which claimed the life of British Olympic sailor Andrew Simpson yesterday.
Barclay made the announcement during an international media conference call and said that the ACEA would wait for the completion of the inquiry – to be led by Iain Murray, Regatta Director and CEO of America’s Cup Race Management – before making any decisions on changes to the event, adding however, that he had “every expectation of staging a spectacular event in the summer”.
Barclay began the call by paying tribute to Andrew Simpson saying: “he was a mate to all of us and a great loss. As mates we have lost a larger than life character.”
Despite the Louis Vuitton Series being scheduled to start on July 5, Barclay said no timescales had been put on the enquiry to ensure that it “produces the best possible recommendations – if any – as to what we might change”.
Barclay said that Murray would have a free rein to involve as many third party organisations as he saw fit during the inquiry on behalf of the ACEA.
Barclay said a separate inquiry by the San Francisco Police Department was already underway. As part of that process the Police have secured the wreckage of the AC72 at Treasure Island and will be interviewing everyone who witnessed the incident.
Asked if there were any plans to postpone the start of the Louis Vuitton Series, Barclay responded: “At this stage, we want to conduct the review.”
In response to another question as to whether local San Francisco authorities had the power to prevent the Louis Vuitton and America’s Cup racing from taking place, Barclay said that all the necessary permits for the event to happen were in place and there had been no talk of them being rescinded.
On this topic, Murray said that the America’s Cup continued to have an excellent relationship with the Coast Guard, adding that there was “good trust” between the two parties and that he understood that the Coast Guard believed the America’s Cup organisers were taking the right actions in the aftermath of yesterday’s tragedy.
“There have been no discussions about withdrawing permits,” he confirmed.
Outlining the events of Thursday on the water, Murray said it was still not clear whether the Artemis AC72 broke up before or after the catastrophic crash, but confirmed that Artemis Racing and Oracle Team USA AC72s were both on the water at the time of the incident and had at some point been engaged in joint training.
Murray also confirmed that In the moments leading up to the crash the Artemis AC72 was being driven by Australian Olympic 49er Gold medallist Nathan Outteridge; the official sailing master was Artemis sailing director Iain Percy. Team CEO Paul Cayard was also believed to be on the water although not sailing on the AC72.
The Artemis AC72 is believed to have been on starboard gybe when it began to bear away as part of the crew’s normal training process. Murray said that at the time there was a flood tide of around two to three knots and the wind was in the range of 18 to 20 knots.
“So, flat water – a typical San Francisco sailing day,” he commented. “There was nothing out of the ordinary and the teams were carrying out their normal training sessions to perfect their skills: sailing upwind, reaching and practising gybing.”
Murray said the incident happened when the Artemis catamaran was bearing away to sail downwind.
Asked if it was known whether the boat broke up before or after the crash, he said all that was known was that the boat began to bear away and the end result was that it capsized. “We don’t know what came first,” he said.
Murray confirmed that aboard the many support boats on the water at the time of the incident were divers and medical staff, adding that this support would likely be added to by the event organisers when the boats are racing.
Asked if two capsizes and one death meant that the America’s Cup had become too dangerous, Murray answered:
“It’s what these guys want to do – take sailing to the next level” adding: “There are arguments either way whether foiling or not foiling is safer, but these boats rely on foiling for their performance.”
The Artemis Racing AC72 involved in the fatal incident would likely soon have been mothballed in favour of the team’s second boat which arrived in San Francisco recently and was being readied for action.
The Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa teams are believed to be completing the assembly of their respective AC72s after shipping them to San Francisco from their training bases in New Zealand.
Oracle Team USA,who launched their second AC72 at the beginning of May, have confirmed that they will not be training for the next three days.
Image credit: Gilles Martin-Raget
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