America's Cup: Second mast breakage on "BoatOne" - setback for Alinghi Red Bull Racing

Shock for the Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing: just two days before the start of the third and final Louis Vuitton pre-regatta, the Swiss team suffered a second mast breakage on their new AC75 foiler "BoatOne". The accident occurred on Thursday during training off Barcelona in moderate conditions. According to team information, the crew members were uninjured.

Alinghi's archilles heel: Investigation "in due course"

In a message published via social networks, Silvio Arrivabene, Co-General Manager of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, confirmed that all team members were safe. The boat had been towed safely back to the dock in Port Vell. Arrivabene was quoted as saying: "Today there was a rig failure in the early stages of training on 'BoatOne'. Everyone on board is safe and an investigation will be carried out in due course. In the meantime, the team is fully focussed on the races."

This is already the second major setback for the Swiss team with the new boat: the first rig failure occurred on 13 June. The mast also broke during training. According to various weather services, moderate winds of around ten to twelve knots and comparatively calm seas prevailed in the training area off Barcelona on 20 August.

The Swiss in the race against time

In a recent interview, Silvio Arrivabene said: "We were sailing at about eleven knots on the wind. Then the mast failed. The guys worked their way through it very quickly. Everyone was safe, nobody was injured. We salvaged the sails and the mast. We towed the boat and the mast back. Of course, we never planned for things like this to happen. But we did plan our response. Obviously time is short due to the pre-regatta, but we still have time. It's a pre-regatta and not a final or anything like that. So we continue to work our way through the preparation. We're getting ready and putting our spares in."

Silvio Arrivabene's clear statement that the team is "fully focussed on the races" suggests that Ernesto Bertarelli's racing team can activate a contingency plan. However, the Swiss do not have much time to make a comeback, as their first duel against the French Orient Express Racing Team is scheduled to open the Louis Vuitton pre-regatta for the America's Cup on 22 August at 2 pm local time.

The first video images of the second mast breakage on Alinghi Red Bull Racing's "BoatOne":

The Alinghi story! The Swiss team Alinghi Red Bull Racing probably released this clip rather by chance on the day of the second rig failure of their own success story in the America's Cup. Now it may also encourage the team: