"A big wave came, and I don't know, it was really fast ... I had a lot of pain in my right side and I couldn't really move my right leg." That's what Brit Annie Lush says in a video from on board. She and Peter Burling, America's Cup winner, were standing at the rear grinder when a wave came over and caught them both. They were thrown to the rear railing. Lush suffered an injury to her lower back, was unable to move her right arm and leg and had to be taken below deck because an urgent gybe was required to avoid crossing the ice line and incurring a penalty. Burling, on the other hand, got off lightly.
Annie Lush about the accident
"I couldn't stand up, and I tried to crawl, but I couldn't use my right leg at all," Lush said. "In the end, the guys had to pull me across the deck and then carry me down to the bunk."
Lush had already sprained her ankle four days ago and had to take painkillers, and was only able to move from one side of the boat to a bunk on the other side with difficulty after manoeuvres. Apparently she had just returned to work when the new accident happened.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
