WELLINGTON (Reuters) – America’s Cup holders Team New Zealand have flipped their first generation AC75 foiling monohull while training in heavy conditions, domestic media said.
Saturday’s incident was the second time the team have flipped ‘Te Aihe’, as their yacht is named, during training.
The crew had been testing the boat’s capabilities in weather and sea conditions beyond the upper limits set by America’s Cup organisers for actual racing, Stuff Media, the country’s largest newspaper chain, reported on Sunday.
The yacht suffered damage to part of the steering system and was righted by the team’s support boats and then towed back to their base.
Last December, Team New Zealand had a slow-motion tip over in their initial trials with Te Aihe.
Challengers American Magic also tipped over their first generation boat while training on the Hauraki Gulf last month.
Teams are allowed to build two yachts for their campaign, with the first generation used for testing and fine tuning their second generation boats.
The challenger series runs from Jan. 15 to Feb. 22 next year before the America’s Cup match against Team New Zealand begins on March 6.
(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
