British SailGP challenger capsizes in ‘scary’ Hudson River wind (2024)

Dylan Fletcher had described as “scary” the prospect of skippering the Great Britain boat in strong wind conditions on the Hudson River as the SailGP series event began in New York last night. Fletcher’s Australian rival, Tom Slingsby, was a little more to the point. “I am crapping my pants,” the America’s Cup winner had said, having crashed at nearly 60mph at the San Francisco leg last month.

Their instincts were correct. Fletcher’s Great Britain F50 catamaran capsized when it was travelling at a speed in excess of 40 knots (almost 50mph) during its final race preparations. The boat was hit by a huge gust of wind and flipped onto its side near the foot of the Statue of Liberty.

The top of the boat’s 24m wing-sail was damaged in the crash, forcing the crew to withdraw from the first of two days of high-octane action and there were doubts last night whether it could be fixed in time for this evening’s races.

“All was going to plan with preparations and we got hit by a massive gust of wind. The front of the boat lifted out of the water and we were over,” Fletcher said, confirming that none of the crew were badly injured. “We are totally gutted.”

The mechanics in the wing-sail on these F50 catamarans are highly advanced but the top is made of thin plastic and covered by the kind of cling film that wraps vegetables in a supermarket.

As the boat was righted, that covering was left fluttering in the wind and the boat had to limp back towards its base on the New Jersey side of the river; showing how the fastest racing boats in the world tread a very fine line between maximum performance and sporting disaster.

SailGP is Formula One on the water. The brainchild of Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison and Sir Russell Coutts, a multiple America’s Cup winner, the series pitches six national teams against each other over six events.

It was a bruising experience for Fletcher, who took on the SailGP challenge having never previously sailed at these speeds nor steered a boat bigger than 16ft. The accident was not Fletcher’s fault and the SailGP experience as a whole has strengthened his quest to win Olympic gold in the 16ft 49er class in Tokyo next year.

Fletcher and Stuart Bithell, who is flight controller and tactician in the Great Britain SailGP boat, were crowned European champions last month and have won either gold or silver in four regattas this year.

Fletcher and Bithell are directing all of their SailGP salaries into their Olympic campaign, with the money going on new sails, new equipment and improved race preparation rather than on the more mundane matters in life such as the mortgage.

“It has been brilliant for our Olympic sailing,” Fletcher said. “Our results are better and it is really making a difference. Before we signed up for this, Stuart and I had a new boat on order but we had no way of paying for it. Now, our SailGP money funds our Olympic campaign and whatever we can do to make a difference.”

The New York regatta continues tonight, starting at 10pm on BT Sport. The series’ next stop is Cowes Week, on August 10 and 11, where modifications to the boats will make them faster still.