In a statement Emirates Team New Zealand has announced that their America's Cup boat has sustained damage after today's Louis Vuitton Cup racing.
Today, Thursday 29th August saw America’s Cup teams out on the water in Barcelona as the first day of Louis Vuitton Cup racing got underway. Emirates Team New Zealand won their single race of the day against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli and returned to shore as usual. However it seems when hauling their AC75 out of the water the boat was dropped and sustained damage.
In a statement made across all their Social Media channels, the America’s Cup Defender stated:
‘While retrieving the AC75 from sailing today the crane failed while lifting onto it’s cradle and landed heavily.
Statement from Emirates Team New Zealand:
While retrieving the AC75 from sailing today the crane failed while lifting onto its cradle and landed heavily.
All team members are safe.
The extent of the damage will have to be assessed as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/cbDEoqaPx9— EmiratesTeamNZ (@EmiratesTeamNZ) August 29, 2024
No further information is forthcoming about the extent of the damage. Emirates Team New Zealand are due to compete in the rest of the Louis Vuitton Cup Round Robin series and have a race scheduled against INOES Britannia tomorrow afternoon and another against Orient Express Racing Team.
However, as Defender of the America’s Cup they already go through to that event, so their participation in the Louis Vuitton Cup is purely to allow them to practise against the other challengers. As such, missed races will not affect the kiwis in the short term, but any missed racing will be significant.
Emirates Team New Zealand will only compete in the Louis Vuitton Round Robin series, which means they only have nine races left against competition before they meet the winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup in the America’s Cup itself.
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