Coutts capsizes catamaran

Fast new catamarans were expected to add excitement to the venerable America’s Cup, and veteran skipper Russell Coutts showed just how exciting the craft can be when he capsized one.

Coutts, the experienced New Zealand skipper who is chief executive of the defending America’s Cup champion Oracle Racing, was racing skipper Jimmy Spithill in a media event on Monday to spotlight the arrival of the new wing-sailed AC45 catamarans in the United States.

During a pre-start manoeuvre on San Francisco Bay, a wave caught the bows of Coutts’s craft and it cartwheeled, landing on its side in the water. Grinder Shannon Falcone was thrown through the wing sail and another crew member was thrown into the bay.

Falcone was examined by paramedics on the dock and taken to hospital for precautionary X-rays.

A support boat righted the swamped catamaran.

The AC45s will be the center-piece of the 2011-2012 America’s Cup World Series circuit.

The high-tech carbon fibre craft are to be the precursors of 72-foot catamarans that are to be used on San Francisco Bay for the 34th America’s Cup regatta in 2013.

“They’re very demanding but also incredibly exciting,” Spithil, the youngest skipper to win the America’s Cup, said.