America’s Cup performing full review
Andrew Simpson... tragic fate. The death of British yacht-racing champion Andrew “Bart” Simpson in an America’s Cup training accident cast a cloud of doubt over the immediate future of the renowned race, as the event’s top official refused on Friday to...
[attach id="253258" size="medium"]Andrew Simpson... tragic fate.[/attach]
The death of British yacht-racing champion Andrew “Bart” Simpson in an America’s Cup training accident cast a cloud of doubt over the immediate future of the renowned race, as the event’s top official refused on Friday to rule out possibly cancelling this year’s contest.
The accident in San Francisco Bay, due to host the America’s Cup finals in September, followed numerous warnings about the safety of the sleek, high-tech catamarans that have become popular in yacht racing.
They are designed to compete in sustained winds of 30 knots, or nearly 35 miles per hour (56 kph), and are capable of reaching speeds of up to 50 mph (80 kph).
Speaking to reporters a day after Simpson, a two-time Olympic medallist was killed on the bay, America’s Cup Event Authority CEO Stephen Barclay said all aspects of the high-stakes regatta would undergo a full review before organisers decide how to proceed with this summer’s competition.
Barclay responded by saying, “Nothing’s off the table” when asked whether his organisation was considering using boats in the upcoming race other than the 72-foot, twin-hulled vessels invol-ved in two training accidents, including the one that killed Simpson, since last fall.
When asked if it were possible that this year’s competition, which begins with a qualifying contest in July, could be cancelled, Barclay repeated his earlier statement and added: “We will look at what happens through the review process.”
For now, competitors and race officials agreed to refrain from practice runs until at least tomorrow.
The San Francisco Police Department is investigating Simpson’s death with the US Coast Guard.
The website Sailing Anarchy, widely read by recreational and sports mari-ners, said in its first posting about Simpson’s death, “Let’s face it: We all knew it was going to happen. Pony air bottles and spelunking helmets notwithstanding, anything that goes 45 knots under sail is going to hurt its occupants sooner or later.”
Simpson, 36, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and a silver medal at last year’s London Games, was sailing as the crew strategist on Sweden’s entry for the America’s Cup, the Artemis, when the vessel capsized on the bay northwest of Treasure Island.
Race officials said the boat was performing a “bear-away” manoeuvre, turning away from the wind, when one bow dug into the water’s surface, and the vessel cartwheeled and broke apart.
Ten crew members swam to safety and were rescued by support vessels.
Simpson, who was riding on the windward side of the vessel as it flipped, was thrown underwater and beneath the boat and could not immediately be located, officials said.