Oracle Team USA Capsizes

Well, it was always going to be edge of the envelope stuff. And today, in about 25 knots on San Francisco Bay, Oracle's AC-72 pitchpoled. According to tactician Tom Slingsby:

“We called for a bear-away as we were out training. The winds were blowing about 25 knots, and there was strong ebb current at the time. We started the bear-away, and as the boat accelerated it pitch-poled.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen with the new boat. When the nose went down, the wing hit and a few guys went in the water. We were unsure if the wing would snap, so we all climbed off the boat.

“Luckily, everyone is accounted for and no one was hurt. The wing is pretty badly damaged, and we are working to get the boat back in position to return to Pier 80.”

Unfortunately, efforts to right the catamaran failed, and it turned turtle and started drifting with the current.

The result: serious damage to the wing, and questions as to what can be salvaged.

Sailing Anarchy has a thread going, and posted this pic (as well as the lead pic).

I'm sure there will be much more to come. But this looks like a pretty major setback for the home team.

UPDATE: here's video.