Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 1st, the organizing committee of the event reported on the 1st that on April 30, local time, the Chinese team was severely damaged in the first practice of the International Sailing Grand Prix in San Francisco. Fortunately, there were no casualties. At present, the racing ship is being inspected and the cause of the damage is confirmed.
When the accident happened, six participating fleets, including the Chinese team, were in practice. Recalling the thrilling moment, Chen Jinhao, the crew of the Chinese team, was still concerned: “The game has been very smooth. Our ship speed is very fast. After running to the downwind section, the angle of the water wing rises and the rudder leaves the water surface, at the moment when the rudder effect failed, the bow suddenly fell into the water, so the speed of the ship suddenly dropped from more than forty knots to 0 knots, and the upper end of the trailing edge of the wing sail twisted into S-shaped under the strong impact force……” Fortunately, no personnel were injured.
At present, the Chinese team has launched an emergency repair plan. In order to avoid further damage, after the accident occurred, the crew fixed the damaged wing sail with steel wire at the first time and transported the racing boat back to the port for comprehensive inspection with the assistance of the shore team. After preliminary inspection, one side of the 24-meter wing sail was torn into three sections, there were obvious cracks in the middle of the skeleton, and the cover film Edge of the ship was also cracked in a large area, whether there is any fault in the electronic system and the control system is still under further detection. Graham Torrell, the regatta manager, said: “It is less than 4 days from the competition. We need to fully investigate the cause of the failure and step up the repair work. The task is very arduous!”
“Among several fleets, the Chinese team is very young and has limited experience in Hydrofoil sailing, but we have high hopes for San Francisco station, so although it is a practice competition, everyone has reached the extreme.” Bruno Dubois, the director of the Chinese team, said, “Today is the first time the crew have practiced in such a windy day. Although they have encountered unexpected accidents, their performance is excellent and their growth is obvious, I believe we will tide over this difficulty together!”
Captain Phil said frankly that there would be losses, but more importantly, he should concentrate on the present and the competition a few days later, or try his best to spell out the best results.
The International Sailing Grand Prix San Francisco station will be held on May 4-5 local time. At that time, the Chinese team, the Japanese team, the American team, the British team, the French team and the Australian team will drive the F50 hydrofoil catamaran to compete together.