America’s Cup challenger Alinghi RBR suffers second mast break

Wednesday, 21 August 2024

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The Swiss America’s Cup challenger Alinghi Red Bull Racing has suffered a second mast breakage, just days before racing begins in Barcelona.

No one was hurt, and the team will sail the following day with a replacement mast, but it is not clear what caused the similar breakages, and whether the team has a further spare.

The rig was a new one and had sailed only 20 minutes before collapsing in a similar manner to one on June 13, which broke after only hours of use.

“To be in this situation again certainly raises some legitimate questions with regard to what happened to the mast’s structural integrity,” said the team in a statement.

The five challengers, and the defending Team New Zealand, are in the final preparations for the curtain-raiser regatta which begins on August 22.

Alinghi RBR said it would fit a mast overnight, which it had used for several months, suggesting it was an older model, and not one of the two new rigs permitted for this regatta.

“Each failure occurred in a similar manner,” said the Swiss challenger.

“An investigation will be carried out in due course, in the meantime the team remains fully focussed on racing,” said Silvio Arrivabene, the co-general manager.

The dismasting occurred in calm seas and a 12 knot wind, and Alinghi RBR described the incident as “definitely surprising”.

The masts for the second-generation of the AC75 foiling monohulls are a “one-design” but each team has latitude as to how they are built, and with some elements.

The two-time cup winner was putting on a brave face and said “we may have lost a mast, but we haven’t lost the race”.

It has publicly called for supporters to go to its base at 1pm on Wednesday, to see the boat set off for more sailing with the replaced mast.