HUGE HOLE in the side of American Magic after capsize

A tough road ahead for American Magic, but no doubt they will recover. One of their engineers mentioned that they'd be race-ready in 10 days.

[@jesuschrist-alphaomega]

Flex seal. I've seen the commercial. It fixes holes. They will be racing tomorrow

[@04SURE]

😂😂😂😂 & a bit of duct tape she be right lol

[@alessioanzalone9759]

@@04SURE In Italy we call it "American tape". American tape can fix everything :D :D :D

[@larryeckerdt9750]

“That’s a lot of damage!”

[@cjg6364]

Good one...LOL

[@campbelltown3065]

The flex seal guy is my absolute favourite con artist. I love his ads. Gonna miss him when he goes to jail for fraud.

[@oakbellUK]

Have i just watched 3 mins of a boat being put on a trailer?

[@melclark1066]

It would appear that way,. Were you forced to watch ,or was it your choice? Maybe you would like to watch it again, just to be sure.

[@oakbellUK]

@@melclark1066 :) I watched it because i thought it was going to tell me something about the hole, repair etc.

[@eventhisidistaken]

...best 3 minutes of your life.

[@SailChaser]

Can't say I ever been more excited about a boat being lifted from the water. I waited 4 hours for that bloody moment!

[@tonywillans7556]

It's a very black hole. Was hoping to see a banana or two. Oh well. Sigh.

[@2ndAmendmentX]

Looks like the beer keg wasn't properly secured and fell off the jacuzzi and popped right through the hull

[@CheersWarren]

Fixing the composite carbon is easy the messed up electronics and electrics as well as the foil moving structure is going to keep them busy!

[@SomeTechGuy666]

Electronics is straight forward but timely to fix. Just duplicate what was there. That hole and the damaged infrastructure inside is way harder to fix than you think.

[@jwhoward182]

Do you know they never considered the possibility of things getting wet?

[@Froggability]

If it's not too late, hose it all down with distilled water. Then dry it out

[@wwfgumby]

There's nothing that an ice cream bucket lid and some grey tape can't fix

[@seawolfe6460]

Great footage. Sad to see. Hope it's not the end of their campaign and something can be done.

[@kirkmoyes5743]

Magic failed, science may yet be the answer

[@gav2759]

Quite remarkable the damage a bunch of bananas can do.

[@thegibbonisreal]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

[@BlueJazzBoyNZ]

@@thegibbonisreal Arthur C Clark.

[@imogen1]

@@BlueJazzBoyNZ I would sign a petition to name the next American ship American Clarketech

[@tonywillans7556]

Was going to be called American Science, but, you know, Trump was still Prez.

[@Dunno513]

I think we’ve lost the spirit of sailing when the boats are no longer able to withstand the ocean. What’s next, levitation sailing? It’s like watching nascar, no heart left, just identical boats so far tuned that reality is lost.

[@tonywillans7556]

Utter nonsense.

[@dulls8475]

Looks like they hit the UK lunch box.

[@santiagobenites]

Slipped on a banana peel! LOL

[@Mahalo_83]

@@santiagobenites straight out of Mario Kart

[@mastac1500]

@dulls That one made me laugh way harder than is should have! 😂 But seriously i dought that they can fix that till next weekend. Would be a shame if thats the case.

[@dulls8475]

@@mastac1500 I hope they get fixed and ready as well. I like Americans even if it is unfashionable nowadays.

[@letsgosurfing1786]

@@mastac1500 the hole is the easy bit. The electronics is the problem.

[@oncar1]

Glue abit of ply wood on the side, she'll be right

[@norberthofer5830]

They call a plane that is half boat a Catalina. What do you call a boat that is half a plane?

[@jamesnield]

Really bad luck. Hope you get it sorted and back in the hunt. Keep positive.

[@mattsweet6347]

“You’re gonna need a bigger boat.....”

[@francescocitterio54]

I mean that hole was quite handy to remove the water, so I'd say it has it pros and it cons...

[@PriitMogilenko]

yeah, hole is in right place.

[@komisar3937]

Yeah, if you could just get it up on those damn foils there be no way all the water could stay in the hull... right?

[@KiteTurbine]

OMG Gutted for them

[@artistglyn]

The hole is easily fixed, it's damage to the systems and their confidence that is harder to repair.

[@neutronalchemist3241]

Even in low resolution you can see stress fractures running for half of the boat in width and 1/4 of the boat in lenght. Any other hull would have been scrapped at that point. They'll repair it, but it will not be an easy fix.

[@Mjr._Kong]

I'm not a structural engineer, but that hull doesn't look like it will be able to handle racing loads after that shunt -- even "repaired." I would imagine it's stressed-skin design like aircraft, but I hope I'm wrong. Godspeed fellas!!

[@thethirdman225]

They’ll fix it.

[@team3383]

@@thethirdman225 Jimmy will ..... good 'ole 'mercansz. LOL.

[@gregw6748]

No they can't. It's a throw away.

[@charlesbarton6922]

I'm guessing the hole will line up with the hydraulic mount for the foil arm - when the boat came crashing down from that huge height a lot of force would have been transferred from the foil arm through the hydraulic mount, and something had to give.

[@jcdazamont]

You are right, .. Boat would fall down with a huge gravity potencial energy. I don't think it was desing for that crash

[@lautoka63]

Yes, that's my guess too. Here's hoping that they can get it fixed, so that the challenge is just that.

[@tchevrier]

the hole looks to be about 6-8 in front of the foil arm.

[@Gottenhimfella]

@@tchevrier Indeed; if the foil cant main pivot housings had been compromised there is no way that hull would have come home, and certainly no way TH would be confidently predicting Patriot will front the semis.

[@ApprenticeGM]

Nah I reckon battery pack that powers the foil hydraulics has crashed through the bottom of the boat and is now on the bottom of the harbour . . .

[@KPL400]

There's probably a nice battery pack lying at the bottom of Waitemata Harbour....

[@wallyman292]

it does seem to have a nice, uniform square shape to it, doesn't it! I wonder if it happened when they went airborne, then slammed back down just prior to going over.

[@mikemontagne2703]

Good thought, could the capsizing, created sufficient intertia to pull the battery pack with it's mounting platform, along with that section of hull. That being said, it's most likely (for the sake of Auckland Harbour's Eco health!) still inside the hull!

[@naketoatalagi1659]

It belongs to the taniwha

[@naketoatalagi1659]

TNZ lean over and give a hand

[@brettmciver432]

Any word on them getting back in the racing? Hope they do. Any of the other teams offered help?

[@msulemanf]

The ups and downs of this competition are amazing so far. Americans are fine competitors and will bounce back - good luck.

[@andymaci1094]

They need Ben Ainsley to help them bounce back👍

[@9madness9]

Hope they can back up to racing ASAP some how, want to see fair race by all.

[@wallyman292]

@Boatbabes xxx They need to go back to the good ol' 12 meter keel boats! No worries about capsizing when you have several tons of lead underneath you.

[@briandalrymple9986]

This is a very unfortunate incident for sure. We need to remember that these boats are the F1 in yachting. They are elite. In F1 motor sports we see incidents happen and Lo and behold by the next race, the car is again racing. The American Magic team have 5 days to get this repaired and I have no doubt that there will be a massive 24/5 effort to regroup and continue racing. I wish them the best in this repair effort, as I am sure many do. The help that the other teams rendered on the water was a good indication that all the teams realise that a situation like we witnessed, is always on the cards for all. Kudos to all those involved in the rescue.

[@bunkerhill4854]

@@wallyman292 True, but they can sink, and if I recall correctly one did several campaigns ago.

[@wallyman292]

@@bunkerhill4854 Yeah. I recall that as well! Once it started going down, it went in a hurry! Actually, I wonder what kept this boat from sinking as well once the hull was breached. Do they have floatation installed below, I wonder?

[@Gottenhimfella]

@@wallyman292 The whole forrard section is one huge buoyancy tank (40 tonnes of buoyancy) but unfortunately, that was breached on this occasion.

[@nssherlock4547]

Now what's needed is the Nascar technique, left hand turns to keep the hole out the water. Bonus, they can now stick an oarsman down there to row. Did the skipper get dunked into the drink at least ?

[@boatymcboatface666]

That'll buff out! In all seriousness though, good luck to the whole team and hope they get it sorted to race again.

[@alanjm1234]

Well done to the rescue crews to stop her from sinking! Hopefully they'll be able to effect repairs and get back to racing.

[@jugaloking69dope58]

from what i hear on race day today. its going back in the water Wednesday just in time for the finals. officially they lost the two races they were in today lol

[@richardjohnson4696]

Gaping hole.. I have know a few of them in my life.

[@Yosser70]

Hope they get it fixed so the UK can beat them a bit more ;)

[@fins59]

Never have a box of bananas on a boat.

[@Mcgyvvr]

Airbus underestimated Poseidon. Poseidon drop kicked Airbus's underside. Poseidon 1 American Magic 0

[@ReinoutSchotman]

Is it broke, use duct tape. Is it stuck, use WD-40. Every serious engineer knows that.

[@jasonmcconnell9419]

T'was the bovine escape hatch. She stopped mooing at the same time as the capsize.

[@billgiles3261]

Well. Despite having wings they don’t fly very well. A sorry thing, I hope that they can repair it as the competition will be the poorer without.

[@eathannvdb]

Calling them sails > calling them wings

[@cjeam9199]

@@eathannvdb I think they’re correctly called foils.

[@callumwyper]

Flex tape is all they need

[@omegaseamaster1550]

Red/Green flex tape no less.....

[@windycityjohn400]

"TOE PICK" (From: The Cutting Edge)

[@PeterWMeek]

I have to say: bailing is a lot easier when you can throw the water out through the bottom of the boat.

[@russelllangille5969]

when i first saw that wet black hull with lights shining off the skin, all thoughts went to H G Wells' book War of the Worlds and kept expecting to hear the cry "ULLA".

[@Johnonayacht]

If you look at Dean at the wheel it’s the same stature that he had on the last cat. He Dowler look comfortable and the wheel position for his height seems off. I think T Hutch needs to just be tactician and no longer grinding like they did on Ineos.

[@Mainsail333]

Seriously, lifted by a crane in that view it doesn't look like a sailboat but more like Alien spacecraft...

[@stimpacat]

They can fix the boat, but can the fix the boat handling issues. Unfortunately things just went south for America. Maybe someday in the future we will be as good as other country's. Right now there's a Black Hole in our system. To be fix any day now.

[@chrisgriffiths2533]

Well Done Sail Chaser, Great Video. Not a Good Sign for the USA. Their Boat has Weakness.

[@donchristie420]

Unfortunately, shit happens in racing!! Learn from it and become faster and better equipped 😃

[@bradkuether3561]

Deviating from a classic design for America's Cup was a mistake. It's now more of a technology race than anything else. It isn't even really sailing anymore. I stopped watching a long time ago. Really nothing to see....

[@ginginthing]

This probably could have been prevented with the use of a overswing cable which could be made with, you guessed it, a carbon fiber rope, which would prevent the arm from punching into the hull in a severe load case such as this. I'm surprised that this scenario wasn't anticipated.

[@gav2759]

Is it on ebay yet?

[@robgreyber]

If you watch the video of the crash, immediately afterwards there's something floating in the water, between the camera and the stern of the boat. Possibly the piece of the boat and/or the kit that made the hole?

[@mejeanlouis72]

The kit that made a hole this big in a mixture of carbon and kevlar would float really ???

[@robgreyber]

@@mejeanlouis72 I’ve no idea really, just noticed it on the vid. Certainly big enough to make a hole in this kind of boat at 35 knots. Check it out on the video, just when the support boat gets there.

[@megg1964]

the flying object has been identified as a bird :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/oISboXWhbLZredU

[@robgreyber]

The debris I’m talking about isn’t a bird. Check out the full race day replay at 2:47:48 and you’ll see it in the water.

[@manosdleros]

only carbon?!..?in the places where they exert great forces, I hope a little Kevlar will be placed....

[@ScottSummerill]

How did that boat not sink? Think Hutchinson needs to get off the grinder and start paying attention. Can’t believe NYYC is all that thrilled.

[@thethirdman225]

It wasn’t Hutchinson who was at fault. From what I can tell - and I may well be wrong - Paul Goodison advised Barker to bear away first then tack because in those conditions, a tack and bear away was risky. Barker made the wrong call and the crew weren’t able to release the runner in time. Personally, I think they need to find a better helmsman. Barker is way better than I’ll ever be but he isn’t even in the same post code as the others.

[@todordobrev2350]

The other way to look at it is: this is not the original hole. I think this is a cutout, around the original much smaller crack or hole, which they had to do for some reason.

[@thethirdman225]

@@todordobrev2350 Makes sense and eliminates the chance of a fracture spreading.

[@team3383]

@@thethirdman225 Thinky it was just bad luck. Dean wasn't paying attention as he was at the helm and it's ruddy tough in those conditions - he was looking at the mark. Paul Goodison simply knew that what was being asked was difficult and advised the team on several occasions so they'd put their backs into it. Hutchinson was grinding with his head below and couldn't see the water. 2 pairs of eyes - Dean barker's and Hutchinson's weren't where they were supposed to be because of their respective jobs and they got surprised by a sudden gust of wind. The boat did what it had to do. It flew and took off.

[@wallyman292]

@@todordobrev2350 I doubt they would do something like that with the boat still in the water though.

[@Nobilangelo]

Something heavy must have come lose inside and bashed its way through.

[@slooob23]

The battery's most likely

[@tuckersbowtie]

Yup, wondering the same thing. Looks like it was in one piece until the smashdown. Also, they immediately had someone open up a hatch near the mast area when she was still sideways, seems like they knew right away that there was water ingress.

[@thethirdman225]

Looks more like it was cut to me. No ragged edges.

[@Bohonk212]

@@thethirdman225 There's streamers of Carbon fiber flying all around that hole.

[@thethirdman225]

@@Bohonk212 I'm looking at this is the highest resolution I can but I can see some things but I'm not completely convinced. I can see the things you're referring to but t's not the jagged hole I would expect. It's a bit too dark and the hull is black. My conclusion was that the hole was cut to stop any cracks from spreading if the hull distorted. But I'm not saying you're wrong, just speculating.

[@steveclarke7494]

American Magic sponsored by Airbus. Boeing still in hiding?

[@hrhjimmyhadder6207]

Somehow they’ll blame President Trump.

[@helmuttdvm]

The hull was not designed to take that sort of stress. Looks like the hydraulic ram must have punched through the hull.

[@erichaskell]

It’ll buff out.

[@dennisjanda5081]

What's Plan B, turn it into a submarine ??..Just Askin' !!

[@normanbraslow7902]

These things masquerading as boats are just not seaworthy and are too fragile.

[@patrickbinkley2866]

Time to call Amazon

[@VideoServicesVB]

It will be interesting to see how the media will blame Trump for this...

[@mikemontagne2703]

Is it possible, (because of the square shape) that as it flipped over, part of the hydraulic assembly, broke loose, taking the mounting platform it was fixed to, along with that section of the hull?

[@clivehallam5339]

I think this is very possibly what happened.

[@Riley_1955]

100 mph duct tape will win the race.....Guaranteed.

[@londoncri3945]

Meanwhile , we have a few lithium batteries at the bottom of the gulf ....

[@randalltaylor3700]

A little 3M marine 5200 and she's fixed

[@cjeam9199]

Brits had to have a huge flag cos the Americans had two. Heh

[@Graygeezer]

The thing looks more like a UFO hanging in the air like that. Something not of this earth.

[@treebird1055]

Rrrrrr matey's....it be a portal into the near future...rrrrrr.⛵

[@DSC800]

Isn't a boat a hole in the water where you throw money, or is it a hole in the boat in this case?

[@5starentertainment392]

U guys can get up and do this , stay strong NZ👍👍

[@fionawimber1028]

10 days ain't gonna cut it. They've got four. Unless they can get Defiant ready.

[@thethirdman225]

They’ll be fine.

[@reynaldneron9012]

Next week-end is the last part of the round robin. Patriot won't make it. But the semi finals (second place vs third place) starts on January 29th, so they have 12 days. They seem confident they can make it...

[@108hindu]

@@reynaldneron9012 I bet they do make it.

[@davidwood62]

A very expensive dead water beatle. Stamp on it .

[@justinfarrow4803]

Ohh bugga...

[@gilbertanthonyperea5236]

They will be back and hard to beat with this design.

[@frankowot4]

Where's McGyver when you need him?

[@anonymousmc7727]

Boat racing doesn’t matter.......

[@gcrothers]

I think pip hare could get it sorted..

[@Huaimek861]

What seems strange to me is the fragility of the hull , that it can take the enormous strains put on it by the foils .

[@robertcain3426]

That's probably due to the carbon being stiff rather than strong. And they are risking breakage verses weight reduction.

[@mckappe]

In bocca al lupo American Magic! 🇮🇹❤🇺🇸

[@TheBaldOne]

Anyone know why it failed? It seems such a squared hole to be fatigue or something.

[@VideoServicesVB]

Equipment came loose inside. Punctured with it slammed. Speculation..........

[@fvingerhoed]

what caused that?? Where are the 12M when you need them...

[@VideoServicesVB]

Yeah. This is an interesting class, but it's not sailing.

[@fvingerhoed]

@@VideoServicesVB no. It’s to far away in the future for now.

[@jamesaron1967]

Well, that sucks.

[@johnpatrick1588]

Stronger than steel but lighter than steel?

[@04SURE]

Dean barker you fuct up 😂😂😂😂

[@0e32]

Hål i botten på svenska...

[@gayleh3688]

that seriously look very suspicious

[@otuamab]

Wrong call at the mark, Helmsman ignored the main trimmer's advice. Then then leeward runner left on. So the main could not be dumped. Over she goes! A catalogue of errors under pressure.

[@thethirdman225]

I think they need to replace Dean Barker.

[@gregandkaruna6674]

Under pressure? They were well ahead and cruising to a win and did not have to take such a high risk manoeuvre.

[@joemorris8423]

@@gregandkaruna6674 But they were under pressure from the difficult maneuver they were attempting. Poor judgement to try it. I used to race a single-handed single sailed boat that could be very unstable going directly downwind, and therefore difficult to gybe in heavy winds. A "chicken gybe" ( heading up and tacking before bearing off ) was always quicker than righting the boat after a swim. I think that the ultimate cause was the leeward running backstay was still on an the main could not be dumped to stop the capsize. Of course, the hull may have been damaged with the splashdown ( causing the battery pack or whatever to come loose and put a hole in the hull ), so if the backstay had been loosened, the boat may still have been too damaged to continue. All would have been prevented by taking longer to make the bear away happen, hence my thoughts about poor judgement.

[@criqdekuyper9259]

Armchair sailors. Shit happens. These boats are sailing at their limits at times. Many things happened very quickly which amounted to the capsize. Send in your resumé, maybe you’ll be ready for the semis.

[@Gottenhimfella]

@@joemorris8423 They needed to turn to that side of the course because that was where the wind was. You may recall they had a race to win. They therefore had to change tack. (Not bear away into a gybe, which would have meant taking the other top mark, and would have also been something of a challenge), but regardless, the running backstay had to be released, whether for a tack or a gybe. The helmsman had to make an executive decision because the tactitian was missing from the comms loop. With hindsight (but arguably not as much as you exhibit) Goody's dissenting input arguably just muddied the waters, because due to narrow boundaries, there was not time to change the call, and it may have been this which distracted the crew responsible for runners. If Barker had had the full support of the crew, we'd almost certainly be lauding them for pulling off a faultless final leg in testing conditions, and putting a vital point on the board. Certainly the boat completed the manoeuvre perfectly right up to the moment of the main being pinned by the leeward runner, with the inevitable unhappy ending. It's only a week since INEOS were being portrayed as hopeless muppets, and American Magic was the clear favourite. And there's a non-negligible chance they might return to that position: they've beaten TNZ once and given them a scare on a second occasion.

[@xtusvincit5230]

Clapping as if a boat with a hole in it can hear you.

[@peterreber7671]

The area above the foil hinge also looks deformed.

[@indyjohnz]

It'll be interesting to see if they try to fix it. Like you, to me the whole thing looks like it's structurally finished. Save the mast?

[@AnttiBrax]

Can you point to a time where you can see it? To me it looks like there isn't anything. The hull shape is just "unconventional" around the foil arm hinges.

[@bvkronenberg6786]

Rich people and their toys, so sad.

[@johnneedy3164]

Thst looks like some HIGH DOLLAR CARBON FIBER ,SAD VERY SAD ONE SMOOTH LOOKING HULL

[@claycook5773]

Has anyone else noticed what appear to be four rectangular "holes" just above the chine on EOS? Midships, both sides. Either the biggest scuppers I've ever seen, or something else? Given all the effort to keep the hull spectacularly smooth, I'm baffled what these might be.

[@7novalee]

Way , way too many people involved.

[@user-nt9nd7xm5f]

Science and physics you launch a boat at that speed airborne something is going to give on landing! Barker should of listened to Goodison he has more knowledge than ego that and a combo of who didn’t release the leeward runner

[@alessioanzalone9759]

The most important things is that no one was hurt. Everything else can be fixed...Come on American Magic, as a Luna Rossa supporter i want to win on the field...I'll waiting for you.. ;)

[@jazldazl9193]

Laugh not lest a similarfate befall thee. i salute our intrepid competitors. Good luck USA

[@toastrecon]

Reminds me of the line from the old comic The Far Side where the caveman mechanic is looking at the broken stone wheel: "Ooh, this not be cheap" I don't even know how you'd fix that hole. Composites would be hard to patch effectively without a lot of extra weight, and I wonder if there is other damage that just isn't visible?

[@lightbox617]

Everything works until it doesn't. i was on Lake Hopatcong in NJ, USA in a Lightning. We were screaming (for a lightning) and close hauled and the main sail split laterally. We came in om the jib. The boat never got back in the water

[@chrismaggio7879]

Go to Home Depot... pack a skylight in there with some caulking... then you can watch fish and submarines

[@peterkacandes5905]

That’ll buff right out.

[@Bohonk212]

Looks like a job for FlexiSEAL!

[@OBSwinger619]

LOL... That's going to take a lot of BONDO.

[@MrJudgementday99]

Thickened epoxy

[@JettyBuilder]

stretch a black bin liner over it (extra strong type) and duct tape it. Job done, she'll be right.

[@marc9752]

Torpedoed

[@rickfulton2918]

Duck down to Bunnings someone and grab some Selleys no more gaps and a bit of tape.... Dads got this!!

[@rusty7720]

Sean Reagan and his men would be awesome on the repairs .

[@YaknCamp]

You can color team USA finished. Even if they manage to patch it up they seem to be way behind the performance curve. Not sure if it’s tactics or technical problems. The skipper and gilligan need to get their act together.

[@overenergized8961]

Jesus Christ knows it. I'd love to try flex tape one day but it's probably a big have and won't even stick to s..t but still I'd like to know

[@andykissick5950]

Did anyone else take note of how much water was draining from the starboard foil?

[@acetreeman]

It may have been that guy with the fire hose, off camera.

[@surfinmuso37]

who cares

[@Cheva-Pate]

Plastic padding!