That Pitchpole - The tale of the USA Nacra 17 sailors pitchpole in Auckland

You've seen the raw video of the USA Sailing Team Nacra 17 sailors Ravi Parent and Caroline Atwood, so now hear how that epic pitchpole unfolded during their first 20 minutes of training in Auckland, New Zealand ahead of the World Championships.

[@pedrocartolano]

J'ai soixante ans et j'ai navigué beaucoup de hobie cat 14 dans les années 1976 à 1980. Je regarde les vidéos de nacra 17 et j'imagine à quel point il doit être difficile de naviguer sur ce bateau. Vous êtes vraiment bons, félicitations.

[@born2sail]

I can't believe he didn't break the tiller round the shrouds.

[@pistonburner6448]

"I like crashing, it keeps me alive" Logic.

[@UK-Sailmakers-International]

Like getting shot out of a canon. I love it!

[@ΑλεξάνδραΣιγουλάκη]

1:26 this moment bro! :)))

[@MarkMcLT]

Welcome to NZL!

[@tjrick]

Did the wire break? Is it no attached like hobie 16s are?

[@alteramine-4887]

I did the same thing today with a nacra 15

[@azdarksonal]

His parent's name in Parent

[@vidpromjm]

Looked like the main sheet was cleated, or at least he didn't release it? Not much time to react I know;) Someone needs to invent a quick release trapeze hook for situations like this!

[@timbrink]

They make them for kiteboarding. It would work for this as well.

[@lesp315]

Good point. Cleating the main must be an Olympian thing. I'm an amateur, so I don't do that.

[@АриэльРусалка-ж4у]

СУПЕР!

[@АриэльРусалка-ж4у]

ууу Жестко!

[@steeniversen6768]

Way to dip! :D

[@ArjanWiskerke]

This looks very dangerous and it is. I think this happened because the helmsman/woman kept holding the tiller. I would ask the publisher of this video to leave an instruction how to avoid this. Maybe there already is a video on this subject that can be linked in the description.

[@thundercats2325]

The helmsman explains in the video that he kept holding it and bearing away to intentionally send them far away from the boat. Nacra 17 sailors have been seriously hurt in the past by colliding with the foils on the boat. What happened was actually less dangerous than them being hit by the main or the rudder foils.

[@2SpritOne]

@@thundercats2325 I disagree, they landed ahead of the boat and the foils. not good ! Staying windward would have been a better option, than a reach & jibe.

[@tomw9078]

@@2SpritOne See the issue with trying to save it by rounding up after being knocked off the back, is that you have about a tenth of a second to relax your grip, slide out along the tiller extension (if you're not already at the end), and (while still moving away from the boat) push the tiller enough to round the boat back up safely - once this is done, somehow you still have to nail the landing and not injure yourself. The skipper in this instance realised that he would not have been able to push the rudder enough to come close to a safe round up and, realising that they were either going to swing back into the boat if he drops the rudder, or continue the swing and just go for a swim if he holds it, elected to go for the swim (and the better video) avoiding likely injury or more significant damage to the boat. In this instance beyond a bit of pride the only thing they would have broken are their trapeze elastics.

[@j-paulthivi1053]

Pas mal enfantain comme si c'était fait pour les écoliers qui visitent l'Électrium ... pour le CINQUANTIÈME aulourd'hui on doit faire une version SCIENTIFIQUE digne des innovateurs de l,IREQ

[@jonathanlevine8497]

I just wish they'd show the crash and the followthrough without all the stupid goddamn fake reversing-mast-bouncing-off-the-water bullshit.

[@mofo669]

This only happened because the skipper got pulled away from the boat and kept holding and pulling on the tiller. Any seasoned skiff sailor knows to push the tiller in a team bag situation. This was 100% self inflicted.

[@born2sail]

Sometimes it's better to capsize. Swinging back to the hull can hurt more.

[@andrewpegman7959]

True

[@Lozzie74]

He explained his dilemma and elected to keep the boat away from them.

[@jonathanlevine8497]

Right. Push the tiller while you're being thrown *away* from the boat at light speed. That's easy, alright... said nobody, ever.

[@benjamincristofani920]

He did the right thing after the initial split second decision to hold on