DRAMATIC SCENES ON AND OFF THE WATER IN SYDNEY…

The dramatic first day at last month’s Australia SailGP was plagued by technical issues, near capsizes, messy manoeuvres and even an Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team crew member falling overboard.

However, it was a fantastic day for the French which saw Quentin Delapierre’s team pick up three consecutive race wins in the iconic Sydney Harbour.

The French rose to the challenge of 50km/h wind conditions to dominate, while Jimmy Spithill’s United States kept their San Francisco Grand Final hopes alive by picking up three second place positions.

Home favourites Australia, meanwhile, were plagued by technical issues, but still managed a respectable racing record of 3-4-6 to finish third after three fleet races. This, despite announcing they would not participate in the first race due to technical issues but then crossing the start line and going on to finish third.

For the British team, though, there was drama of a different kind. Grinder Matt Gotrel fell through the fairing of the foiling F50 catamaran as the team approached the finish line.

The incident occurred in the first fleet race of the day, when Emirates GBR was chasing down the race leaders during the penultimate leg. The British F50 was travelling at close to 50 km/h when driver Ben Ainslie was forced to take evasive action to avoid Canada. The adjustment, which occurred during a jibe, caught Matt off guard as he crossed the boat. Matt stepped backwards to steady himself, inadvertently stepping on the forward fairing, which is not designed to bear weight.

Reflecting on the incident, Matt said he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

“We do so many manoeuvres in these boats that you know when to leave the cockpit and when not to, and I was probably half a second either way. If I had gone earlier I would have made it and if I had gone later I would not have been there during the adjustment, ” Matt explained.

Matt remained attached to the F50 via his safety line and the crew promptly