System limit led to Auckland collision, Black Foils reveal

Black Foils co-CEOs Pete Burling and Blair Tuke fronted the media at Viaduct Harbour, Auckland on Thursday morning, delivering their most detailed account yet of the collision that hospitalised grinder Louis Sinclair and Manon Audinet and ruled New Zealand and France out of next week's Sydney event.

The incident unfolded on the opening reach of race three. New Zealand were sailing alongside Italy, fighting for position in gusting conditions off Westhaven. The Black Foils had started the day strongly – “a great first two races,” as Burling put it – and were comfortable in the conditions. Then the sequence began.

“We ended up high on the foil and sliding sideways,” Burling explained, “and then we hit a system limit which drastically escalated that situation.”

“It controls how negative you can go with the rake on the leeward foil,” Burling explained. “It's really there to protect another problem.” In other words, a safeguard designed to prevent one type of failure removed a correction option at the worst possible moment.

With the boat tracking sideways and the Italians directly to leeward, Burling's options narrowed. “We got within about two metres of the Italians,” he said. “We definitely didn't have any more room on that leeward side before we touched down.” The evasive action to avoid Italy forced the nosedive, and the collision with France followed.

Would the outcome have been different without the system limit cutting in? “It's always incredibly hard to say,” Burling acknowledged. “It's a would-have-could-have-should-have situation there. But it definitely didn't help.”

Everything unfolded in a matter of seconds. Burling knew the French were behind but his focus was locked on the immediate threat to leeward. “In that side slide, when things were all escalating reasonably quickly... we really did everything we could to avoid that one. But obviously didn't have enough space for the French to get past us.”

Both the Kiwi sailors pushed back against any suggestion that the conditions were exceptional or that the boats were being pushed beyond their limits. “Saturday's conditions weren't out of the ordinary for us,” Tuke said. “It was flat water. Yes, the gusts were hitting quite hard off Westhaven there. But it was well within the limits of the boat.” He noted that racing continued on Sunday in considerably stronger breeze.

Burling was equally clear that no mechanical fault caused the incident. “The boat was working as it should work,” he said. “I think there's a combination of a lot of factors that led to this. But definitely in the seconds before the incident, the system limit drastically escalated the situation.”

The technical investigation continues. Tuke confirmed the league is undertaking a full review, and both he and Burling were measured about drawing conclusions. “Everyone involved in SailGP is prioritising the safety of the athletes,” Tuke said. “No one wants to see this happen. And I'm confident that the due process will take place.”

When the windward bow struck the water and the F50 pitched violently, spray engulfed the cockpit. “You actually can't see for a short period of time,” Burling said. “Just because you're under a lot of water.” When it cleared, his first response was relief: four crew members visible ahead, flight controller Liv Mackay in a protected position on the leeward side.

Then came Sinclair's voice, who couldn't get out. Both Burling and Tuke praised Sinclair's composure under extraordinary duress, trapped in the wreckage with what turned out to be two broken legs. “It was incredible to see someone in a situation like that remain so calm and be such an instrumental part of telling us what he was feeling, where the pressure was, and actually getting those two boats apart,” Burling said. Both French and Kiwi crews acted as first responders before SailGP's safety team completed the rescue.

Sinclair underwent surgery at Auckland Hospital and was discharged on Tuesday evening. Already weight-bearing, Sinclair now faces what Tuke described as “quite a long recovery back to full health,” though he confirmed that “his medical team are very confident that he will make a full recovery.”

Neither the Black Foils nor DS Team France will line up in Sydney, with both F50s too badly damaged to be race-ready by next week. Beyond that, the timeline remains uncertain. SailGP is still working through the repair pathway and when the team will return to the start line.

“We're having to play a little bit of a waiting game there now,” Burling said. “But as Blair said, we're incredibly thankful Louis is in great spirits.”