AMERICA’S CUP : New Italian Craft Sustains Hole in Collision With Jury Boat
The newest Il Moro di Venezia boat sustained a hole in its starboard side after a collision with the jury boat before the start of Sunday’s practice race for America’s Cup challengers.
Almost drifting in light wind, Marc Pajot sailed France’s new Ville de Paris into the lead at the first mark, but then the wind died completely and the race was abandoned.
Il Moro spokesman Stefano Roberti described the damage as a hole two feet by half a foot, two feet above the waterline. The race would have been the first serious test against other challengers for the Italians’ fifth boat--the one they will sail in the Cup--but they were towed back to port immediately after the incident.
Roberti said the boat would not sail again until Wednesday.
According to Roberti, the starting area was sloshy despite the light wind, and a wave carried Il Moro into the extended rear transom of the power boat.
Challenger of Record Committee Chairman Stan Reid said skipper Paul Cayard, in turning downwind as he passed the stationary 40-foot cruiser, swung Il Moro’s stern into it.
It was to be the final race of the weeklong series.
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