It was certainly ‘one of those days’ today out in Cagliari as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli began the stepping of their mast on their LEQ12 and a “simple mistake”, as Max Sirena described it, saw the mast slip from the crane and crash onto both the boat and the dockside.

Assessment of the damage is now underway at the base and although there will be a significant loss in testing time as the rig is examined and then fixed, thankfully no-one was injured, and this super self-sufficient professional team will be back out in the water in the shortest order.

Speaking immediately after the incident, Sirena was his usual pragmatic self, saying: “It was a normal routine of stepping in the rig and it’s what we are doing every day; and a simple mistake is going to cost us a few weeks of work. But it’s part of the game. At the end of the day we are pushing pretty hard and trying to work and sail as much as possible. It can happen and we’re going to react as a group like we do all the time and we’re going to come back stronger and get back on the water as soon as possible.”

Asked about the damage incurred just moments before the interview was conducted, Max continued: “Luckily it seems like it is only regarding the mast. We are going to do a full check and inspection of the mast and we’ll know in a few hours’ time the extent of the damage. But again, we can fix everything, we build and fix everything, so it’s only about time.”

Damage noted by the recon team at the base showed the masthead to have taken a significant impact with shards of carbon fibre breaking off at the point of impact and also a broken carbon beam on the stern gantry.

The shore crew of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli are some of the very best in the America’s Cup and they will now be working round the clock to get everything fixed, learn the lessons from the incident and move on. We look forward to seeing the Italian LEQ12 back on the water very soon.

Dockside Recon Unit Notes: Mast has fallen on hull and ground while hanging on crane and guided with control lines right before being shrouded.