WATCH: American Magic’s Patriot back on the water
In front of a large crowd, American Magic’s Patriot has made it back onto the water.
The boat was badly damaged during a spectacular capsize.
Now Patriot’s back on the water in time for this weekend’s Prada Cup semifinals against Luna Rossa.
Watch a jaunty video of Patriot’s relaunch
The team has repaired the hole in the hull and reportedly carried out a total electrical rebuild. Emirates Team New Zealand’s (ETNZ) boat builders helped with the repairs, which was possible given the fact the team was winding down a portion of its programme as it prepares for its defence of the America’s Cup. Thus, there were people available.
“Really we handed off part of the project to them [ETNZ] to take on and that allowed our boat builders and shore team to focus on getting the inside of Patriot back to where she needs to be,” American Magic skipper Terry Hutchinson said last week.
“It’s been truly impressive to watch our team and the support we’ve gotten from team NZ and you just know it wouldn’t have happened without it.
“I’m not surprised by the quality of work being done in our shed. But the thing we are reminded of is what the defender has done for us; what they’ve helped us achieve, because certainly without them it wouldn’t have happened.
“In a manpower and hour situation they certainly bailed us out. I have nothing but high thanks for team New Zealand for what they did.”
Hutchinson says the support received from the wider maritime community was “an element of sportsmanship that is the highest level.” And that’s why Patriot is now decorated with plaster symbolism.
The band-aid graphic with the three flags that covers the repair is said to be an acknowledgement of the invaluable assistance received from each of the other three syndicates.
Grinder Sean Clarkson is looking forward to racing.
“It’s a fantastic boat and we have a very good bunch of sailors,” Clarkson told the New Zealand Herald. “I don’t see anything different when we put it back in the water. It will be business as usual.
“The boat is not at all compromised; it is as good or better as it was when we dipped it in. It’s up to us to go and deliver. I would take our boat any day over our opposition, so it’s exciting.”
Meanwhile, flight controller Andrew Campbell has told Beyond the Cup how he felt as Patriot capsized.
“I’m in the front seat, so I saw the whole thing happen as close as it gets,” says Campbell.
“It’s not a great feeling being the highest guy in that moment. We knew that we were going to have a hard manoeuvre going round the top, that we needed to go around that mark. In the biggest puff of the day that was the only direction we could be going.”
According to Campbell, the team tried everything to minimise the impact – but were left helpless once the boat headed skyward.
“When we did get round the top …we didn’t quite manage to get the rudder through that turn. On the replays you can see the rudder sink [and] at that point you don’t really have any more control over the foils at all.
“No amount of minimum flap is going to bring the hull back down at that point. You’re just waiting to see if you can get any grip on that foil at all to cushion the boat on the way down.”
American Magic and Luna Rossa will meet in a best-of-seven series starting on Friday, with the winner taking on Ineos Team UK in the Prada Cup final in mid-February. The winner will then race Emirates Team New Zealand for the America’s Cup.
