The world of SailGP, renowned for its cutting-edge F50 catamarans and blistering speeds, recently faced a significant challenge that underscored the intricate balance between high-performance engineering and athlete safety. The abrupt cancellation of the highly anticipated Rio SailGP event, slated for May 2025, sent ripples through the sailing community, drawing attention to a critical defect in some of the F50 wingsails and a series of concerning incidents.
At the heart of the issue was a discovered flaw in the bonding of the core material within the shear web of the F50 wingsails. This structural vulnerability, identified after the dramatic wingsail collapse of the Australian boat at the San Francisco event, prompted SailGP to prioritize safety and initiate thorough investigations and repairs.
For anyone tuning into the final fleet race in San Francisco, the atmosphere was thick with anticipation. Before the race had even begun, as the boats were jockeying for position at the start line, the Australian SailGP team’s wing dramatically collapsed. The incident, witnessed by stunned commentators and a silent room of onlookers, sent shockwaves through the event. Hopes for a strong finish, and a potential podium spot, disintegrated along with the wing.
The sheer unexpectedness and visual drama of the collapse immediately sparked questions about the F50 design, the mechanics of wing failure, the materials used in construction, and even the logistics of equipment transport and storage. While no injuries were reported, the implications for the Australian team's performance, and indeed the entire fleet's safety, were front of mind for everyone.
Australian driver and CEO, Tom Slingsby, described the moment as a "blur," speculating that the wing failed precisely as they turned sharply to avoid a tight gap in the crowded start box. Despite missing the Italian F50 by a hair's breadth, the wing disintegrated at multiple points, a loud breakage audible even to other teams over their headsets.
Despite this failure, the F50 catamarans are, without doubt, a marvel of modern design. These racing vessels are built for extreme performance, pushing the boundaries of speed and agility in competitive sailing. Capable of reaching top speeds of 60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h), the F50s boast a two-element wingsail designed to lift the boats onto hydrofoils, allowing them to skim across the water at breakneck speeds. Read more about that in a previous blog article here.
A key feature is the adaptable wingsail, engineered to provide both lift and control, much like an airplane wing. Teams can choose from three wing sizes—the 18-meter for strong winds, the 24-meter all-purpose wing, and the massive 29-meter wing for light winds—along with interchangeable daggerboards and rudders. This allows crews to fine-tune power, speed, and control for varying conditions. The wingsail, intricately controlled by hydraulics and a highly sensitive system of camber and twist, is the powerhouse of the F50, crucial for achieving its renowned speeds. When it fails, as sadly witnessed in San Francisco, the result is quite catastrophic. It is like an airplane crash, just on the water.
Unfortunately for SailGP, the Australian incident in San Francisco was not an isolated event. This marked the third wingsail collapse within 12 months, raising serious concerns within SailGP. The first occurred in mid-2024, when Team New Zealand's 29-meter wing collapsed under no real load after a race in St. Tropez. This was followed by a similar incident involving Martine Grael’s Brazil SailGP F50 during a training session in Bermuda. While the specific causes of these earlier failures were not conclusively determined, speculation ranged from rigging issues to assembly errors.
Adding to the tally, several wingsails were also damaged in January 2024 during the Sydney event when a wingsail was caught in a violent gust of wind while being lifted off an F50, striking a storage tent.
The immediate consequence of the Australian wing breakage was their forced retirement from the San Francisco regatta, preventing them from competing in Fleet Race 7 and the final podium race. This was a bitter blow, especially as Australia was tied for first place in the standings with 39 points, closely followed by Great Britain on 38 points, Spain on 36 points, and New Zealand on 35 points.
The cancellation of the Rio event provides crucial time for SailGP engineers and technicians to conduct non-destructive testing, such as ultrasounds, to identify and address the shear web bonding issues. This proactive measure ensures the structural integrity of the entire F50 fleet and, most importantly, the safety of the athletes.
The F50s are a mix of new builds and repurposed vessels from the 2017 America's Cup. They are a testament to the cutting edge of sailing technology, but, when pushing engineering boundaries in a high-stakes competitive environment these types of "growing pains" are going to happen I guess.
Let's just hope nobody gets hurt again. Engineering and design failures aside, simple strategic and sailing errors can be catastrophic too. In 2013, also in San Francisco Bay, Andrew "Bart" Simpson, an Olympic gold medalist, tragically died when the Artemis Racing AC72 catamaran capsized during a training session. It would be wise for the organizers, sponsors and crews to remember that this sport is constantly operating on the edge. And they have acknowledged that by docking the fleet for now. It is not ideal for the fans that the Brazil SailGP race was cancelled, but safety has to be a priority given the high stakes. Formula One has made many changes over the last 70 years to ensure the safety of its drivers. SailGP is only 7 years old, it has to do the same.