AUCKLAND, New Zealand: United States challenger American Magic is assessing the extent of damage to its race yacht Patriot, which capsized and came close to sinking during racing Sunday in the Americas Cup challengers series.
Skipper Terry Hutchinson said American Magic is confident of making repairs and being able to continue in the Prada Cup series, which resumes on Friday.
Patriot, which lost its first three races in the challengers series, was leading Italian challenger Luna Rossa when it capsized rounding the final mark. The U.S. team attempted a complicated maneuver at high speed but was caught by a sudden blast of wind and soared out of the water before tipping over on its port side.
All 11 crew were quickly accounted for and none was injured. There were fears Patriot, which was damaged below the waterline, would sink and a buoy was fixed to the top of the mast to mark its position in case it went down.
Rival teams raced to the assistance of the American team, along with police…