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Brits test boat catches fire after double capsize

INEOS Britannia – LEQ12 – Mallorca – February 8, 2023 – Day 24

INEOS Britannia, Britain’s challenger for the 37th America ‘s Cup, has suffered damage to their T6 Test Boat after a capsize incident during a test day on Palma Bay, Mallorca in Spain.

The capsize incident happened four hours into the test day after rounding up from a downwind course to an upwind course in 18 knots of breeze.

After initially lying on its side, T6 rolled over to fully invert in the water with mast and double skinned main sail submerged, work quickly began to get her back upright.

INEOS Britannia crew before the sailing session. Ben Ainslie centre and Giles Scott on his left – LEQ12 – February 8, 2023 – Mallorca – photo © Ugo Fonolla / America’s Cup

The shore crew and sailors worked together for over two hours and after initially righting T6 back on its side they were able to fully right the yacht. T6 was then side towed by support boat back to the team base, where a full assessment of damage is under way.

The team also faced further challenges when the lithium batteries, that powers the yachts systems, reacted to seawater ingress causing a fire on board. The response was well managed with specialist training coming to the fore to mitigate the damage.

INEOS Britannia Skipper and Team Principal Sir Ben Ainslie said, “It was a tough situation for the team once T6 fully inverted. Everyone came together well to resolve what could have been a much more serious issue in salvaging the yacht. Thankfully everyone is safe, and we can now focus on repairing the damage as part of a pre-scheduled upgrade window at the end of this week.”

Top sailing journalist, Justin Chisholm who is also part of the AC37 Joint Recon team assigned to stalk the British team, was on the water and describes the incident:

INEOS Britannia suffered a setback to their campaign today after capsizing their T6 LEQ12 test boat during a fast and furious testing session in winds gusting to 18 knots on Palma Bay.

The team had enjoyed two and half hours of high speed sailing in winds of 15 to 18 knots and had comfortably pulled off a number of foiling tacks and gybes as well as bear aways and roundups.

At shortly before 1600, after a blistering downwind run that had left the team’s chase boats and the recon team struggling to keep up the boat rounded up onto a reach but then seemed to get out of kilter with leeward heel and a big bow up.

After the subsequent splash down the boat was quickly back up and foiling, but seconds later the crew seemed to lose control and the boat capsized.

INEOS Britannia sets up before the sailing session – LEQ12 – February 8, 2023 – Mallorca – photo © Ugo Fonolla / America’s Cup

It went over on its starboard side and was quickly righted with assistance from the shore crew after a bow tow line was swiftly attached to the team’s largest chase boat.

However, as the boat came upright the crew seemed unable to depower the mainsail and shortly after the boat capsized a second time – this time on its port side.

As the support team scrambled to set up for a second righting the mast and sails began to disappear as the boat turned fully turtle with its two foils and rudder pointing skywards.

The team’s skipper Ben Ainslie – who had become separated from the boat – was quickly retrieved by a chase boat and immediately began to help coordinate the next stage of rescue operation. Meanwhile helmsman Giles Scott and flight controller/trimmer Bleddyn Mon had clambered over onto the bottom of the upturned hull where they were joined by boat captain Chris Schirmer.

One of the last shots of INEOS Britannia before the capsize – LEQ12 – February 8, 2023 – Mallorca – photo © Ugo Fonolla / America’s Cup

With the boat upside down there was a risk of water ingress to the hull so the team attached a large inflatable buoy to the bow and fed a long sausage-shaped inflatable tube under the foredeck.

After the team’s safety diver somehow managed to attach an inflatable buoy to the top of the inverted mast, a side tow line eventually got the boat back into the capsize position on to its starboard side.

This enabled the crew to cut away the double skin M2 mainsail and the J3 headsail – which were both hauled aboard a chase boat – before a long period of coordinated towing from the two ribs (one on the bow, the other pulling laterally on a line first attached to the hull and then shifted to the upturned port foil) eventually brought the boat upright.

INEOS Britannia – LEQ12 – February 8, 2023 – Mallorca – photo © Ugo Fonolla / America’s Cup

With the bow of the boat submerged up to the mast, the support crew had to move fast to get several pumps onto the boat to avoid it becoming swamped. There were a few tense moments before the bow began to rise again but soon it was obvious that the pumps and the multiple buckets that had been deployed had done the job.

Then, with the tattered head of the mainsail and the orange inflatable buoy still at the top of the mast, T6 was coaxed gently towards Palma Port with a chase boat attached on either side.

Shortly before entering the harbour the crew had to deploy specialist fire extinguishers to deal with the boat’s now smouldering Lithium Ion batteries.

Back on the dock at 1855 the shore team was ready and waiting to attach crane lines and start to tidy the boat up ready for haul out.