America’s Cup shocker: Capsize trapped me under water
American Magic skipper Terry Hutchinson has opened up about being “trapped” under water during the team’s dramatic America’s Cup capsize, a potential lifethreatening situation he managed to avoid thanks to help from a teammate.
The Americans’ AC75 “Patriot” lost control and capsized during their Prada Cup clash against Luna Rossa, which remains one of the most memorable — and scary — moments of the America’s Cup.
Speaking on Last Call, a recently released video by regatta organisers looking back at the Cup, Hutchinson revealed the alarming situation he was in as his side of the boat immediately sank under water.
“My most vivid memory is when I heard Dean [Barker] say ‘I’ve lost the rudder’,” he told Last Call.
“I’m basically clipped into the boat, so I went to eject myself out of the boat and my clip didn’t come undone which straight away got my hackles up.
“So then I went for my knife. The cockpit filled up straight away, and it very quickly went from everything’s okay to a pretty high fever from my perspective because straight away I was under water and under the mainsail.”
He said as crew members scrambled to safety, fellow grinder Cooper Dressler “went by me, and he could see my head was under water and I was trapped”.
“Cooper grabbed his knife and cut the left one (clip) and got me out.
“From there all four of us popped out from under the mainsail, and we did the head count and everybody was safe.”
After all 11 sailors were accounted for, attention quickly turned towards the boat, which had suffered damage and was sinking.
“Very quickly it became apparent that Patriot had suffered some major damage,” Hutchinson said. “And when we got her upright, it was clear that there was a hole. It very quickly went to a rescue operation of the boat.”
Hutchinson said it took 16 pumps to save Patriot, with help from emergency services and the three rival teams.
“There was one air pocket keeping it afloat. We all thought the boat was going to sink.
“In that situation the boat is designed for a certain amount of impact, but having watched and looked at the pictures I can tell you we were well beyond the threshold.”
American Magic eventually repaired the boat in time to compete in the Prada Cup semifinals, but fell to eventual challenger series winners Luna Rossa.