Jason Waterhouse and crews decked out for danger in Larry Ellison’s SailGP series
They look more Swat team than sailing crew and come complete with helmets, impact vest and a mutli-million dollar weapon in the form of a hi-tech racing machine unlike any seen on Sydney Harbour.
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They look more Swat team than sailing crew and come equipped with helmets, impact vest and a multimillion-dollar weapon in the form of a hi-tech racing machine unlike any seen on Sydney Harbour.
With sailors aboard the six catamarans in the SailGP series kicking off on Friday sharing a common goal of cracking 50 knots in racing, it is a speed chase fraught with danger.
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The one-design, foiling F50s cover the harbour faster than any sailing craft ever seen on the famous waterway before with the confines of the harbour set to make for a spectacular amphitheatre.
“They are the most fun boat I have ever sailed. They are such an adrenaline rush,” said Rio Olympic silver medallist and Team Australia member Jason Waterhouse.
“But extreme sport comes with risks.”
Organisers have worked to reduce the risk of injury with a swath of safety measures including crews wearing specially designed jackets made of Kevlar and fitted out with oxygen, a knife and a tool to cut through netting if a sailor is caught underneath.
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“The life jackets are impact vests, made of Kevlar inside to protect your internal organs and back,” Waterhouse said.
“We have air tanks with about 20 breathes in them. And there are also spare tanks around the cockpit.”
At the last America’s Cup, Australian Nathan Outteridge, was tossed overboard from Artemis while steering in Challenger racing against New Zealand but recovered without major incident.
Top English sailor Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson died in 2013 while racing a 72-foot America’s Cup catamaran when it flipped and trapped him underneath its hulls.
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Many of the sailors and support personnel in the series knew Simpson or sailed with him while Outteridge is the skipper and CEO of the Japanese SailGP team.
Waterhouse said tethers now prevent sailors from being thrown from the F50 with skipper Tom Slingsby having access to a man overboard button which lights up the catamaran.
“One of the biggest issues is man overboard. Now we have safety tethers on all the time,” Waterhouse said. “It’s like a rock climbing harness. We are attached 24/7. You just learn how to manage it so you don’t get tangled.”
Safety measures during racing include boats on course shadowing the fleet with trained safety and rescue personnel and paramedics aboard with sailors undergoing individual training to prepare for worst case scenarios.
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“They are ready to go all hands on deck if needed,” Waterhouse said of the safety teams following each crew
“It gives you that little bit of comfort knowing you can push the boat harder.”
Sydney is the first leg of the new series backed by American billionaire Larry Ellison and which culminates in a winner-take-all finale in Marseilles, France in September.
Six teams are competing with Australia a favourite to make Saturday’s match-racing final of the Sydney leg.
SYDNEY RACE SCHEDULE
Friday: Racing from 4-6pm comprising three fleet races where all six nations compete in each race. An exclusion zone is operational between 3-6pm,
Saturday: Racing from 3- 5pm comprising three fleet races where all six nations compete in each race. An exclusion zone is operational between 2-5pm.
TV: Fox Sports will carry live coverage in Australia
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