In interviews conducted by SailGP following racing on Day One of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix, drivers across the fleet addressed the on water incident involving the French and New Zealand Black Foils F50s.
Everyone said much the same thing. First they wanted to know the crews were okay. The details could wait.
French driver Quentin Delapierre described the moment as “super scary” and “above the margin.” He declined to analyse the incident itself, saying it happened very quickly and that everything felt “super cloudy” in his head. He noted he had not reviewed footage or the umpire hub and therefore would not comment further.
From nearby on the racecourse, Canadian driver Phil Robertson provided the clearest description of what he saw from the water. He said the New Zealand boat appeared slightly high before sliding down toward the French boat.
“They just got a little high and started sliding towards us… they were closing a lot of gauge pretty quickly.”
Robertson added that the New Zealand boat then appeared to regain grip before contact occurred.
Other drivers focused less on the mechanics and more on the human impact.
Australia’s Tom Slingsby said it was difficult to continue racing after witnessing the collision.
“It’s hard to keep sailing when you see something like that because you’re just hoping everyone’s okay.”
Great Britain’s Dylan Fletcher said both boats were just to leeward of his team at the time. He did not comment on the cause but said the priority was wishing the athletes involved all the best.
USA driver Taylor Canfield, who has previously experienced a significant SailGP crash, echoed that sentiment.
“Hearts out to the teams… we hate to see that happen to anyone.”
Spain’s Diego Botin described the incident as “very big” and said the moment felt shocking in real time. He said the full extent of the situation was not yet clear.
Germany’s Erik Heil kept his remarks brief, stating simply that he hoped everyone involved was okay.
Across all comments recorded by SailGP, no driver speculated on fault or assigned responsibility. Those closest described rapid closure between the boats.
Further clarification will come from race officials following analysis of footage and data.
