Recent accidental death prompts analysis – audio

Radio National’s Fran Kelly spoke with 1983 Americas Cup winning captain John Bertrand about the potential for disaster within the sport, after British Olympic champion sailor Andrew Simpson died during training for the America’s Cup. A switch to catamarans in recent years has prompted safety fears.

“Most of these guys had safety harnesses when this boat capsized last week, [but] even the deceleration forces are so huge that one of the safety harnesses broke… [W]hen you’re underneath a wreckage—and that’s really what we’re talking about—with all the various ropes and hard surfaces, anything can happen. And that’s the problem which the America’s Cup is facing at the moment.”

Click here for the full RN article.