Overview
- Sweden’s Artemis ended day one level on 31 points with the USA and France and holds the tiebreak after two race wins, with Australia and Great Britain tied for fourth on 24.
- New Zealand collided with Switzerland in the opening race, forcing both boats out, with the Kiwis disqualified, penalised eight points, and ruled out for the weekend as Switzerland targets a Sunday return.
- Spain’s Los Gallos withdrew after a practice crash caused severe hull damage to their F50, trimming the field before racing began.
- Australia raced without new wing trimmer Iain Jensen due to a knee injury, with veteran Glenn Ashby flown in as replacement and an initial recovery timeline for Jensen of about eight weeks.
- Perth’s debut drew a sellout crowd of roughly 15,000 and strong global broadcast interest, with skippers preparing for potentially windier, rougher conditions on day two.