America's Cup: Major setback for Emirates Team New Zealand after gear breakage in practice racin

QUOTE-UNQUOTE: "The Kiwi syndicate suffered significant damage to their starboard rudder in a nosedive incident before racing got under way in Bermuda. The winglets at the bottom of the rudder, a crucial element to foiling stability, appeared to have been ripped off. It is understood the damage was not a result of the appendage hitting debris on the Great Sound, but rather a case of the crew taking the rudder too far out of range in their push for performance. –Article in Tuesday morning's NZ Herald. Full story

As Richard Gladwell reported on Sail-World, the incident was probably less of a major setback and more like an inconvenience. Richard also reports in the same article that other teams have suffered turtle strikes.

Meanwhile tonight the grapevine has come alive as there is widespread speculation that the Kiwis did indeed hit something on the Great Sound, maybe even one of giant sea turtles that, reportedly, are quietly being relocated to safer environs by the Bermuda government. "A case of the crew taking the rudder too far out of range in their push for performance" – what kind of gobbly gook is that?

And, as usual, there was video of the incident captured by Jason Smith on his "MyIslandHomeBDA" YouTube channel....

ETNZ tweeted this (below) after the incident. As you can see, whatever happened the rudder was seriously mangled....