Team New Zealand Crashes and Burns, Very, Very Slowly

OK, crash and burn is a bit too dramatic. Team New Zealand’s boom boom on Thursday was more like watching someone just barely lose traction on an icy patch, then slide, slide. You think they’re going to recover at any moment because the degree of their wipeout is so minor, but alas, the slide ultimately leads to a gentle, cute little whoopsie.

In light winds on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour, Emirates Team New Zealand’s AC75 Te Aihe drifted into perhaps the slowest capsize in sailing history.

“The defenders became the first syndicate to capsize one of the foiling 75-foot mononhulls when they tipped over on Thursday, losing control coming out of a foiling gybe,” Stuff New Zealand reported. “They couldn’t hide from their mistake, coming in the full glare of a summer’s morning in a busy zone of the inner harbour, nor did they — releasing photos and videos that were gobbled up and dissected by general media and yachting specialists around the world as the new class of boat continues to be scrutinized.”