Following the passage of a violent storm and associated high winds through Saturday night (11th September), the racing boats of BMW Oracle Racing, Team Alinghi and Emirates Team New Zealand were blown off their cradles and are lying on their sides on the J-4 pier.

The incident took place at 02:40, early on Sunday morning. There were no injuries, only the boats have been damaged.

Gusts of over 65 knots of wind were measured at the time of the incident. The three damaged boats were the most exposed to the prevailing wind direction.

The three others, K-Challenge, Le Défi and Team Shosholoza, suffered no apparent damage.

Technical teams are currently evaluating the damage and assessing the situation. Each of the three boats will be lifted and placed on its cradle this afternoon, in preparation for shipping to Valencia on the Dockwise ship at the beginning of next week.

"It was a very violent storm that was on the J-4", said Michel Bonnefous, the CEO of AC Management. "All the teams want to participate in the next Act in Valencia. But of course they still have to assess the damage, and only they can tell you about their plans moving forward".