Aleph in collision with Azzurra

French team get over-aggressive at the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena

In their match today at the Louis Vuitton Trophy in La Maddalena, Aleph suffered a major collision with the Italian Azzurra team aboard their two BMW Oracle Racing yachts.

No one was hurt in the incident with the exception of Tom Burnham on the Italian yacht who cut his hand.

The problem came when with both boats on starboard tack, the Bertrand Pace-steered Aleph attempted to duck the stern of the Italian yacht but were unable to gain enough steerage to achieve the manoeuvre. Aleph's bow clouted the transom of Azzurra breaking the sacrificial bow, but damage is also believed to have caused to the bulkhead immediately aft of this.

To watch video of the crash, click on the LVT - Day 4 Highlights on Sail TV: http://www.thedailysail.com/multimedia/Sail-TV

Sailjuice's Andy Rice speaks to Francesco Bruni, the Azzura skipper

Images courtesy of Franck Socha