NYYC American Magic skipper Terry Hutchinson is resigned to missing next weekend's Prada Cup racing, as his team pick up the pieces from their horrific crash on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf.
The New York Yacht Club's challenge for the 'Auld Mug' - a trophy it created 170 years ago - lies in tatters, after the AC75 foiling monohull Patriot went airborne and tipped over, as it rounded the final mark with victory in sight against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on Sunday.
All crew were quickly accounted for and support teams rushed to salvage the wreckage, before it could sink to the bottom of the racecourse off East Coast Bays.
When the boat arrived at Auckland Viaduct about midnight, it was raised from the water to reveal a yawning hole in the hull.
An emotional Hutchinson has fronted media about 24 hours after the incident, reaffirming his team's determination to continue the regatta.
"The beauty of our team is I think there is a high level of resolve," he says. "I think what we will see over the next 8-10 days is the boat being rebuilt.
"She might not come out of the shed as pretty, but she will come out of the shed and we will get back into racing."
Informed he has 11 days until the Prada Cup semi-finals, Hutchinson admits he hopes repairs won't take that long.
"I'd like to go sailing before that, if we could," he chuckles.
"It would be nice not to go straight into it, but the team's committed and when you think about what all the teams have had to endure to get here... it would be a bit of mistake not to give everything we can to get back on the water.
'One of the positives to take out of yesterday was you could see the boat was going really well, we had plenty of speed."
But Hutchinson concedes he won't push his team to achieve that this week.
"I think if I insisted we race over the weekend, I'd have to manage a mutiny.
"In seriousness, it will be a big effort to get the boat to go sailing for the semis. We have a realistic timetable and great support from the Auckland maritime and boatbuilding community to help us.
"We've had great support from all the teams - everybody has offered up their services to get Patriot back on the water. As competitors, we sit here and argue with each other about things... but at the end of the day, you couldn't come across more sportsmanship."
Despite the holed hull, Patriot will be repaired with parts from its predecessor Defiant, but Hutchinson admits the biggest challenge will be replacing the electronics and systems software that were fried when the boat took on water.
Join us at 3pm Friday for live updates of the America's Cup challenger series
