America's Cup contender in mast mishap

The 60-metre (200-foot) mast on the monster trimaran that will represent the United States in the America's Cup has come tumbling down during testing on the Pacific Ocean.

None of the crew were injured in yesterday's mishap, BMW Oracle Racing spokeswoman Jane Eagleson said.

Support crews were attempting to salvage the rigging and get the 27-by-two metre boat back to its berth on San Diego Bay.

Eagleson said she didn't know where the mast broke. The carbon-fibre spar is under tremendous loads as it supports a mainsail that's twice as big as a Boeing 747's wing and a headsail that's not quite that large.

The mast is estimated to have cost $US10 million (NZ$11.6 million). The syndicate, scheduled to face defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland in a best-of-three showdown beginning on February 8, has two other masts.

BMW Oracle Racing, owned by Silicon Valley maverick Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp, has been testing the trimaran, known as BOR 90 and soon to be renamed USA, for a year.

The space age-looking craft was relaunched last week after undergoing significant modifications to its main hull. The changes included the installation of a BMW diesel engine to run a hydraulic system that will be used to trim the sails and perhaps move water ballast from one hull to another.

It wasn't immediately known if those modifications contributed to the dismasting.

Wind and sea conditions were light to moderate and there was some fog.

The crew has been careful testing the trimaran, which will square off against Alinghi's equally big catamaran, Alinghi 5.

Capable of sailing at more than two times the speed of the wind, they are the fastest, most-extreme boats built in the 158-year history of the America's Cup.

BMW Oracle Racing helmsman Jimmy Spithill said last week that his crew has sailed in the 40-knot range on the big boat.

Alinghi went on to a five-race sweep, then successfully defended its title against the Kiwis in 2007.

BMW Oracle Racing and Alinghi have been locked in a bitter, two-year court fight over rules and the venue.

Justice Shirley Kornreich of the New York State Supreme Court sided with BMW Oracle Racing last week and ruled that Alinghi's choice of Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, wasn't eligible to host the America's Cup based on stipulations in the 1887 Deed of Gift that governs the racing.

The showdown likely will be held in Valencia, Spain, although the Swiss have appealed Kornreich's ruling.