How Germany prevented dramatic capsize at SailGP in Portsmouth - 'Made for a pretty tricky situation'
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Published 26/07/2026 at 22:03 GMT+1
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The opening day of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix delivered one of its most dramatic moments when Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank came within inches of capsizing in the final race.
'A massive save' - Watch as Team Germany boat almost capsizes
Video credit: TNT Sports
Overpowered in the Solent breeze, the boat heeled violently, lifting high onto one hull before narrowly avoiding a full capsize in front of the packed Portsmouth crowd.
Despite recovering to complete the race, the incident capped a frustrating day for Erik Heil's crew, who struggled to convert promising starts into consistent results.
Reflecting on the drama, driver Heil said the near-miss stemmed from a series of small errors rather than a single mistake.
"It was a misalignment in the team," he explained. "It wasn't really clear whether to go leeward or windward of the fort.
"I also sent Kevin [Peponnet, wing trimmer] late to the other side, so he wasn't on the board to lift it in time. All of that together made for a pretty tricky situation."
Heil credited fast thinking by James Wierzbowski, pulling down on the wing to create lift, for preventing the capsize.
The spectacular save stopped what would have been the second capsize of Germany's SailGP history, but it highlighted the razor-thin margins at the highest level of the sport, where split-second decisions can make the difference between staying upright and ending up in the water.
While there was relief after escaping serious damage, Heil was left disappointed with his team's overall performance.
"It was not the best day," he said. "We had a couple of good starts but didn't find the full speed of the boat or its full potential.
"Then we had the big incident in the last race as well. Overall, there's plenty of space to improve."
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