A sailor was injured when a racing yacht capsized in a leg of a European race which is due to head to Plymouth today.
The French MOD70 Spindrift capsized in waters off Dublin at the weekend, leaving a crew member with a fractured pelvis in an incident involving large multi-hull yachts racing in big breezes.
It comes just a month after British Olympic sailor Andrew Simpson, from Sherborne in Dorset, died after becoming trapped underneath an upturned AC72 catamaran in San Francisco.
In the incident on Saturday, the eight-strong crew on Spindrift were catapaulted into the water when the 70ft multihull was overturned by a 30-knot gust of wind during a race in the 2013 Route des Princes at Dun Laoghaire.
However, it was not possible to draw comparisons between this accident and the catamaran capsize in San Francisco, according to round-the-world yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
He told The Telegraph: "I have sailed on one of these MOD70s and they are amazing boats but they are sailed at the limit.
"You are flying on one hull most of the time, which makes it very exciting but if we are going to sail these machines like this, there are bound to be accidents."
The Route des Princes yacht race will sail for Plymouth today, when nine multihulls will depart the port of Dun Laoghaire at midday headed for Plymouth Sound. They are expected to begin arriving in the city from tomorrow – during Plymouth's Festival of Sail.
Speaking in Dublin, territories director Louis Noel Vivies, said Plymouth's vibrant waterfront and historic Barbican were among the reasons they chose the city as a stopover venue.
He explained: "Plymouth is a historical harbour for lots of multihull races. It was the start of the biggest and most prestigious transatlantic race and we believe the South West is quite interesting in terms of territory. There is Dartmoor National Park, some very good chefs and a very dynamic gastro mix there – you have a very wide variety."
