Gruesome injuries revealed after terrifying high speed crash between New Zealand and France in Auckland

This article was originally published on Stuff and is reproduced with permission

Two sailors were injured and being treated in hospital after a major collision between New Zealand's Black Foils and France on the first day of SailGP Auckland (watch the video in the player above).

One of them was 34-year-old Kiwi grinder Louis Sinclair, who was receiving treatment for compound fractures to both legs, but was said by his team to be in a stable condition.

A compound fracture is when a broken bone pierces the skin.

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In a statement from the French team, their strategist Manon Audinet – the partner of team-mate and former Kiwi Olympian Jason Saunders – was also confirmed to be taken to hospital where she will remain under observation.

"At the moment of impact, Manon Audinet, positioned leeward while preparing for a gybe, was violently thrown forward in her cockpit, resulting in the breakage of the F50 steering wheel.

"She was immediately attended to by the SailGP medical team before being transported to Auckland Hospital for further examinations.These assessments are intended to rule out any major injury, particularly to the abdominal area, which was the most exposed during the impact. She is currently being kept under observation," it said.

A rudder failure left the New Zealand boat dead in the water, with the field of 13 narrowing during the run to the first gate at the start of the day's third race.

The French boat had nowhere to go and crashed over the bow of the Kiwis at high speed – a collision that was captured in dramatic fashion by on-board cameras.

French driver Quentin Delapierre was reported by RNZ to have said afterwards: "This one was super scary and above the margins.

"Hopefully, we will find some solutions, so we never see this kind of stuff again.

"I cannot say anything about the incident - everything happened so quickly and it is super cloudy in my head.

"I didn't review the footage, so I cannot say accurate things, but it was probably the scariest I have experienced.

"Full support to Team NZ and also my team-mates. Hopefully, everyone is OK."

Only two of the four scheduled races were completed on the Waitemata Harbour off Wynyard Point, with Australia winning the first and New Zealand winning the second.

Peter Burling and Blair Tuke's team looked to have bounced back well after a busy month of repairs, following the collision with Switzerland that knocked them out of action on day one of the season-opening event in Perth.

The co-chief executives and America's Cup stars were both seen on shore at Wynyard Point after racing was abandoned, but no-one from the Black Foils spoke to media after the dramatic incident.

When sharing the update on Sinclair's condition later on Saturday evening, the team said: "Thank you for all of the messages of support since the incident.

"Special thank you to all of the medical staff involved in the response to the crash and subsequent treatment of all the athletes involved."

Action is scheduled to resume at 11.30am on Sunday, with three races planned before the three-boat grand final, but New Zealand won't be there for the second event in a row.

Nor will France.

Racing on Sunday was brought forward from the original start of 4pm, with thunderstorms and high winds forecast for Auckland in the afternoon.

Australia's Flying Roos won race one on Saturday, with France second and the Black Foils third.

The Black Foils won race two – their first win of the season – with Great Britain second and France third.

Great Britain won the opening event of the season in Perth.

The next SailGP event is in Sydney in two weeks' time.

USA skipper Taylor Canfield also spoke about the increased danger in the format.

"I think we're reaching a spot here where we're going to need to definitely start to consider keeping the boats a little bit further apart, or receive penalties," Canfield said.

"As we crowd these race courses, it gets just more and more dangerous. And coming from someone that's been in a pretty serious crash - it's a heart stopping moment.

"I think anyone in any high speed, full on adrenaline racing, F1 whatever, will tell you that being in one of those crashes, is a moment you'll never forget. We've got to make sure that we're keeping the boats apart and keeping the athletes safe. But at the same time, it's that fine line of pushing the boats as hard as we can to go out there, and doing what we've all been trained to do and to win.

"I definitely think that personal safety is becoming more of a topic after the more serious collisions that we've had in the last few months. The league are always looking to take a step to make sure the boats are getting safer for us. But in the end, a big crash is always a dangerous moment and a scary moment.

"And as we saw in Perth, that incident was only half a metre to a metre away from, from being even more catastrophic and potentially involving, people in the crash. I think it's a risk that definitely doesn't go unseen. People are talking about it and how we can better avoid collisions, and it will be something that will continue to be a topic for discussion for months to come."

- with Wide World of Sports