Two boats collide at start of Ocean Race Europe, crew members unharmed

KIEL, Germany (AP) — Two boats collided moments after the start of the Ocean Race Europe on Sunday and had to return to port for repairs.

Organizers said all crew members were unharmed after contact between Holcim PRB (Switzerland) and Allagrande MAPEI Racing (Italy). Footage showed Mapei’s sail badly torn following the incident in the race’s first leg in Kiel, Germany. Both teams were assessing their repairs, organizers said.

Conditions were expected to be intense for the first 24 hours of the race with strong winds and fast speeds until boats reached the north of Denmark.

The race then has legs in Portsmouth (England), Matosinhos (Portugal), Cartagena (Spain), Nice (France) and Genoa (Italy) before its scheduled ending at Boka Bay in Montenegro in mid-September.

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