BARCELONA, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Defending Americas Cup champions Emirates Team New Zealand suffered a dockside incident at the end of the first day of racing in the round robin stage of the competition, when their yacht fell heavily while being lifted out of the water.

The team issued a communique explaining that "while retrieving the AC75 from sailing today the crane failed while lifting onto its cradle and landed heavily. All team members are safe. The extent of the damage will be assessed as soon as possible."

That statement was later updated to say the "there was a failure with power to the crane carrying the boat which dropped onto its cradle."

"The full extent of the damage will be assessed by the team overnight," added the team, who confirmed the boat would "not be sailing [on Friday]."

"Clearly this is a setback for the team at such an important time of the campaign. These are the moments that can define an America's Cup campaign, and we have an amazing group of dedicated and talent people who will be working around the clock on getting the boat repaired," said team CEO Grant Dalton.

The day's racing off the coast of Barcelona saw four races in which the New Zealand team had defeated Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team from Italy, while Britain's INEOS Britannia beat the American yacht NYYC American Magic.

France's Orient Express Racing Team won their race against the Swiss challengers of Alinghi Red Bull Racing, but lost the day's last regatta against Luna Rossa.

The team that finishes last after the round robin stage of the most famous yacht racing tournament in the world will be eliminated from the competition. Enditem

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