Australian skipper Nathan Outteridge's spectacular plunge overboard proved costly for Sweden's Artemis Racing in the America's Cup challenger final series.
Outteridge slipped while moving across his high-tech catamaran as it went through a high-speed manoeuvre in Bermuda's Great Sound on Saturday and shot off the back of the boat.
The incident came with the scores locked at 1-1 against Emirates Team New Zealand in the first-to-five contest to decide who challenges holders Oracle Team USA.
Devoid of their skipper, the Swedes retired, allowing the Kiwis to sail freely to a 2-1 lead.
Outteridge, an Olympic gold medallist in the physically-demanding 49er skiff class, was later fished out of the water by the chase boat.
"These boats are turning quite quickly and in an effort to get crew up quite quickly out of the tack, we sprint across," said Outteridge.
"Just as I was crossing the centre of the boat we straightened the turn, which had me sliding off the off-beam.
"I was just looking for something to grab onto,.
"These boats are pretty aero, so there wasn't really much there. I tried to grab some net or a bit of the boat and just must missed everything and ended up in the water.
"Once I resurfaced, I looked up and sort of made a little prayer and wished the guys best of luck and hoped they made the cross and could pull off a couple of gibes.
"It's pretty hard when any person goes overboard to get these boats around the track."
Apart from their implosion at 1-1, the Swedes had the better of the racing in all three tussles and out-manoeuvred the Kiwis in each start.
But their penalty for veering outside the course boundary in the first race gave Kiwi skipper Peter Burling and company too large a lead, winning by 47 seconds.
In the second race, a flawless Swedish performance handed them a 15-second victory, before Outteridge's third-race blunder put Team New Zealand on the ascendancy.
The crews, who are going head-to-head in their quest to take on America's Cup holders Oracle Team USA, have fought three fascinating duels in their catamarans.
The next races are due to take place on Sunday.
The winner of the series will challenge Oracle Team USA in the Louis Vuitton America's Cup Match next week.
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