Tim,
You are totally lost. Race cars crash, motorcycles crash, bikes crash, stunt planes crash, sailboats crash, thats what the top of the game is about, pushing the limits of what can be done. Do you know how long they were out before they capsized? Neither do I, but I'd bet it was long enough to learn something about the boat, and how to make it go in high wind.

Expensive boats? Yeah they are and these guys are paid thousands of dollars a day to sail them. Do you know what the Oracle tri entourage was equipped with when they went out on the water to test it? Divers, medics, jaws of life, just because they knew they were pushing the envelope. Thats the game they are playing and my bet is they know how to play it better than you.

Not trying to be hostile but you are totally off base in your criticisms.

Oh, and its not blowing 40 at the top of the spar when ground wind is 29. How do I know? The masthead of the boat I run is 100 feet off the water, and we have never seen a 30% difference in ground wind vs wind aloft. Most I would say is maybe 5-10% tops.

Dave is right on with his comments.