Extreme Sailing Series announces major step forward; wants to change "the way sailing seen"

The Extreme Sailing Series in Numbers

- 9 events confirmed for 2011 circuit spanning North America, Europe, Arabia and Asia.
- Mix of venues from iconic cities and unconventional ‘stadiums’, to established sailing destinations and emerging sailing markets.
- 10 top class teams representing 8 nations, and a dozen different nationalities of sailors.
- 5-day events offering a unique mix of ‘open-water’ racing and with high octane ‘stadium’ racing – high sporting integrity, but entertaining non-sailors and sailors alike too.
- Fleet racing, figure of 8 duels, time trials, match racing and other formats of racing will continue to be used – but always short, sharp and punchy!
- ‘Money can’t buy’ VIP experiences on and off the water – pioneering 5th man spots remain a key value of the event.
- 8-hour programme of entertainment (on and off the water) on every public-facing day.
- 12 x Optimists, 8 x 49ers, and at least 3 other classes of ‘support act’ over the season including windsurfers, kiteboarders,…
- 5-year vision and key developments planned for 2011

On the eve of the World Yacht Racing Forum in Estoril (Portugal), the Extreme Sailing Series™ unveiled a great package of interesting and varied host venues, and top level professional sailing teams and skippers for 2011. The award-winning and ‘ISAF Special Event’ circuit is going truly global as it enters its fifth year, with 9 events spanning 3 continents, over 11 months and 10 teams representing 8 nations. A core objective of the event remains to be the most commercially sound way for brands and host venues to benefit from the great offer that professional sailing can present. This philosophy has been at the heart of the product since its inception in 2006, with the vast majority of teams since 2007 being sponsorship funded. The 2011 package provides a global sponsorship platform, at a very accessible budget level, and with a queue of sailors keen to compete.

“The circuit has come a long way since 2007 when we had just 4 European events and 5 teams,” commented Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of organisers OC ThirdPole. “We continue to attract new top sponsored teams, sailors and, importantly, major new venues where we can showcase the sport with our game-changing ‘stadium’ format. The choice of venues for 2011 has been our core commercial team focus since the end of 2009. We are getting closer to the perfect mix of established iconic cities, premium venues, great sailing destinations and emerging (sailing) markets.

“We continue to maintain the mix of sporting integrity and entertainment. We have shown inshore sailing can actually be fun to watch for the non-sailor as well as the sailor! Part of the DNA of the circuit since the beginning, our 5th man spot remains one of the sport’s greatest assets – be it for sponsors clients, media, TV cameramen, or prizewinners drawn from the general public,” he concluded.

A circuit spanning North America, Europe, Arabia and Asia

The 2011 Extreme Sailing Series™ kicks off in the Sultanate of Oman in February, as part of the annual Muscat Festival, before heading to China for Act 2 (location to be announced separately). The gateway between Europe and Asia, and European City of Sport for 2012, Istanbul, will host the third Act before the Extreme 40 fleet travels to the United States of America for the first time, to Boston’s waterfront in time for the July 4th celebrations.

Cowes Week welcomes the Extreme 40s for the fifth consecutive year for Act 5, ahead of a return to the Sicilian port of Trapani, for the second consecutive year. The French round will be staged on Mediterranean waters in Nice before Almería, in Andalucia, Spain hosts the penultimate event and the 2011 circuit will be decided in Singapore in mid-December.

10 Teams Representing 8 Nations, with sailors from more than 12 countries, and from diverse backgrounds (Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup, Olympic Gold medalists, World Match Racing Tour etc..)

Diversity and quality are once again hallmarks of the Extreme Sailing Series line up.

Two-times runner-up Groupe Edmond de Rothschild returns (skipper as yet unknown); new entry Luna Rossa has snapped up last year’s winning skipper Paul Campbell-James as helm, with the boat skippered by America’s Cup winning sailor, Max Sirena. Oman Air Masirah, returns, skippered by French Volvo Ocean Race veteran Sidney Gavignet; double Olympic Gold Medallist Roman Hagara enters for the second season with his Red Bull Extreme Sailing team.

Britain’s Ian Williams, two times winner of the World Match Racing Tour joins Team GAC Pindar; another new Italian entry, Team Nice, led by Alberto Barovier and 2010 winners, The Wave, Muscat return to defend their title, this time skippered by emerging star Torvar Mirsky.

Alinghi returns to the fleet after winning in 2008, skippered by experienced Extreme 40 tactician Tanguy Cariou; Paul Cayard’s Artemis Racing is skippered by American Terry Hutchinson and finally, new to the 2011 circuit will be Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by Kiwi America’s Cup winner, Dean Barker, who experienced Extreme 40 racing for the first time at the final event in Almería this year.

2011 Calendar & Host Venues:
Act 1: 22-24 February, Muscat, Oman (20-21 ‘open-water’ racing*)

Act 2: 15-17 April, China (13-14 ‘open-water’ racing)
Act 3: 27-29 May, Istanbul, Turkey (25-26 ‘open-water’ racing)

Act 4: 30 June – 4 July, Boston, USA (all days public event)

Act 5: 6-12 August, Cowes, UK (all days public event)

Act 6: 16-18 September, Trapani, Italy (14-15 ‘open-water’ racing)

Act 7: 30 September – 2 October, Nice, France (28-29 ‘open-water’ racing)

Act 8: 12-16 October, Almeria, Spain (all days public event)

Act 9: 9-11 December, Singapore (7-8 ‘open-water’ racing)
* ‘open-water’ racing means that the Race Manager can use whatever part of the arena is best for racing – once the public village is open in ‘stadium’ mode there are sometimes constraints in this respect in order to ensure the fans can see all the action.

2011 Confirmed* Teams & Skippers:

Team Name/ Nat Skipper Name (Nat.)
Alinghi/ SUI - Tanguy Cariou (FRA)
Artemis Racing/ SWE - Terry Hutchinson (USA)
Emirates Team New Zealand/ NZL - Dean Barker (NZL)
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild/ FRA (As Yet Unknown)
Luna Rossa/ ITA - Max Sirena (ITA)
Oman Air Masirah/ OMA - Sidney Gavignet (FRA)
Red Bull Extreme Sailing/ AUT - Roman Hagara (AUT)
Team GAC Pindar/ GBR - Ian Williams (GBR)
Team Nice/ ITA - Alberto Barovier (ITA)
The Wave, Muscat/ OMA - Torvar Mirsky (AUS)

Extreme Sailing Series and International 49er Class Association announce a Strategic Partnership

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] With growing acknowledgement that high performance classes are the best way to showcase the sport of sailing, the Extreme Sailing Series and the International 49er Class Association have today announced a strategic partnership to help broaden the media appeal of sailing.

Starting in 2011, the Extreme Sailing Series will see the 49er racing alongside the Extreme 40, as part of the ‘Stadium’ showcase entertainment that the award-winning professional sailing circuit is renowned for.

OC ThirdPole’s Sailing Events Director, Gilles Chiorri, commented, ”The Extreme Sailing Series combines top professional racing with challenging and innovative short-course race formats that are also entertaining for a growing fanbase around the world – at the events and online. The 49er is the current Olympic class that offers the most attractive way for us to add another small boat ‘act’ in support of the Extreme 40 racing - as part of a strategy of providing up to 8 hours of entertainment for the public and VIPs who visit our events around the world. The 49er is also a class that has been a stepping stone for 2009 and 2010 Extreme Sailing Series winning helmsmen Chris Draper and Paul Campbell-James. The collaboration with the 49er Class is an exciting addition for us as we scale up the event for 2011 and beyond.”

The 49er Class is still relatively young, but over the last 10 years many of its top sailors have gone on to achieve successful professional sailing careers: 49er Class sailors made up half of the eight helmsmen in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race. The Class aims to provide not only Olympic level sailing for its competitors, but also look to help them break into the highest levels of professional sailing, something that this new partnership is designed to assist.

Malav Shroff, President of the 49er Class commented, “This is a very exciting partnership for us. Kids today want to sail fast boats and from the Optimist Class, kids are straight away jumping into the 29er class, the junior class of the 49er and an ISAF Youth World Class. At an early age they are exposed to high performance sailing and have no fear of the high speeds and performance of these classes. By 18 or 19 years of age they are already moving into the 49er. These high performance classes give them a unique exposure at an early age which they can adopt to various other sailing disciplines. We hope that with this partnership, our Olympic Sailors and hopefully our youth sailors from the 29er Class have a congruent pathway to professional sailing. This opportunity will be a big boost for our sailors to gain additional exposure by taking part in these professional events as well as providing them with additional opportunities for securing, and giving a return to, sponsors,” he concluded.

Extreme Sailing Series Almeria - Day 2: Big breeze and big action as Guichard retains top spot in the final…

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] The second day of the final round of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series in Almeria delivered exactly what it says on the tin… Extreme racing, on the limit of control, with an abundance of thrills and spills. The thousands of Spanish public who flocked to the race village today were enthralled as the boats flew past within touching distance of the stadium walls: “It was unbelievable, the crowds give you a real buzz, it’s fantastic,” said Dean Barker, Team Emirates New Zealand skipper.

A consistent 20+ knots of breeze saw the Extreme 40s ‘fly’ along at boat speeds in excess of 30mph (46kmph). Today was about staying in control, minimizing mistakes and staying out of trouble… The race management decided that in light of the forecast the fleet would race in groups with no more than four boats on the race course at one time, set inside the tight confines of the port. Each group was determined by the current rankings after yesterday’s racing.

Dean Barker is now in his second day of learning how to beat James Spithill, approximately three years from now. Almeria, 10 October 2010. Photo copyright Paul Wyeth/OC Events

In the end, it was Yann Guichard’s crew on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who did it best, winning three out of their four races, and increasing their lead to 59 points at the top of the leaderboard: “The committee made a wise choice by splitting the fleet,” said Guichard. “We showed that we had to be reckoned with even in strong winds, I think yesterday Paul said these were his conditions, but we proved they were ours too. We’re in the match and I’m sure it will all go down to the last race of the last day, just like last year.”

The Ecover Sailing Team posted two first places, a second and a third and this consistent performance keeps them in hot contention, just 6 points from the top spot: “It was very difficult today, conditions were very puffy, although we kept control throughout there was definitely the potential for either a nasty crash or worst still a capsize,” said Ecover Sailing Team skipper, Mike Golding. “It is nice flat water here which helps to keep the boats on their feet, but I think what is extreme here is the space, or lack of space! You make a mistake, you’re going into a concrete wall so it’s good to be back on the dock all in one piece.”

Yesterday The Wave, Muscat skipper Paul Campbell-James was relishing the prospect of stronger breeze but today their aggressive sailing nearly ended in disaster on two occasions - one a near high-speed collision with a wall and another near collision with teammates Oman Sail Masirah skippered by Loick Peyron: “We were three up coming into the downwind mark [Masirah, The Wave and Rumbo Almeria] and we were pushing hard to get the overlap,” explained Campbell-James. “We didn’t quite get it but we were in a position that we couldn’t really do anything else but go in there […to the mark]. We managed just at the very last minute to miss Masirah’s stern basically with our rudders out of the water before spinning round the mark. I’m looking forward to seeing the footage!” His team stay in third place but remain confident: “We didn’t make the most of today, it was windy and we’re normally pretty good in that stuff but we just didn’t sail very well, it’s as simple as that. But we’re still within punching distance and that’s the main thing.”

Second day of racing for the Extreme 40's. Almeria, 10 October 2010. Photo copyright Paul Wyeth/OC Events

The first three races were set over a windward/leeward course of three laps – even with the mainsails reefed and no gennakers, the Extreme 40s flew round the tight course, each race taking only 6-7 minutes, each leg approximately 60 seconds! Just watching was exhausting and nerve-wracking for the public; for the sailors the adrenalin was pumping and it proved hard to control their competitive drive as the crowds witnessed some aggressive tactics. Roman Hagara, Red Bull Extreme Sailing skipper: “The boats were really exciting today especially for the spectators. The guys love it too because there is so much action on the boat, so much speed.” In their penultimate race, Hagara and his crew caught the top buoy dragging it at least 200 meters off target – their competitors complied by rounding the ‘re-set’ mark on the final lap!

Franck Cammas seemed to relish the conditions today nailing two wins early in the day until a bad mark rounding and an OCS (on course side) upset their day: “It was intense, and a good thing to race four boats at a time otherwise the starts would have been a catastrophe for everyone. It was important to start well and to manage the moments of crisis, notably the bearaways which are always tricky on these boats. We are rather fast in those conditions, but today we made two mistakes, touching a mark and starting too early, which really doesn’t help on such short courses.”

The forecast for tomorrow is for less wind but that won’t take the heat off the skippers as they head into the penultimate day of the final round of the season.

Extreme Sailing Series™ Almeria Results after Day 2

1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Yann Guichard, 59 points
2nd Ecover, Mike Golding, 53 points
3rd The Wave, Muscat, Paul Campbell-James, 48 points
4th Oman Sail Masirah, Loick Peyron, 48 points
5th Groupama 40, Franck Cammas, 39 points
6th Rumbo Almeria, Guillermo Altadill, 33 points
7th Red Bull Extreme Sailing, Roman Hagara, 28 points
8th Team Emirates New Zealand, Dean Barker, 24 points

Six International Teams Line Up For Inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship

[Source: Extreme 40 World Championship] The boat park in Portorož is awash with international sailing talent as the teams entered into the inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship prepare their boats for action.

Five days of racing will kick off on Wednesday 14 July with the first of up to 15 Olympic style courses in the Bay of Portorož on the dynamic Extreme 40 catamarans based out of the Kempinski Palace Hotel.

Shirley Robertson skipper of Team BMW Great Britain is looking forward to the racing: “It’s a pretty special place here and great to come somewhere new, I’ve never been to Slovenia and it is an amazing hotel in front of an amazing race course. These boats will put on good show.

Six International Teams Line Up For Inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship. Portoroz, 12 July 2010. Photo copyright Crt Slavec/Extreme40Worlds2010/THEOCEANRACINGCLUB

“The longer courses will give us more opportunity to show the boats off along the beautiful coast line and in many ways for the helmsman it is a joy to let the boat breathe. It’s like driving a fast car, always having to stop at junctions, but here we can put the pedal down, let it rip and as a helmsman that’s a complete joy.”

The ISAF endorsed World Championship has six teams lining up for the first ever event:

Mitch Booth, the co-creator of the Extreme 40 class is once again at the helm of The Ocean Racing Club, the home Slovenian Team. Joining Mitch is two of his regular Extreme 40 crew Dutchmen Ed van Lierde and Sander Speet, joined by Slovenian Tomaz Copi. Booth was out training with three other teams this afternoon. “It’s been another day of ideal conditions for what we expect the remainder of the World Championship to be. We practiced today with four teams and the stage is set for what we expect to be a fantastic week of racing.”

There are three double Olympic Gold Medalists in the fleet - Shirley Robertson, Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher. Robertson will represent Team BMW Great Britain, joined by regular Extreme 40 sailors Brits Will Howden and Andrew MacLean and Kiwi Matt Adams. Roman Hagara has been training hard since the opening event on the Extreme Sailing Series in Sète where they finished seventh overall with his Red Bull Extreme Sailing team. Hagara will be joined by his regular crew: Olympic tactician Hans Peter Steinacher, and Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup sailors Gabriele Olivo from Italy and David Vera from Spain.

Hans-Peter Steinacher, Tactician, Red Bull Extreme Sailing was looking forward to the longer, Olympic style courses the teams will face this week. “The format we are using here is what we are used to at the Olympics so it isn’t too long since we sailed like this so it will come back quickly to us. Boat speed is quite important so at the end we have to look at who is the quickest boat and who is coming easy out of the starts in the smoothest way.

Six International Teams Line Up For Inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship. Portoroz, 12 July 2010. Photo copyright Crt Slavec/Extreme40Worlds2010/THEOCEANRACINGCLUB

Steinacher isn’t new to sailing in Slovenia having sailed all down the Adriatic coast “The Bay here in Portorož is excellent. It’s really nice weather, a great Marina, the hotel is great. I think to have an event here is great so if the wind conditions continue like this, it’s going to be spectacular.”

There are three new teams stepping up to challenge for the overall World Championship title. Roman’s brother Andreas Hagara, an Olympian and former Tornado World Champion will lead a strong Dutch crew sailing the French entry, Team Petras France. Andreas is joined by his regular Extreme 40 crew Gerd Habermuller, along with Michael Schonleitner.

“It’s very nice to be back in the Extreme 40s,” he commented as he prepared the boat for an afternoon of practice racing. “I enjoyed it in the past very much. We are four Austrians, all with multihull or Tornado backgrounds so we should be strong. I really enjoy the short course racing, it’s fun and good, but tough on the team physically, so the longer courses might give us bit of a breather. We hope for a few good results and really happy to be here.”

The Hagara brothers last raced against each other in 2003 in the Tornado European Championships where Andreas came first and Roman second. A chance for a Hagara one-two at the Extreme 40 World Championships? “Ha! I don’t think so, we aren’t on these boats full time, but we’ll try!” he laughed.

Pim Nieuwenhuis takes a promotion to the skipper spot for Team IWC Holland, from his regular role onboard The Ocean Racing Club with Mitch Booth. “I got the call for the upgrade a couple of days ago and I’m really excited about it. It’s a great opportunity for me to steer the boat and looking forward to it. The longer courses are going to be easier on the boat handling so speed is going to be more important.”

Six International Teams Line Up For Inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship. Portoroz, 12 July 2010. Photo copyright Crt Slavec/Extreme40Worlds2010/THEOCEANRACINGCLUB

Three new crew members join Nieuwenhuis, two Dutchmen, F18 World Bronze Medalist Ferdinand van West, Star Olympian Alex Breuseker and Luke Cross from Great Britain and only one with experience. “Yes, that’s me! It’s going to be tough, we are a late entry, a novice team, but my personal goal will be to win some of the races and we are excited about lining up against the big guys.”

The final entry is a Hungarian scratch team, Team Nokia Hungary, helmed by German Roland Gaebler. Olympic bronze medalist Gaebler is joined by Hortobagyi Gabor and Kaltenecker Karoly, both Hungarian and catamaran national champions. The final member of the team is experienced Extreme 40er Mark Van Gelderen, from The Netherlands.

Karoly was still suffering from the previous day’s training: “Mark is a tough guy and he shouts at us a lot. He is very loud! But he is pushing us hard and teaching us a lot. The goal this week is to bring us together as a team and to put up a good fight with the other boats. It’s a great venue here. After training yesterday, I was a dead man, it was such hard work!”

Six International Teams Line Up For Inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship. Portoroz, 12 July 2010. Photo copyright Crt Slavec/Extreme40Worlds2010/THEOCEANRACINGCLUB

Tuesday 14 July will be the Media Day when national and international media will join the teams for informal racing, while the official action starts on Wednesday 15th with the first start at 11am, from the Kempinski Palace Hotel.

Race Director Alan Hillman talked through the race schedule, “We anticipate up to three classic windward/leeward races with a target time of 40 minutes until Sunday, except for Thursday which will be a longer, fleet coastal race to Koper, about 8 miles, and a return leg to Portorož.”

Tomaz Copi, racing with Mitch Booth on the Slovenian The Ocean Racing Club, spoke about his emotions going into the first World Championship: “It’s great to have the first World Championship on Slovenian waters. It’s a good turn out for the first year and looking around the boat park everywhere there seems to be an Olympic medal or World Champion everywhere.

“I just want to survive this week. I saw some nice videos with flying hulls and strong winds and I want to show the people of Slovenia that.”

Six International Teams Line Up For Inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship. Portoroz, 12 July 2010. Photo copyright Crt Slavec/Extreme40Worlds2010/THEOCEANRACINGCLUB

Countdown to the Inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship Begins

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] On 13 July 2010, the stunning bay of Portorož on the Adriatic Coast will be centre stage for the Extreme 40 teams lining up for the inaugural Extreme 40 World Championship. Hosted by The Ocean Racing Club, the teams will be put through their paces over six days of Olympic style fleet races, starting at the world-renowned Kempinski Palace Hotel.

The 40-foot lightweight and super-fast catamarans have become the hottest fleet on the international racing scene and attract many of the world's best sailors. From double Olympic Gold medallists to Record Breakers, Round the World Yacht Racers to World Champions, many of the sailors have experienced racing in the Extreme Sailing Series over the last four years at events around the globe which see the fleet race on short, tight race courses within touching distance of the thousands of spectators that come to watch this impressive and entertaining fleet that has revolutionised the way sailing is seen.

The World Championship courses will test the tenacity and skill of the skippers and crews in another way, as the teams race in more conventional long-distance fleet racing.

Five teams have formally announced their crew lists, with five more to be announced over the coming days: Red Bull Extreme Sailing, skippered by double Olympic Gold Medallist Roman Hagara and joined by his tactician, Hans Peter Steinacher; a return to the Extreme 40 circuit for another double Olympic Gold Medallist, Shirley Robertson, with Team England; Extreme 40 co-creator Mitch Booth on The Ocean Racing Club; newcomer to the Extreme 40 fleet, Team Hungary skippered by two-times German Tornado national champion Johannes Polgar and finally the French-owned Extreme 40 LUNA skippered by former Tornado World Champion Andreas Hagara, brother of Roman.

Australian/Dutch Olympic Bronze and Silver Medallist Mitch Booth, will be skippering the Slovenian entry into the inaugural World Championship, alongside Olympian Tomaz Copi. “Portorož is a perfect venue for the long-distance races we are expecting to face,” he commented. “The races are far longer than those normally held in the Extreme Sailing Series circuit. Rather than the 15 minutes sprints we are used to, these will feel like marathons, each lasting up to 40 minutes. It will test us both physically and mentally to the max.”

The schedule of racing will be for six days, from 13 - 18 July, with the teams exploring every inch of the Bay of Portorož, on the longer fleet races.

Michael Reardon Director of The Ocean Racing Club, has followed the success of the European and Asian Extreme Sailing Series with interest, and when the opportunity arose to host the first ever World Championship event, he seized the opportunity to get involved. “We hope we will inspire Slovenian sailors to achieve at the very highest levels. The depth of experience across the fleet is awe inspiring - six Olympic Gold Medals, five round the world navigations and 21 World Championship titles are just some of the accolades they hold between them. It's an honour to be welcoming a fleet of such talent.

“By hosting events of international ISAF approved standards, we feel that this will showcase the region, and attract other high-level sailing events and teams, including in the future we hope, an entry into the Volvo Ocean Race,” he concluded.

Yann Guichard leads Extreme Sailing Series at Sète

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] At the resort of Sète on the south coast of France, the first event of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series got underway today. There was sunshine and there was breeze, although it proved unreliable in both direction and strength but enough to see the Extreme 40 hulls flying and generating some great pace on the downwind legs. The eight teams of world-class sporting calibre competed in three longer-course races on this non-public day here in Sète, allowing the teams to stretch their legs for the first time. It was not a perfect day to gauge the teams' form, and this was reflected in the varying results posted on the leaderboard.

First day of racing for the Extreme Sailing Series. Sète, 27 May 2010. Photo copyright Yvan Zeda / Groupama

Nonetheless, Yann Guichard's Groupe Edmond de Rothschild scored a 1st, 6th and 2nd to leave them top of the leaderboard. Mitch Booth, co-creator of the Extreme 40 class and no stranger to this type of racing, put in a great performance on brand new entry The Ocean Racing Club with a 4th, 1st and 6th putting them in second place overall: "Yeah it was a difficult day, in a few races we were back but with those sort of conditions it's not over until it's over," he laughed. "We just kept fighting all day, trying to take every shift. We got a few lucky ones but a few unlucky ones too! But it was a good day we are pretty happy with the results, the teamwork is good, the boat speed is okay and we're looking forward to a good regatta."

Defending champions, Oman Sail Masirah, had a day of mixed fortunes benefiting from a major wind shift in race 1 to go from last to second! But their luck didn't hold and a 7th and 5th leaves them in 6th place on the overall leaderboard. The fastest man around the planet, Franck Cammas on his Groupama 40, scored a good victory in the final race today allowing them to scrape into third overall ahead of Paul Campbell-James' team on The Wave, Muscat. The Red Bull Extreme Sailing team were in the mix throughout the day, scoring a 3rd and a 2nd, but a disappointing last place in the final race dropped them into 5th place. Mike Golding's Ecover, now helmed by Leigh McMillan, were also in the fray but problems with their rudder kicking up, and staying up in race 2, cost them dearly. Rallying in the last race with a podium third-place, ensured they ticked off on of the team's objectives on day one.

First day of racing for the Extreme Sailing Series. Sète, 27 May 2010. Photo copyright Vincent Curutchet/DPPI/OC Events

Video: Highlights from the 3rd day of Extreme Sailing Series in Singapore

Video highlights from the 3rd day of Extreme Sailing Series. Singapore, 13 December 2009. Video copyright Extreme Sailing Series

Rainstorm affects races in 3rd day of Extreme Sailing Singapore

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] The fleet in Singapore had everything thrown at them today as they contended with an intense 15 minute rainstorm, wind that peaked at 12 knots and then they were left crawling around the racecourse as the wind dropped to just 1.2 knots. But still the boats raced on, battling it out for the top spot.

Consistency paid off today for event leaders Masirah as they extended their lead at the top of the board by 10 points over second place Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team. But hot on their heels is China Team, with local Singaporean sailor Tan Wearn Haw onboard, trailing by just 1 point.

Nick Moloney, Skipper of BT commented, "Crazy conditions today, wind all over the place, big squall through the course half way through the first race, massive shift in wind direction a couple of times, I lost my hat - everything!"

The testing conditions challenged the race committee as the wind swung wildly across the race course, but five races were completed with fifth man VIP guests racing in the heart of the action onboard the 40 foot catamarans.

Callum Laing, Chairman of the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui raced onboard Rumbo Almeria. "It is absolutely fantastic, brilliant. I think it puts a lot of other hospitality experiences to shame because you are so in the middle of what is happening, it is hard to imagine any other sport being able to offer that sort of experience, it was incredible."

Racing onboard Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team as the fifth man guest was Hafiz Koh, 22 years old, the youngest driver for the Singapore A1GP team. "That was totally amazing. I'm going to change from motorsports to sailing!" he laughed.

Koh (pictured above) was racing alongside David Vera, racing in his first ever multihull event. "It is the first time I've sailed these boats and it was funny, very funny. Each day I enjoy it more because I'm learning more each day. I've never raced a catamaran before, I'm used to just sailing big boats, I've only experienced them when I've chartered them as a tourist, these ones are very, very nice.

"This sailing is so different from the normal type of sailing I do around the world, it's totally different. It's like doing a marathon and then doing the 100 metres; it goes so quickly and very fast and a totally different concept of sailing. I'm enjoying it a lot."

Pete Cumming and his team onboard Masirah finished top of the leaderboard after day 3: "Another really solid day, really different conditions. Full monsoon downpour so the clouds pulling the wind all over the palce. We went out knowing we had to be consistent. Five races and all top threes, but we are being pushed a lot harder, these guys are chipping away at us...."

The penultimate day of racing commences tomorrow, Monday 14 December from 2pm.

Provisional results after 3 days of Racing:
Oman Sail Masirah: 70
Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team: 60
China Team: 59
BT: 57
The Wave, Muscat: 53
Rumbo Almeria: 38

Video: Highlights from the 2nd day of Extreme Sailing Series in Singapore

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Video highlights from the 2nd day of Extreme Sailing Series. Singapore, 12 December 2009. Video copyright Extreme Sailing Series

Drama on the Extreme 40 racecourse in Singapore

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] Rudders up .... bows down ..... There was real drama on the racecourses here in Singapore today as four boats nearly capsized as the gusty winds took the six-boat fleet by surprise.

For Rumbo Almeria it was a busy day - this morning they had taken former record holder and Olympic 4x100m Gold medallist Asafa Powell sailing onboard their Extreme 40 and then this afternoon were clinging on to the trampoline as they desperately strived to keep their boat from capsizing.

Bowman Steve Mitchell picks up the story, "We were on the second reach of a triangle course, it was a pretty tight leg we had a big puff and the boat was tipping up, tipping up.....


"I had gone to leeward, we had furled the spinnaker and I was pulling it down and the only thing I could see was a construction site coming at me really pretty quickly! I had my ankles in the water, the bow was fully under and I could hear Nick [Hutton] shouting, 'We're going down, we're going down'. So I just turned, left the spinnaker and ran to the high side. I am pretty glad I had studs in the bottom of my shoes to get to get up the trampoline to join everyone hanging on to the top corner! And she finally popped out and came back down again and off we went again. We weren't expecting that here! It mixes it up and keeps us on our toes for sure!"

The Wave, Muscat, Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team and CHINA TEAM were all sailing on the edge of their comfort zones as they each battled to keep their Extreme 40 the right way up as the wind channelled between the buildings in gusts of up to 16 knots.

Local sailor, Tan Wearn Haw, from Singapore onboard CHINA TEAM was buzzing as he stepped onto the dock. "So we have seen how wrong things can go in a moment, we almost flipped the boat today!" he grinned. "It was in the third race, it was interesting we were just on the edge, everything could have gone pear-shaped we were like "WOAH!". We had Adam jumping on the dagger-board, so it was good that he ate lots of supper last night to give him an extra kilo weight!

"We had two shots of gusts that just hit us over the breakwater and we couldn't quite respond to it so ah well, a lot learnt today! It was so quiet onboard as we all wondered if we were going to go over and then suddenly we were all shouting! We told the fifth man we don't do this every day - Hugh [Styles - helm] said he's sailed these boats for three years and it is the closest he has ever come to capsizing."

There were five races today exploring every inch of the Marina Reservoir race area with the teams being challenged by the unpredictable winds as it channelled between the buildings.


Hans-Peter Steinacher, tactician onboard Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team was pleased with this second day of racing, "What a perfect day - we are really enjoying sailing in Singapore. Good wind conditions and even these short races are quite funny and it is very physical, it is unbelievalbe, we are nearly on the limit. It was good today that we only had five races because otherwise the two guys at the front of the boat are exhausted, the crashes start coming and just wouldn't be able to cope. Even the speed races are fun. It's great here!"

Provisional standings at the end of the second day saw the fleet which was tied yesterday with four boats at the top of the leaderboard, start to spread out with the European Champions and winners of the first round in Hong Kong, Oman Sail's Masirah lead Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team by two points, ahead of BT by another two points. CHINA TEAM sits in fourth place, just one point ahead of The Wave, Muscat with Rumbo Almeria in sixth.

More high-octane action continues tomorrow, Sunday 13th December from 2pm.

Standings after Day 2:
1. Oman Sail Masirah: 45
2. Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team: 43
3. BT: 41
4. CHINA TEAM: 39
5. The Wave, Muscat: 38
6. Rumbo Almeria: 26

Video: Highlights from the 1st day of Extreme Sailing Series in Singapore

Video highlights from the 1st day of Extreme Sailing Series. Singapore, 11 December 2009. Video copyright Extreme Sailing Series

Spectacular Extreme Sailing Series Flags Off in Singapore

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] Day 1 and BT, CHINA TEAM, Masirah and Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team are all tied at the top of the Singapore leaderboard with 23 points apiece in this inaugural series in Asia. The six Extreme 40s were racing within metres of the shoreline under the World’s tallest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer.

Day 1 was dedicated as a Media and VIP day, a chance for the national and international media and key opinion formers from the city to come and experience Extreme 40 racing and see the potential of bringing a full scale series, with shoreside entertainment, to the city in 2010/11.

Local sailor, Tan Wearn Haw, helm of CHINA TEAM was pleased with his team’s performance: “It was great to open the series with a win, it’s starting to come together. I was surprised at the conditions – really good, nice sunshine, great wind, it couldn’t have started better. So hopefully we’ll get more race days like that over the next four days and it will be an awesome event.


“We’ve had a busy day today with VIP guests and the media onboard, but they all have had a great day. It’s such a unique, positive experience with everyone onboard, they had their jaws wide open when flying a hull and I think it makes for great pictures and a great experience for the 5th man guests. Flying a hull in front of The Flyer was great!”

One of the VIPs sailing today was Nils Razmilovich, a derivatives trader who lives in Singapore; “This was my first experience of sailing Extreme 40s and I have to say it was absolutely fantastic. It was truly enjoyable, for sheer speed and excitement, it is unrivalled and I’ve been sailing for quite a number of years.

“I think it is a wonderful thing that the Extreme 40s have come here to Singapore. The city has a lot to offer and bringing the series here will hopefully bring more people in to sailing and show off the beautiful city of Singapore.”

Gilles Chiorri, the Extreme Sailing Series Race Manager pushed the teams hard today with four different courses over the six races, “Today we have experienced a new approach, trying to make a different course as often as possible to not only make sure we explore the potential of the race course, but also to bring some fresh experience for the sailors and making sure they are not using always the same tactics and strategy patterns because the wind can be very specific here.”



After four courses today including classic windward/leewards and a triangle course the final race of the day was a time trial over a 1.5km course. The teams had a six minute start window, and then had to complete the course as quickly as possible, with The Wave, Muscat taking the line honours. For Khamis Al Bourrai, an Omani national who sails onboard The Wave, Muscat, it was a good end to his 34th birthday today. Khamis, was sailing for the first time on The Wave, Muscat; his normal team being Masirah: “It was really good today and thrilling to win the time trial. Sailing with this team, it was my first time, learning from them and picking up things. It isn’t that different, the tactics, the thinking and knowing what is going on. I can’t wait to bring these boats and these teams to my home country of Oman, my country’s waters. I’ll be so pleased and so happy. At least the Omanis will then see these boats in Oman and they will see first hand what we have been doing all over Europe and in Asia.”

“It was a really hard day today,” said joint leader Pete Cumming, the skipper of Oman Sail’s Masirah. “The conditions were shiftier than we had expected, really tricky. We had some really different race courses today. Gilles, the Race Manager, said that he would have some fun with us and they are definitely throwing in some different courses, six races, four different race courses, and I think every inch of the Reservoir here in Singapore was reached. It has been good, interesting. It is definitely going to be one of those events when consistency counts, we had a race when we turned a second into a fifth so it will be hard and pretty unpredictable. We have five days to get used to it and as the fleet learns the location they will start learning all the ladders. We definitely found a few snakes today!”

Racing will continue tomorrow, Saturday 12 December from 2pm.