2014 Extreme Sailing Series

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In 2014, the award-winning Extreme Sailing Series™ will embark on its most ambitious tour to date, with eight iconic Host Venues spanning three continents, over eleven months – including two brand new venues in Russia and Australia. Nine elite level teams representing seven nations, will compete to win the coveted Extreme Sailing Series trophy, including Olympic legend Sir Ben Ainslie, Volvo Ocean Race winner Franck Cammas, reigning champion and British Olympian Leigh McMillan and double Olympic gold medallist Roman Hagara – to name a few! For the full list of competing teams, skippers and venues, read the full news article on the official website HERE!

- An eight Act globetrotting circuit spanning Asia, the Middle East and Europe confirmed for an eighth year of Stadium Racing including two brand new Host Venues – Russia and Australia.
- Nine elite level teams representing seven nations – all 2013 teams return plus Olympic legend Sir Ben Ainslie and Volvo Ocean Race winner Franck Cammas.
- Maintaining the highest level of sporting integrity, in the same award-winning format, across a mix of iconic cities, established sailing venues, and new markets of strong commercial value to stakeholders.
- Win a Land Rover driving experience for two thanks to Series Main Partners Land Rover. There is no better way to go off-road! Enter here.
- Watch the official Series launch promo video here.

8 January – London: Extreme Sailing Series™ organisers OC Sport, alongside Land Rover, one of two Series Main Partners, have today confirmed details of their most ambitious Series to date at the London Boat Show. The award-winning and ‘ISAF Special Event’ world tour will celebrate its eighth year on the international sailing calendar with eight iconic Host Venues spanning three continents, over eleven months and nine elite level teams representing seven nations, who will compete to win the coveted Extreme Sailing Series trophy.

Executive Chairman of OC Sport, Mark Turner, commented: “2014 is the eighth year of this the original Stadium Racing circuit, and significantly our fourth as a world tour. We’ve added two commercially important markets for our stakeholders, and retained six existing venues as well as all the teams from 2013 – we continue on an upward curve with this event which is delivering elite level top class sporting action, as well as strong commercial return on investment for all its stakeholders. That combination remains number one priority for us with this event.”

Mark Cameron, Jaguar Land Rover Global Brand Experience Director commented: “The new season brings eight exciting global locations, all important markets for Land Rover, and this includes two completely new cities, Saint Petersburg and Sydney. Each Host Venue will provide a unique mix of excitement, challenge, accessibility and the very highest quality of competition sailing. Land Rover is immensely proud to be a Series Main Partner for the Extreme Sailing Series. The determination, courage and ability to intelligently respond to fast changing conditions are what is required to be at the top of the sport and these are all virtues shared and recognised by Land Rover and our customers."

A circuit spanning Asia, the Middle East and Europe
For the first time, Singapore will host the curtain raiser to the 2014 Series, with the first starting gun on 20th February. In Singapore the fleet will race within the confines of the ultimate city-centre stadium on the world-famous Marina Bay. From Asia, to the Middle East and the capital of the Sultanate of Oman for Act 2 19-22 March, before the fleet return to China’s ‘Olympic Sailing City’ Qingdao, China’s premier racing destination in May.

A brand new venue for 2014 is Saint Petersburg, Russia. A city with an extraordinary history and Russia’s cultural capital, it is considered to be one of the world’s most picturesque cities. It has all the ingredients for an unforgettable Act, 26-29 June.

The annual UK leg will take the fleet of high-performance catamarans to the heart of the Welsh capital in Cardiff – one of the smallest stadiums on the world tour over the UK August bank holiday weekend, 22-25 August.

From 11 September, the waters separating Asia and Europe will host Act 6 as the fleet return to the magnificent city of Istanbul, Turkey – a favourite amongst the teams with tide and wind, set against a city backdrop instantly recognised the world over, before the penultimate Act of the year at a Host Venue to be confirmed in the Mediterranean in early October.




The final Act of 2014 will be held in one of the most iconic cities in the world as the fleet head to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time, the Harbour City in Sydney Australia in December – a city with one of the world’s most famous waterfronts.

Notably absent for 2014 and not in the Extreme Sailing Series calendar is Brazil, but the tour will return in 2015, following on from the successful final 2013 Act in Florianopolis.

Nine teams – Seven Nations – 45 Elite Level Sailors
2014 will see one of the most exciting and competitive line-ups in the eight years of competition – America’s Cup winners, heroes of multiple Olympic Games, World Champions and round the world sailors – will go head to head on a stadium racecourse that has a reputation as one of the toughest in professional inshore sailing. All teams from 2013 will return in 2014, alongside some new faces, a testament to the long-term sustainability of the Series.

One of three British skippers signed up for 2014 is the world’s greatest Olympic sailor, who played a key role in ORACLE TEAM USA’s astonishing victory in the 34th America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay, Sir Ben Ainslie, who is back in the Extreme Sailing Series after competing in three Acts in 2011 with Oman Air. This year Ainslie will field his own team, J.P. Morgan BAR. And the man who counts four Olympic gold medals and a silver in his trophy cabinet, plus countless world titles in the Laser and Finn classes, is itching to get back involved in the adrenaline-fuelled Extreme Sailing Series. “I remember that it is crazy racing. Anyone who has seen the Series – or taken part in it – will tell you that the style of the courses, the speed of the boats and the number of boats on any side of the course at one time, means there is a lot of action and a lot of potential for crashes and incidents. So it makes for exciting racing and you really have to be on your toes.” Despite Ainslie being one of the most in demand sailors of his generation, he will take nothing for granted on the stadium racecourse. “There are some strong teams that have been going at it for some time. You look at Leigh (McMillan) – he and his team have been the stand-out performers for the past two seasons. Then there’s the likes of Alinghi. So you look at the talent out there and the history they have in this Series and it feels like we’re the new kids on the block.”

Reigning champion Leigh McMillan will be back at the helm of The Wave, Muscat and he will not be giving up his crown without a serious fight, in what could be a hat-trick year in 2014 for the British Olympian “I love the racing. It’s intense, never the same, always changing. So, I am thrilled and excited to be back in 2014 and the treble would be something I would be very proud to achieve,” commented McMillan. “We are expecting 2014 to be quite different this year. The fleet is going to be bigger and more competitive. It’s an exciting prospect, it raises the tempo and we are in a great position to compete and to be competitive. It’s a thrill, a rush, it’s just the best place to be and in 2014 there is no better place to be than in the Extreme 40s.”

Oman Sail will field a second team from the Sultanate, Oman Air, helmed by Brit Rob Greenhalgh. Winner of the inaugural Series in 2007, Greenhalgh is not only one of the most experience Extreme 40 sailors in the fleet, his impressive CV also boasts three Volvo Ocean Races, seven Atlantic crossings, three World Championships titles and a host of European titles.

Another face returning to the starting grid is Franck Cammas at the helm of Groupama Team France, winner of the most recent addition of the Volvo Ocean Race, who is currently campaigning for Rio 2016 in the Nacra 17 class. The Extreme Sailing Series represents a rarity to Cammas – an event he has yet to win, despite two previous attempts, finishing fourth in 2009 and fifth in 2010 – something the French legend intends to put right. “It is very exciting for us to come back. We want to focus more on the circuit, so we can do better. It is special racing for sure. Always the best crew is the winner, so that’s important.” On board with Cammas will be two other French Nacra 17 sailors – his own crew Sophie de Turckheim and Mathieu Vandame, the 2012 F18 catamaran World Champion. They will be joined by two of his original Extreme 40 crew, Devan Le Bihan and Tanguy Cariou.

2013 Extreme Sailing Series runners up Alinghi from Switzerland will be back skippered by Ernesto Bertarelli opting for the same crew including American Morgan Larson calling the tactics in a bid to go one better in 2014. Bertarelli commented: “Finishing second last season, with the same number of points as the winner is a great motivation for the team to fight hard again in 2014! The Series’ combination of one-design boats, short racecourses and an improving selection of venues gives everyone – teams and sponsors – an exciting experience. 2014 is Alinghi’s fifth year and I look forward to the start of the sailing season”. A second team from Switzerland, Realteam, will also return with Jérôme Clerc as skipper for their second year of competition.

The familiar double Olympic gold medal-winning duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher who finished third in 2013, will return for their fifth year of competition on board Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team, while the Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team will line up for their third consecutive year, with Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner as co-skippers and determined to finish on the Series podium after narrowly missing out in 2013.

GAC Pindar are one of the longest standing teams in the Series, but will field a brand new team in 2014 as the Australian challengers for the America’s Cup prepare to make their Stadium Racing debut, led by Seve Jarvin, who at 27 will be the youngest skipper of the fleet.

The first Act of the year will start in just over six weeks time, with a local boat, Team Aberdeen Singapore, already confirmed to compete meaning a full starting grid of 10 elite level teams will line up on the world famous Marina Bay.

Extreme Sailing Series ™ 2014 Host Venues:
Act 1: Singapore, 20-23 February
Act 2: Muscat, Oman 19-22 March
Act 3: Qingdao, China 1-4 May
Act 4: Saint Petersburg, Russia 26-29 June
Act 5: Cardiff, UK 22-25 August
Act 6: Istanbul, Turkey 11-14 September
Act 7: Mediterranean 2-5 October
Act 8: Sydney, Australia 11-14 December

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Teams and skippers:
Team / Skipper
Alinghi (SUI) – Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI)
GAC Pindar (AUS) – Seve Jarvin (AUS)
Groupama Team France (FRA) – Franck Cammas (FRA)
J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) – Ben Ainslie (GBR)
Oman Air (OMA) – Rob Greenhalgh (GBR)
Realteam (SUI) – Jérome Clerc (SUI)
Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) – Roman Hagara (AUT)
SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) – Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) /Rasmus Kostner (DEN)
The Wave, Muscat (OMA) – Leigh McMillan (GBR)

[PD Staff]

Team Players Announced for Extreme 40' 2014 Season






In one week the anticipation that has been building around the first Act of the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series™ – dubbed by many sailing fans and the media as the sailing series to watch this season – will come to a head as the first starting gun is fired, starting four days of Stadium Racing on Singapore’s world-famous Marina Bay, 20th-23rd February. Historically, the fight for glory each year has gone down to the wire, and Race Director Phil Lawrence is predicting 2014 could be one of the closest seasons to date. “Every boat on the water can win a race. I don’t know who’s going to win overall – which is how it should be.” In 2014, the pioneering Stadium Racing circuit will once again be supported by Series Main Partner* Land Rover, as it continues to deliver high-octane Stadium Racing at eight iconic locations around the world.

The home nation representatives, Team Aberdeen Singapore, supported by Host Venue Partner Aberdeen Asset Management, will be led by Australian offshore legend, Nick Moloney. Local sailors Scott Glen Sydney, one of Singapore’s top Laser sailors, and Asian Games keelboat match racing gold medallist, Justin Wong, will return to the fleet following a successful debut in 2013. America’s Cup star Adam Beashel (AUS), and World Champion and World Record Holder Tom Dawson (GBR) will complete the local team line-up.






The only skipper this year to have never previously raced in the Extreme Sailing Series ever is GAC Pindar’s Seve Jarvin. Jarvin is being supported by experienced catamaran hands Sam Newton, part of Oracle Team USA’s America’s Cup winning crew, and Troy Tindill, who sailed with Artemis Racing in the America’s Cup World Series. The team has recruited the 2013-winning tactician from The Wave, Muscat, Ed Smyth in the transfer window, and 20-year old Alexandra South, 2013 Women’s 18-foot Skiff World Champion, to complete the all-Aussie team. A seven-times 18-foot Skiff World Champion, who just this week won the Australian Skiff Championship, Jarvin commented: “I’m very new to multihulls but the guys I’m sailing with have a lot of experience. Our main strength is that we are a young team that are all great mates and could be coming in as the underdogs.”

Having won the last two Series in 2012 and 2013 on The Wave, Muscat, British Olympian Leigh McMillan will once again be joined by Pete Greenhalgh. Match racer Kinley Fowler (NZL), who last year was part of ORACLE TEAM USA’s America’s Cup campaign will return to the Series, alongside his former Oman Air teammate, Omani national Nasser Al Mashari. Britain’s double Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton will join the defending champions, and she is more than ready for the challenge of what she describes as the ‘most high-performance’ sailing she has ever done. “I’m honoured to be sailing with The Wave, Muscat and I am really looking forward to getting started. I’m sure the boys will agree with me that going into 2014 as defending champions doesn’t add to the pressure, we’ll be focusing on our own performance and taking one race at a time.” Read more from Ayton and the other female sailors taking part in the 2014 Series here.

Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi returns hoping to rectify losing the 2013 Extreme Sailing Series so narrowly in the final minutes of the final race of the year, and is one of the few teams fielding the same line-up as last season. Morgan Larson, a 49er Olympic and America’s Cup sailor, who has finished runner up for the past two seasons, will helm the Swiss team at the opening Act – an event the team won in 2013 – and will be looking for a repeat in 2014.

The team who finished third in 2013, with double Olympic Tornado gold medallists Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, will return as the familiar duo at the back of the Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team. This season they are joined by experienced Tornado Olympian and Extreme 40 sailor Mark Bulkeley (GBR), Kiwi match racer Nick Blackman and 23 year old Australian Haylee Outteridge, who has recently embarked on her first Olympic campaign, in the 49erFX. The new line-up have been training in Singapore, and skipper Hagara points to “consistency and winning races” as key for this season. And the team he would like to beat? “Ben Ainslie. He is not only a great sailor, he is a gentleman, and it will be a pleasure for us to beat him!”

The winner of the inaugural Series in 2007, Rob Greenhalgh (GBR), returns to the circuit, and is joined by long term Extreme 40 sailor Will Howden (GBR), and two Omani crew, Musab Al Hadi and Hashim Al Rashdi, who were both on The Wave, Muscat last season. The teams’ fifth man will be Australian foiling Moth sailor Tom Johnson, a newcomer for 2014.

Sir Ben Ainslie’s J.P. Morgan BAR start their Extreme 40 offensive teeming with Olympic pedigree, with three Olympic champions on board, not least their skipper who boasts four gold and one silver medal in his trophy cabinet. Ainslie’s fellow Team GB and Beijing Olympic gold medallists, Paul Goodison and Pippa Wilson, will race alongside bowman Matt Cornwell, a previous Match Racing World Champion, with the final crew member still to be confirmed.

Many people will be eager to see if Dean Barker – who last met Ainslie during Emirates Team Zealand’s defeat at the 34th America’s Cup – can reverse the tables on the Extreme Sailing Series stadium racecourse. The Kiwi team will field the strongest of crews, with experienced multihull and America’s Cup hands Glenn Ashby, James Dagg and Jeremy Lomas, joined by Youth sailor, Edwin Delaat.

Winner of the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, Franck Cammas, returns to the Series with heavyweights from his past Extreme 40 campaign Tanguy Cariou and Devan le Bihan, plus America’s Cup and former Extreme 40 sailor Thierry Fouchier. Cammas’ Nacra 17 crew, Sophie de Turckheim, a two-time runner up at the Laser Radial World Championships, will be calling tactics. When asked about the French teams potential this season, mainsail trimmer Cariou, remains prudent. “We’ll only be able to draw up an initial report after the first three events (Singapore, Oman and Qingdao). One thing we are sure about is that it’s going to be tough as we did virtually no training prior to the boat’s departure for Singapore. As such we’ll be lacking the points of reference of our rivals, who have been sailing on the circuit for years".





The Swiss Realstone is back for a second season, again skippered by Jérôme Clerc, and opting for the same crew as 2013, formed around the 2012 D35 championship winning team, with eight crew members alternating throughout the year in a bid to better their 2013 results.

2014 will be the third season on the circuit for the Danish-run SAP Extreme Sailing Team. Co-skippers Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner have been training in France with Groupama Team France and Realstone, during which time they selected trimmers Thierry Douillard (FRA) and Peter Wibroe (DEN) as new additions to the team, while bowman Nicolai Sehested (DEN), will return for his second year. SAP Extreme Sailing Team finished third in Singapore in 2013, and tactician Køstner explained the importance of a good opening Act. “The Series will not be won in Singapore but a good start definitely provides the basis to gather momentum throughout the year. Singapore will be testing and is one of the most challenging places to race. The wind is very unpredictable and even a good lead can be transformed to a big loss in a short space of time. You’ve got to make the most out of the opportunities given to you and be prepared to keep fighting until you have crossed the line.”



Russia’s London 2012 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Laser sailor Igor Lisovenko, will skipper the Russian entry, Gazprom Team Russia. The team have been training in the UK in preparation, and Lisovenko looked to the season ahead. “I feel a little bit of pressure coming into the Series this year, we’re a new team and we’re looking for a good result. The main focus for us before the first event is that we need to become a team, so everyone needs to be on the same page, to help each other, to understand each others roles.” British Extreme 40 heavyweights Paul Campbell-James and Alister Richardson, who have been part of two Series winning teams apiece, and Pete Cumming, the 2009 winning skipper, will support the Russian entry.

And so the question everyone is asking. Will the experience of an existing team or a new entry reign supreme at the opening Act of the year? Watch the Stadium Racing, live, Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd February, 1600-1730 local time / 0800-0930 GMT / 0900-1030 CET. Timings subject to change. Please check the website www.extremesailingseries.com for the most up to date information.

Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 1 Singapore, crew lists
Alinghi (SUI)
Skipper/Helm: Morgan Larson(USA)
Tactician: Stuart Pollard (AUS)
Mainsail Trimmer: Pierre-Yves Jorand (SUI)
Headsail Trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI)
Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI)

Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL)
Skipper/Helm: Dean Barker (NZL)
Mainsail Trimmer: Glenn Ashby (AUS)
Headsail Trimmer: James Dagg (NZL)
Bowman: Jeremy Lomas (NZL)
Floater: Edwin Delaat (NZL)

GAC Pindar (AUS)
Skipper/Helm: Seve Jarvin (AUS)
Mainsail Trimmer: Troy Tindill (AUS)
Headsail Trimmer: Ed Smyth (AUS)
Bow: Sam Newton (AUS)/Alexandra South (AUS)

Gazprom Team Russia (RUS)
Skipper/Tactician: Igor Lisovenko (RUS)
Helm: Paul Campbell-James (GBR)
Mainsail Trimmer: Alister Richardson (GBR)
Headsail Trimmer: Pete Cumming (GBR)
Bowman: Aleksey Kulakov (RUS)

Groupama Team France (FRA)
Skipper/Helm: Franck Cammas (FRA)
Tactician: Sophie de Turckheim (FRA)
Mainsail Trimmer: Tanguy Cariou (FRA)
Headsail Trimmer: Thierry Fouchier (FRA)
Bowman: Devan Le Bihan (FRA)

J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR)
Skipper/Helm: Ben Ainslie (GBR)
Mainsail Trimmer: Paul Goodison (GBR)
Headsail Trimmer: Pippa Wilson (GBR)
Bowman: Matt Cornwell (GBR)

Oman Air (OMA)
Skipper/Helm: Rob Greenhalgh (GBR)
Mainsail Trimmer: Tom Johnson (AUS)
Headsail Trimmer: Will Howden (GBR)
Bowmen: Hashim Al Rashdi (OMA) /Musab Al Hadi (OMA)

Realstone (SUI)
Skipper/Mainsail Trimmer: Jérôme Clerc
Helm: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI)
Tactician: Bruno Barbarin (FRA)
Headsail Trimmer: Thierry Wasem (SUI)
Bowman: Nils Palmieri (SUI)

Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT)
Skipper/Helm: Roman Hagara (AUT)
Tactician/Mainsail Trimmer: Hans-Peter Steinacher (AUT)
Headsail Trimmer: Mark Bulkeley (GBR)
Bowman: Nick Blackman (NZL)
Runner: Haylee Outteridge (AUS)

SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN)
Co-Skippers: Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) / Rasmus Køstner (DEN)
Helm: Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN)
Tactician: Rasmus Køstner (DEN)
Trimmers: Thierry Douillard (FRA)/Peter Wibroe (DEN)
Bowman: Nicolai Sehested (DEN)

Team Aberdeen Singapore (SIN)
Skipper/Helm: Nick Moloney (AUS)
Tactician: Adam Beashel (AUS)
Mainsail Trimmer: Scott Glen Sydney (SIN)
Headsail Trimmer: Tom Dawson (GBR)
Bowman: Justin Wong (SIN)

The Wave, Muscat (OMA)
Skipper/Helm: Leigh McMillan (GBR)
Tactician: Sarah Ayton (GBR)
Mainsail Trimmer: Pete Greenhalgh (GBR)
Headsail Trimmer: Kinley Fowler (NZL)
Bowman: Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)

Full Article

[PD Staff]

Extreme Sailing Singapore Day 1: Realstone Does The Swiss Proud




The much-anticipated opening Act of the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series™ began today in Singapore under the gaze of the cities soaring skyscrapers, where eight races produced six different winners. The Swiss flagged Realtstone were the form team, executing a consistent strategy in the trying conditions, to finish the opening day of the global tour top of the leaderboard – their best result since joining the circuit last year. Some of the newer teams struggled to get to grips with the stadium racecourse, posting a mixed bag of results and a crash between defending champions The Wave, Muscat and GAC Pindar will leave the Aussies with a night of repairs ahead.




Realstone, who after yesterday’s practice racing described themselves as ‘the underdogs’ played a low risk game, setting up for manoeuvres and executing them precisely to give themselves some breathing space on the packed racecourse. Skipper Jérôme Clerc commented “We rotated the team a lot in 2013 to finally be in a position to chose the best people for the best positions and get here with an optimal configuration. We have sailed well with good starts, Arnaud made the boat go fast and we have followed simple schemes with starts on the same side and regular tacks in each leg. We noticed this worked out well so we have kept this strategy. It’s the first day, all the teams are warming up so we are still the outsiders!”

Eight races were sailed – the first of up to 250 this year – and in the continually shifting breeze, which ranged from 4-10 knots with slightly bigger gusts, the teams tacticians had it all on. Groupama sailing team’s skipper Franck Cammas – who won the seventh race of the day, only to follow it up with a last place – explained how tough the conditions were. “We have had more wind than expected so it was pretty hairy on the water. The wind flows in between the buildings and it all becomes very shifty. We had to take what we could. The teams who started well were not necessarily the teams who finished at the top. The key, in short, is a mix of a little bit of luck, be at the good spot, try to anticipate things and being opportunist.” The French team finish the day tied on points with second placed Alinghi.







On such a compact course, and with such short, intense races, the mark roundings were nail bitingly close, and those on shore found themselves holding their breathe as the Extreme 40s seemingly created space where there was none. In the sixth race of the day, The Wave, Muscat and GAC Pindar found out just how tight the course is, when the Omani boat t-boned into the back of the Aussies in a port-starboard incident, leaving a significant hole in their boat and the team with a night of repairs ahead in the pitlane, as Leigh McMillan explained: “GAC Pindar put in a tack, and at the last minute they looked like they weren’t going to avoid us. I tried to smash it into a tack but there wasn’t anywhere to go – plus I lost grip of the tiller and tripped over, and unfortunately went into them. We’ve had plenty of bad days and we will have to go back, look at the videos and take some lessons out of today and come back stronger tomorrow.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltNo9LUCksA

Many of the fleet struggled for consistency today, and none more so than newcomers Emirates Team New Zealand and J.P. Morgan BAR, who finished the day with two race wins a piece – but also a handful of last places. Olympic champion Ben Ainslie commented: “We’re all having to learn pretty quickly, and certainly in this tight venue – even for the experienced guys it’s pretty tough. It’s a really strong fleet, it’s one of the toughest fields we’ve ever had and we’re obviously very new to this so we really learnt a lot today.”




There is little light on the leaderboard after day one, with just 18 points separating first placed Realstone from eighth placed Oman Air. The Wave, Muscat, Gazprom Team Russia, GAC Pindar and the local boat Team Aberdeen Singapore have a bit of catching up to do – and with up to 24 races still to come, there is plenty of opportunity to do it.

Marina Bay Reservoir will provide a temporary residence for the 12 Extreme 40s for the next three days of Stadium Racing, and if today’s racing is anything to go by, Act 1 with the support of Local Event main partner Aberdeen Asset Management, could be anyone’s game. The racing will be streamed live online tomorrow from 1600 -1730 local time / 0800-0930 GMT / 0900-1030 CET to fans around the world – watch it on the official event website, www.extremesailingseries.com.

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 1, Singapore standings after Day 1, 8 races (20.02.14)
Position / Team / Points

1st Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Thierry Wassem, Nils Palmieri 56 points.

2nd Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 48 points.

3rd Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 48 points.

4th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 46 points.

5th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 44 points.

6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Haylee Outteridge 43 points.

7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 39 points.

8th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Will Howden, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 38 points.

9th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 29 points.

10th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 28 points.

11th GAC Pindar (AUS) Seve Jarvin, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, Alexandra South 20 points.

12th Team Aberdeen Singapore (SIN) Nick Moloney, Adam Beashel, Scott Glen Sydney, Tom Dawson, Justin Wong 17 points.

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/

[PD Staff]

Morgan Larson Leads Alinghi To Top Of Of Heap




The pressure turned up a notch on the second day of racing at the Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 curtain raiser in Singapore, with the wind, and the heat from the city, cranking up. The 12 elite level teams battled a huge wind range from three knots right through to gusts that peaked at 24 knots, using all their tactical prowess to muscle their Extreme 40s around the racecourse in a series of short, sharp races, which saw a reshuffle on the overall leaderboard.



Six races were sailed on Marina Bay and Alinghi stamped their dominance, with two race wins, and three second places to upgrade their overall position to first place. It wasn’t all plain sailing for the Swiss, and in race 13 their Californian helm Morgan Larson did well to control the over-powered catamaran when the biggest gust of the day caught the team off-guard, bringing it back from the brink of a capsize, as Larson explained: “Coming into today we said we wouldn’t push it as hard otherwise we’ll end up in the water. But early on, we got lifted right up on one hull, and we just thought, if we were to go any further we’re definitely going to tip over. Things were definitely smiling in our favour today! There was no shouting onboard, we all kind of looked at each other and thought: we got lucky there!” And the key to getting good results? “The winds are gusty and shifty, so it challenges you tactically. In a lot of venues, starting is crucial, but here I think it’s just getting away from the other boats and then picking your moments to build up the fleet.”

Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand hadn’t competed together for five months before this week, and the team of Kiwi America’s Cup legends are quickly getting to grips with the stadium format of the Extreme Sailing Series. A string of results in the top half of the fleet, including a win in the fourth race of the day, promoted them to second place from yesterday’s fourth. The biggest upgrade of the day came for the defending champions The Wave, Muscat with three race wins bringing them within six points of the Kiwis. With two days left, McMillan’s attentions are already turning to the end result. “It was a pretty solid day and I’ll be pushing harder the next two days. We’re now in competition for the podium and that’s the most important thing for the first event.”



Realstone had a superb opening day yesterday, and were on form again today before a collision with Oman Air, which could be heard by the crowds around the bay, put an end to the Swiss teams winning run. Realstone’s skipper Jérôme Clerc explained what happened: “Oman Air tried to bear away behind us, and under the pressure, that isn’t always easy, so Rob (Greenhalgh) didn’t achieve his manoeuvre and hit us at the back of the boat. They smashed into the rudder and created a big hole, we started sinking but we pushed ourselves to finish that race.” With damage to their steering system, the Swiss were forced to retire and limped back to the pitlane, missing the final race of the day, while the Omani team made a quick repair on the water to their bow. Both boats will be craned out tonight, but expect them to be back ready to race tomorrow. Oman Air received a 45 second starting penalty in the next race, and Realstone will be seeking redress form the jury first thing tomorrow morning.



Red Bull Sailing Team are a familiar fixture on the Series, but this year are fielding a new line-up. The Austrian team, who finished third overall in 2013 and are currently eighth in Singapore, have had a mixed bag of results so far this week as they adapt to their new line up, but with just 40 points separating them from first placed Alinghi, their experienced skipper Roman Hagara spoke tactics for putting that right. “I think we just have to focus a little more on our starts, we had some really shocking starts today and then on the second downwind we made some major mistakes and we lost a couple of boats at times. We’ve just discussed this in our de-brief and that’s definitely what we have to look towards tomorrow!”




Even the most experienced of Extreme 40 sailors are struggling to be consistent with the unpredictable breeze on the tricky stadium racecourse. Paul Campbell-James, helm of Gazprom Team Russia, is a two-time Series winning helm, but admits stepping back into the Series for the first time since 2011 has been a challenge. “I’m really enjoying it but I am definitely showing some sure signs of rust! It is a bit of frustrating obviously, the last time I sailed an Extreme 40 was here in Singapore and we won with the event! It’s a bit harder to be at the back of the fleet. The main thing is the starting and that’s the thing we didn’t do well at all the last couple of days. We will get there. We’re still on a learning curve. Everything is positive.”

The local representative on Team Aberdeen Singapore drew the biggest cheers from the fans around the bay, and narrowed the gap over 11th placed GAC Pindar to just one point. The public are expected to be out in the droves over the weekend to watch the elite level racing, right in the heart of this high-rise city.

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 1, Singapore standings after Day 2, 15 races (21.02.14)
Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 111 points.

2nd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 90 points.

3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 84 points.

4th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 81 points.

5th Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Thierry Wassem, Sébastien Stephant 81 points.

6th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 80 points.

7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 73 points.

8th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Haylee Outteridge 71 points.

9th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Will Howden, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 61 points.

10th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 56 points.

11th GAC Pindar (AUS) Seve Jarvin, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, Alexandra South 32 points.

12th Team Aberdeen Singapore (SIN) Nick Moloney, Adam Beashel, Scott Glen Sydney, Tom Dawson, Justin Wong 31 points.

[Photoboy]

Aberdeen From Behind



In race five on the third day of the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Singapore, France’s Groupama sailing team (FRA) and Team Aberdeen Singapore (SIN) crashed just metres from the finish as a big gust hit the fleet on the final run to the line. In winds that were varying from 5 to 23 knots, Team Aberdeen Singapore caught the biggest gust of the day as they came into the finish line struggling to hold off the pace, ploughing into the back of the French team.

The Safety Team were immediately on site to provide assistance, and all the crews were quickly taken account of. Tanguy Cariou (FRA) onboard Groupama sailing team suffered minor facial injuries, and was taken ashore immediately for treatment. The rest of the crew onboard both Groupama and Team Aberdeen Singapore are uninjured, and the technical team are craning out the boats in Singapore’s F1 pitlane for full damage assessment. Due to the conditions, Race Director, Phil Lawrence had already called the whole day a no-Guest Sailor day, so there were no guests onboard at any time today. A full update will be available on at www.extremesailingseries.com at 1930 SGT.

A full starting grid of 12 Extreme 40s will line-up for the final days racing in Singapore following this afternoons crash between Groupama sailing team and Team Aberdeen Singapore – although it will be a demanding night in the pitlane as the shore crews rally together to make the repairs needed before tomorrows racing. Watch the crash, as it happened, here.

Four boats are out of the water tonight – but all are confident of returning tomorrow, for the climax of what has so far been an action-packed start to the 2014 season for the 60 elite level sailors competing this week. After colliding with a moored boat during the start of second race of the day, the Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team are also out of the water, after sustaining damage to their bow, as co-skipper Rasmus Kostner explained: “We took a bit of an impact, but we are working on it now. It’s going to be a standard repair with lamination of carbon and we will ensure will get the boat in the water tomorrow morning to race again.”

Race Director, Phil Lawrence gave his assessment of the week so far. “The key factor in the incidents we have had this week are the gusty conditions. We have sailed these boats in much more wind than we have seen this week, but when its gusty like this, and the teams are pushing the boats so hard, we can see collisions on the water.”

At the top of the leaderboard, four returning teams from 2013 lead the charge, including long-standing rivals Alinghi, and The Wave, Muscat in first and second respectively. Read what their helms Morgan Larson and Leigh McMillan had to say about the days racing, here. Realstone, who missed todays racing but will be back ready for battle tomorrow, are third, after being awarded average points following yesterdays collision with Oman Air. But it was Red Bull Sailing Team who showed the winning form that saw them claim third place in the overall Series in 2013 today, sailing their best day of the regatta to climb from eighth, to fourth, overhauling the likes of J.P. Morgan BAR and Emirates Team New Zealand as they did. Traction Hans-Peter Steincher is relishing sailing in Singapore. “It was an amazing day, it’s the kind of conditions we expect in stadium racing in front of a city like this. Its what we come here for!”

With up to 80 points still up for the taking in the final battle of the bay, the fight for supremacy in Singapore is far from over. Join us live online from 1600 local time/0900CET to watch the final races as they happen – if this weeks racing so far is anything to go by – you don’t want to miss it!

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 1, Singapore standings after Day 3, 21 races (22.02.14)
Position / Team / Points
1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 163 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 132 points.
3rd Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Thierry Wassem, Sebastien Stephant 130 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Haylee Outteridge 117 points.
5th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 117 points.
6th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 104 points.
7th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 103 points.
8th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 95 points.
9th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 89 points.
10th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Will Howden, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 88 points.
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) Seve Jarvin, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, Alexandra South 49 points.
12th Team Aberdeen Singapore (SIN) Nick Moloney, Adam Beashel, Scott Glen Sydney, Tom Dawson, Justin Wong 47 points.

[PD Staff]

Larson Led Alinghi Take Singapore





The opening Act of the Extreme Sailing Series™ more than lived up to all the pre-season hype and expectation, where the new teams got stuck in on the Singapore stadium racecourse – but couldn’t quite topple the old order – with three returning teams from 2013 taking honours. An estimated 30,000 spectators watched over four days, as Ernesto Bertarelli’s Swiss team Alinghi sailed a near perfect regatta, with Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre Yves Jorand, Nils Frei and Yves Detrey, finishing more than 50% of the 29 races in the top three. The team had the Act wrapped up before the final double-points race – a feat rarely seen on the circuit. “We couldn’t have dreamed for a better start,” commented an ecstatic Larson after racing. “It was challenging here and with the level of competition a couple of notches higher this season, I think we just carried on from last year and we’re the only team that hasn’t changed any of our crew. We will try and build on from last year and enjoy this victory!”

The outcome of who would be stood to the left and right of the Swiss team on the podium was not so clear-cut, with Emirates Team New Zealand, The Wave, Muscat and Realstone all vying for glory. The Kiwi’s came flying off the start line in the final race, but it all went wrong for Dean Barker and his team shortly after that, and a penalty in the first beat for a port-starboard incident against The Wave, Muscat, lost them not only second place to the Omani boat, but third place to the Swiss. Barker commented: “It’s the first time we have raced together in five months, and our first time back on the circuit since 2011, and for sure we wanted to get a podium here, but couldn’t get away with it. We’re still rusty and have to focus our thoughts, but we’ll get there. We definitely had a great time here in Singapore.”



all images © Lloyd Images/Extreme Sailing Series™



The reigning champions on The Wave, Muscat have a new line-up this year, including double Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton – one of five women competing in Singapore. Skipper Leigh McMillan, who has been a dominate force in the Extreme 40 class for the last two years, looked ahead to what is shaping up to be a fantastic year of competition. “I think it’s great that we are proving the quality of the fleet for the last two years and how competitive it has been. But by no means do we think it will remain that way and we are going to have a lot on our hands in the upcoming events. We are just delighted to finish in second place and kick off the season with a great result.”

The Swiss team Realstone led the regatta after day one, and even missing a days racing after a collision earlier in the week couldn’t stop Jerome Clerc and his men, with a third place in the final race enough to clinch third place overall. “This is our best result since our debut in the Extreme 40 Racing. It wasn’t easy at all and we have been through every emotion this week but we have finished really strongly. It proves that we are working in the right direction, although there are obvious improvements we can make – well done to Alinghi who just dominated over the event.”

While the regatta in Singapore may have gone to the old-guard, the new teams pushed them the whole way, with eight of the 12 boat fleet sailing to race victories over the course of the last four days. While some of the new faces struggled for consistency, they all showed moments of winning brilliance, and the battle mid-leaderboard was fierce, with Groupama sailing team and their multihull expert skipper Franck Cammas, who last competed in the Series in 2010, clinching fifth place from the experienced hands on Red Bull Sailing, by just four points. Ben Ainslie’s team, J.P. Morgan BAR, which includes some of the UK’s top sailing talent, finished the regatta on a high, winning the final double-pointer to bring the Act home in seventh place. Eighth and ninth went to two previous Series winning helms, who finish the Act tied on points – Gazprom Team Russia, with two-times Series winner Paul Campbell-James on the tiller and Russian Igor Lisovenko as skipper, and winner of the inaugural Series, Rob Greenhalgh, with his team Oman Air. The Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team brought home the event in tenth place.





The local boat Team Aberdeen Singapore, supported by Host Venue Partner Aberdeen Asset Management, made an extraordinary comeback after yesterdays’ huge crash with Groupama sailing team, to be back on the racetrack today, and even upgraded their position on the overall standings to eleventh place ahead of GAC Pindar. Skipper Moloney summed up the atmosphere, and the feeling amongst the fleet this week. “We’ve had an amazing and spectacular time in Singapore. This venue is the encompassment of the stadium format – wind, bumps and scrapes. It’s amazing for spectators and really difficult to sail with all the wind shifts around the buildings. No spot in the world lets us sail like this. For the sailors it was completely full on.”

The Act in Singapore will be remembered as one of the most action packed Acts in the eight-year history of the elite level Stadium Racing circuit. The next stop is Muscat, Oman – in just over three weeks time.

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 1, Singapore standings after Day 4, 29 races (23.02.14)
Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 217 points.

2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 193 points.

3rd Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Thierry Wassem, Sebastien Stephant 178 points.

4th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 168 points.

5th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Pierre Leclainche, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 160 points.

6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Haylee Outteridge 156 points.

7th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 152 points.

8th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 128 points.

9th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Will Howden, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 128 points.

10th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 126 points.

11th Team Aberdeen Singapore (SIN) Nick Moloney, Adam Beashel, Scott Glen Sydney, Tom Dawson, Justin Wong 82 points.

12th GAC Pindar (AUS) Seve Jarvin, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, Alexandra South 59 points.

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/

[Charlie Tuna]

Has anyone ever seen these two in the same room at the same time?

[Buzz Light Beer]

Way to go Morgan!

[Bitchin Bow Dude]

Go the Peabody!

[PD Staff]

Big breeze final race shoot out in Muscat sees The Wave, Muscat snatch victory









It was a sweltering hot day in Muscat, Oman, for the final showdown at the Extreme Sailing Series™, where the Arabian peninsula saved the best for last, with winds that blasted across the course at a steady 20 knots, with gusts of 26, before a final race shoot out. Four teams were gunning for the top spot and there was no room for error, with just four points between them – and 20 points on the table for the taking. The defending champions and home team on The Wave, Muscat made a real statement of intent from the gun, with an aggressive start that saw them lead the fleet of the line, and Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler and Nasser Al Mashari didn’t look back, snatching the win from the hands of the Kiwi, Swiss and Danish teams, to claim not only the Act win, but putting them top of the overall Series leaderboard after two Acts. “It was too close for comfort, that’s for sure,“ commented an elated McMillan after racing. “Today we had a fight on our hands, we knew we had to be exceptional and raise our game. I was just enjoying the sailing, the challenge of it, the situations that were tight and it all worked out for us. The wind came in and it was absolutely amazing sailing out there, absolutely perfect for the Extreme 40s.”

Today’s racing was all about brute power and strength, requiring a huge shift in mindset for the teams, who have raced in light breeze all week. The fleet of 11 Extreme 40s and their 55 elite level crew members powered off the start line, blasting to the windward mark and wrestling their boats around the course, before unfurling their gennakers and flying downwind, trying to maximize power and speed. One team who had the formula nailed were Emirates Team New Zealand, with two race wins and a third place in the final race enough for them to claim second overall, bettering their fourth place finish from Act 1, Singapore, which for skipper Dean Barker, was the objective this week. “We wanted to improve after Singapore, we wanted to sail well and get on the podium here, and we’ve achieved it. There’s still a lot we can improve on but in saying that everyone struggles with the conditions and the guys remained very positive throughout even when things didn’t feel like they were going our way. We had a good chance to get onto the podium, and to get a second place we’re really happy.”







Overnight leaders Alinghi came out of the blocks with a win in the first race of the day, but couldn’t replicate the performance, and a fourth place in the last race left the Swiss settling for third, one point behind the Kiwis. “We should be pleased with the result in such a tough field but we were quite disappointed with how we sailed today. We need to do a better job staying out of the fray and we didn’t achieve that today and The Wave, Muscat did and you’ve got to hand it to them, they earned the win. It’s a long season ahead and if we can keep on the podium this year we’ll have a shot at the title at the end of the year, this will be our objective,” commented the team’s helmsman Morgan Larson.

The Danish match racing experts on SAP Extreme Sailing Team came heartbreakingly close to a podium position, leading the pack for most of the day, but found themselves stuck in the tussle mid-fleet in the final race, and unable to make a clean break, with a sixth place in the final race putting them in fourth position overall. The team however, have showed a marked improvement from Act 1 in Singapore, where they finished tenth, and co-skipper Jes Gram-Hansen was quick to talk about the learnings from the Act: “Of course we’re a little bit disappointed not to be on the podium, we sailed a great regatta which literally came right down to the last race. In hindsight I think we sailed well, which is what we will take away from this. It was a difficult day today with good breeze but it was a bit up and down for us. We were a little unlucky at times but overall we sailed pretty well. I think we have a great team, a good boat and the pace to match the best teams in the Extreme Sailing Series.”








The Russian skipper on Gazprom Team Russia Igor Lisovenko seemed to have a point to prove today, and the team, helmed by two-times Series winner Paul Campbell-James, were moving through the gears, and up the leaderboard, with a string of consistent results elevating them to fifth place overall – topping their eighth place from Act 1, Singapore. Campbell-James commented: “We got another bullet today, and we almost won the last one but Leigh (McMillan) just managed to sneak around us on the second leg. Today was the best day of racing this year with a good bit of breeze, it got really exciting there in the middle where the leaderboard was constantly changing and it was just really fun.”

Realteam finish the event in sixth place, five points behind the Russians, leaving them a solid fourth place on the overall Series leaderboard, with Red Bull Sailing Team in seventh on 145 points, one point ahead of Groupama sailing team. Heading into the final day, J.P. Morgan BAR were within touching distance of the podium but the Brits struggled under the building breeze, before a hydraulics failure in the penultimate race forced them to retire for the day, dashing their podium dreams. Oman Air and GAC Pindar struggled for consistency in the testing Omani conditions, but both showed moments of brilliance, posting a handful of results in the top half of the fleet over the course of the four-day event.

Muscat has delivered some incredibly hard fought racing over 29 races, and the fleet have just under six weeks to regroup, debrief and prepare themselves for Act 3 of the 2014 global tour in Qingdao, China, presented by Land Rover, one of the most notoriously tricky racecourses on the circuit, 1-4 May.

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 2, Muscat standings after Day 4, 29 races (22.03.14)
Position / Team / Points

1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 188 points.

2nd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 180 points.

3rd Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 179 points.

4th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 176 points.

5th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 158 points.

6th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wassem, Nils Palmieri 153 points.

7th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Stewart Dodson 145 points.

8th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 144 points.

9th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 137 points.

10th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Will Howden, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 123 points.

11th GAC Pindar (AUS) Seve Jarvin, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, David Gilmour 94 points.

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 overall standings
Position / Team / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 19 points.
2nd Alinghi (SUI) 18 points.
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 16 points.
4th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 13 points.
5th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 9 points.
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 9 points.
7th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 9 points.
8th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 8 points.
9th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 6 points.
10th Oman Air (OMA) 3 points.
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) 2 points.

[PD Staff]

Larson's Alinghi Continues Winning Ways





It was a full pressure day as the fleet moved into stadium racing mode at the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ in Qingdao, described by the skippers as ‘radical’, ‘full-on’, ‘unpredictable’ and gnarly’, with gusts up to 32 knots weaving their way through the surrounding skyscrapers like bullets screaming across the stadium racecourse. The racing was right on the edge, and the teams used all their strength to muscle their speed machines expertly around the track, tackling a huge wind range of over 20 knots. The experience of both Alinghi and The Wave, Muscat was evident, and the teams relished today’s big breeze as much as yesterday’s light winds, remaining first and second respectively, while one first and two second places for the Kiwis on Emirates Team New Zealand upgraded their overall position to third, ahead of tomorrow’s penultimate day’s racing.




There was plenty of hull flying, bows down and extremely close mark roundings’, with the fleet reaching top speeds of 25 knots as they tried to predict the huge wind shifts which saw the breeze go from 10 to 32 knots in a second. Before racing, Race Management made the call to split the fleet, first into groups of eight, and then groups of four, to minimize the chance of collisions on the tight race track. Leigh McMillan, skipper of The Wave, Muscat who is out to defend his title in Qingdao, commented: “We like it when the breeze is up, today was pretty radical. Gusts and big shifts is quite a handful. But we’re happy to have made it through the day with no big collisions which is great – it was pretty full on out there.”

Today required a change in mindset for the teams, with the conditions a stark contrast to yesterday’s light wind, as acting skipper of Alinghi, Morgan Larson explained: “At times the boat that would come off the line last would go on to win races. That goes to show that today there was opportunity, whereas yesterday you needed to have a good start and the positioning needed to stay the same – with the shifty winds today it really created opportunity. Most of the time you have to be aggressive on these boats to do well, if you back off and be conservative that’s when trouble seems to happen. So balancing that today was really key and I think we did a good job – we positioned ourselves conservatively but we sailed the boat physically hard, and I think the results show.”



At the hands of 49er World Champion Pete Burling, Emirates Team New Zealand took their first race win of the regatta. Burling and headsail trimmer Blair Tuke are one of the hottest duos in sailing at the moment, having won both the Hyères and Palma de Mallorca ISAF World Cup events recently, and showed their versatility alongside their Kiwi teammates, with their first race win of the Act helping to elevate their overnight position from fifth to third, four points ahead of the Swiss Realteam.

Another team relishing the conditions was the French Groupama sailing team, who after struggling to get near the top half of the fleet during yesterday’s Act opener, turned it around today with a win in the final race elevating them from seventh to six place, now three points behind the home nation entry, Team Extreme Qingdao. Groupama skipper Franck Cammas talked team tactics: “Today was difficult. After yesterday’s racing we had a debrief; we talk all the time and even after each race we try to talk through and analyse our performance. Sometimes it is hard to go into racing with a big plan as you have to react to the opportunities you are faced with at the time. It’s difficult, but our main goal is to be consistent, and then overall I think we will do well.”




The Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team were on form today, and even a collision in the first race of the day at the bottom mark with Realteam that knocked them out of the race with damage to their rudders couldn’t put them off their stride, going on to win their next two races. Skipper Hagara was pleased with his team’s performance. “Today was good (despite the collision). It’s really tricky sailing inside the stadium in these conditions, and we know this from past years – we just have to be focused on our skills, we know we have good crew work, our boat handling is good and you just have to make the right decisions. A good start helps, but it’s still tricky on the racecourse with the big gusts – we did well in the races and managed to win two so it’s great.”



Mistakes on the racecourse were punished hard, and misjudging the wind shifts and getting caught in a lull on the track left some teams frustrated. Two-times winner of the Series Paul Campbell-James, helm of Team Russia alongside native skipper Igor Lisovenko, felt that was the case for their team. “We’re a little bit frustrated to be honest. We were a bit lackluster in the first race, and we gave away two places in the last run after a stupid manoeuvre. We gave away two spots in the last race and lost two boats by about a metre so we turned what would have been a good day into an average day. We’re racing in the middle of a big city, with 90 degree wind shifts and breeze going from 5-25 knots – it’s good fun at the end of the day.” The Russian team are tied on points with SAP Extreme Sailing Team on 55 points, five points behind Groupama sailing team.

Following a night of repairs after yesterday’s collision with GAC Pindar, Oman Air were back on the water today and a protest hearing by the International Jury ruled the team will be awarded average points for the eight races they missed yesterday at the end of tomorrow’s racing.

Tomorrow the conditions are expected to abate for the penultimate day’s racing, and the fleet will likely race with all 12 teams, but Sunday’s final showdown looks like it could be played out in even bigger gusts then were seen today, with plenty more action and plenty more races still to be played out.

Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup standings after Day 2, 14 races (02.05.14)
Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 90 points.

2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 76 points.

3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling, Glenn Ashby, Blair Tuke, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 73 points.

4th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Denis Girardet, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wassem 69 points.

5th Team Extreme Qingdao (CHN) Zhang Yiran, Liu Xue, Nick Moloney, Freddie White 64 points.

6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Stewart Dodson 63 points.

7th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 61 points.

8th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 55 points.

9th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson,
Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 55 points.

10th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 50 points.

11th GAC Pindar (AUS) David Gilmour, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, Alexandra South 34 points.

12th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 16 points.*
*Team will be awarded average points for the races missed following tomorrow’s racing.

http://www.extremesailingseries.com/day3#.U2RWb_k7vrw

[PD Staff]

If You Cant Beat Em, T-Bone Them

Alinghi win in Qingdao despite a huge crash with Red Bull Sailing Team that knocked the Swiss out of racing



- One of the biggest crashes in the Series’ eight-year history sees Red Bull Sailing Team T-Bone Alinghi at nearly 15 knots according to the SAP analytics, knocking both boats out of racing.
- Realteam, the model of consistency over four hard-fought days in Qingdao, take a well deserved second place.
- Emirates Team New Zealand take third, and are now positioned nicely to topple the old order on the overall Series leaderboard.
- The pressure is now on The Wave, Muscat when the fleet head to Saint Petersburg for Act 4, with Alinghi now two points ahead on the overall Series leaderboard.
- Unsung Heroes of the Extreme Sailing Series™, Oman Air Shore Crew, win first ever Land Rover ‘Above and Beyond’ Award.






On the final days racing at the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™, Act 3 Qingdao, the Olympic sailing city lived up to its reputation as a notorious and unpredictable racecourse. Even one of the biggest crashes in the Series’ eight-year history, that saw Red Bull Sailing Team T-bone Alinghi and knock the Swiss out of racing, couldn’t stop Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Nils Frei, Pierre-Yves Jorand and Yves Detrey, who took victory despite watching the final races from the dock, after the international jury awarded the he Swiss boat a redress, to helmsman Larson’s relief. “We were lining up at the start, and approaching the line with ten seconds to go and most of the fleet was on port. Red Bull ducked behind us, the winds were shifty and up and down, there was too much of a puff and they couldn’t get the bear away and T-boned us – it happens. It’s great to have won, we had such a great regatta that it was bittersweet to end that way, but I think we earned it so it feels good. We’re just glad that no one was hurt and that the boat is repairable – it will take a week in a good boat yard, but it will be back and ready to race.”




A change in race format saw the fleet race in groups of six for safety reasons with gusts up to 25 knots blasting across the racecourse, in what proved to be a day of mixed fortunes for the 12-boat elite level fleet. Realteam have been the model of consistency this week, staying out of trouble and keeping their noses clean to take a well deserved second place. Their skipper Jérome Clerc was beaming with confidence after racing, as he looked ahead to the rest of the season. “It’s a great result – it’s our best result since starting in the Extreme Sailing Series. The team was strong from the beginning of the event and we finished very well in these crazy conditions! We sailed the boat well, had good boat handling, good starts and we finished well. We have some stuff to improve on, we need to look to beat Alinghi who have taken the lead over everybody, and we want to reach the podium again.”






The young guns on Emirates Team New Zealand have kept in touch with the top of the leaderboard all week, and Peter Burling, who took over from Dean Barker in Qingdao, kept a cool head today to hold off the defending Series champions The Wave, Muscat to take third place – the Kiwis now positioned nicely to topple the old order on the overall Series leaderboard. Burling commented: “We’re pretty stoked to get on the podium. I think going into today there was a bit of a battle between three of us to get into second position, and I suppose there’s a little disappointment that we couldn’t get there. Coming into the start of the week we would have been pretty happy getting a third, so as the week goes on you seem to up your expectations – but overall we’re really happy to come away with a podium and keep in contact with the top guys on the overall Series rankings.”

By most teams standards, a fourth place in a fleet of this calibre would be cause for celebration, but Leigh McMillan and The Wave, Muscat, who have been a dominate force in the class for the last two seasons, were left feeling despondent after missing out on the podium by just one point – the first time since Singapore in 2013 when the team haven’t been on the podium. The pressure is now on McMillan when the fleet head to Russia, with Alinghi now two points ahead on the overall Series leaderboard.

Gazprom Team Russia have been steadily improving as the Act progressed, and today mastered the challenging conditions and bigger gusts with ease, enabling them to pick up another place on the leaderboard to finish in fifth place. British helmsman Paul Campbell-James commented: “We took opportunities when they arose and we are still banging in second and thirds so it gives us confidence moving forward. It’s a nice position to be in and with Russia being the next event, being the home team it will be very exciting, and hopefully it won’t take us three days to warm up! Bring on Saint Petersburg.”






The battle mid-leaderboard was fierce, with Oman Air leading the second half of the pack to wrap up the week in sixth place, despite missing the first day’s racing after a collision with GAC Pindar. In recognition of their effort get the boat back on the water, and their expertise in boat building, the Oman Air Shore Team became the first recipients of the Land Rover Above and Beyond Award this week, demonstrating a fine example of skill and sportsmanship. Read more about the award, here.

Today Ben Ainslie and his crew showed the gold medal winning form that they have struggled to find this week, with two race wins for the British team, who between them boast six gold medals, upgrading their position to seventh overall. Looking back on the week, and ahead to the rest of the season, Ainslie commented: “Every day there has been a completely new set of conditions to race in, the wind was always slightly different which made it a real challenge for all the teams. It is intense racing with the short races and courses and we are working together to master the style of racing. Overall this event we had some good days and some not so good days, today was obviously a really good day for us. We feel like we are slowly making gains and moving forward, which is what we want to do to be in the top half of the fleet at the end of the season.”






Arguably the best offshore sailor in the world right now, Franck Cammas, showed great form at the first two Acts of the Series in Singapore and Oman, but couldn’t replicate that this week in Qingdao, finishing the regatta in eighth place, just one point behind J.P. Morgan BAR. It was a tough end to the Act for the Austrians on Red Bull Sailing Team too, and after knocking themselves out of racing following today’s collision, the team had to settle for ninth place. SAP Extreme Sailing Team also struggled to master the tricky and challenging Qingdao racecourse this week, and never really got out of the starting blocks, finishing the Act one point behind the Austrians in tenth place, while David Gilmour the young Aussie team on GAC Pindar had a baptism of fire in their first full event racing together as a team.

The local boat Team Extreme Qingdao more than earned their Extreme 40 stripes this week, drawing in the home crowds and impressing, particularly on the opening day, where they finished the event in third, and skipper Mitch Booth was pleased with his teams performance. “The crew did a really great job considering we had limited training together. They were really mixing it up until the end, so we’re pretty happy with our result although we were in the middle of the fleet for most of the regatta, we finished down the back end – but still not out of reach. So all in all we’re very pleased with guys performance this week.”

Over four days Qingdao has thrown everything at the fleet, and is not an Act that will easily be forgotten. Next stop for the fleet is Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the season will reach its halfway points, 26-29 June.





Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup standings after Day 4, 32 races
Position / Team / Points
1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 178 points.
2nd Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Denis Girardet, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wassem 168 points.
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling, Glenn Ashby, Blair Tuke, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 160 points.
4th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 159 points.
5th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 140 points.
6th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 133 points.
7th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 129 points.
8th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 128 points.
9th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Stewart Dodson 126 points.
10th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 125 points.
11th Team Extreme Qingdao (CHN) Mitch Booth, Zhang Yiran, Liu Xue, Nick Moloney, Freddie White 111 points.
12th GAC Pindar (AUS) David Gilmour, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, Alexandra South 98 points.

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 overall standings
Position / Team / Points
1st Alinghi (SUI) 28 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 26 points.
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 24 points.
4th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 22 points.
5th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 15 points.
6th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 12 points.
7th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 11 points.
8th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 10 points.
9th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 9 points.
10th Oman Air (OMA) 8 points.
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) 3 points.