Extreme Sailing Series Asia (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images.OC Events)
Some said it couldn’t be done on more than one hull, but the six Extreme 40s here at The Wave, Muscat for the Extreme Sailing Series Asia demonstrated that match racing in multihulls is not only viable, but spectacular. The crowded VIP viewing platform was given a thrilling demonstration of close quarter combat as the teams took it in turns to race head-to-head, just metres off the harbour wall.
The promised 12-15 knot wind came through at midday and the Race Committee set up a tight, 500metre course. Seven flights, two matches a flight, and the teams were preparing for a long day.
Red Bull Extreme Sailing took on China Team in the first match and the America’s Cup experienced duo of Thierry Barot and Tan Wearn Haw was evident as they dominated the pre-start manoeuvres, often slowing the racing down as they prepared to round the marks. But on the last beat, Red Bull overturned the match, taking the lead and the first point. The games had begun …
China Team and Red Bull Extreme Sailing in action on day 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia at The Wave, Muscat (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
The third match of the day was an Omani head-to-head with The Wave, Muscat hoping to capitalise on skipper Paul Campbell-James’ student Match Racing experience, up against their stablemate Masirah. The boats were aggressive in the pre-start, with both sides calling for penalties, but green flagged by the Umpires and a fantastic start for Masirah, hitting the line at full pace. But disaster struck for The Wave, Muscat. As they flew a hull, almost over the mark, their clew failed, leaving their mainsail flapping in the wind. It was all over for Campbell-James and his team limped back to dock to repair the damage before tomorrow’s penultimate day..
And so it continued. The action behind the start line was tight as the teams used their match racing experience to block each other out at the committee boat end, the action unfurling almost at the feet of the spectators. This simplified form of match racing was easy to understand for the non-sailors in the crowd and the more knowledgeable sailors were all commenting on how fast the teams were putting the Extreme 40s through their manoeuvres. Mistakes were punished hard by the opposing team as they all chased the win and the point for first over the line.
Masirah powers down the matchracing course during day 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia at The Wave, Muscat. (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
Masirah’s strong boat handling skills were evident in the stronger winds as they barely put a foot wrong around the courses finishing top boat after the first round robin:
Wins/Losses
Masirah 5/0
Rumbo Almería 4/1
Red Bull Extreme Sailing 3/2
BT 2/3
China Team 1/4
The Wave, Muscat 0/5
This left The Wave, Muscat on the dock and China Team in fifth place with Red Bull and BT to battle it out for third place and Masirah and Rumbo Almería for the overall top spot.
China Team skipper Thierry Barot commented, “Hard day, but good learning day. It is the first time we have done match racing together, Wearn Haw and I have before for the America’s Cup, but not with Hugh [Styles] and Adam [Piggott]. Most of the starts we had were quite good, only lost one against Rumbo Almeria, but they had a great day.
Thierry Barot, trimmer and skipper on China Team is put through his paces matchracing on day 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia at The Wave, Muscat (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
“It’s been very interesting to do match racing in these boats. It was a very tough day for me, but great fun. I hope we do it more. I was a little bit worried about our experience but you find a lot of similar situations with the monohulls and multihulls and the solution is the same. For a first experience it was great and looking forward to doing more.”
And so the ‘petit final’ began. BT up against Red Bull Extreme Sailing. The racing was tight and Red Bull was in control from the start, but a forced error at the final top mark saw the Austrian team struggle with unfurling their gennaker with only one third of the sail out.. BT saw their opening and took it. Nick Moloney said, “We saw their gennaker and we started screaming at each other, come on come on and went hard as, and really aggressively fired each other up. ‘Come on boys!’ we were shouting. And then everyone lifts. We are amped anyway because it is so high energy but takes you to a higher level.” BT stormed down the final leg to take the win from the jaws of defeat and finished in third overall.
BT Matchracing Day 3 (Photo By Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
And the final beckoned for Oman Sail Masirah against double Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson’s Rumbo Almeria. Shirley, an experienced match racer, dominated from the start, at one point sailing backwards to get out of the Omani team’s clutches. She led over the line and kept in front all the way round, giving no room for overtaking and comfortably winning the match, and the day.
“We had a bit of a think about it before we went out. How were we going to gain an advantage and gain the opportunities and the pitfalls. The breeze was up, the boats are pretty difficult in that amount of wind, we were a bit nervous, but we approached the day fresh and approached each match fresh and as the tournament went on we got better and better.
“I’m the only girl out there but I have done quite a lot of match racing before and as have some of the other guys on the other teams. You need a fair amount of aggression but also you have to be able to manoeuvre your boat into position and that takes a bit of team work It was great coming into the final, we felt pretty confident and we came out on top – it was a great moment.”
And so the Extreme 40s proved it could be done, in spectacular style and easily understood by the spectators. Nick Moloney summed up the day for everyone, “It was really good. Beautiful wind obviously made for awesome sailing. Muscat turned it on for the weather, what more would you want? Perfect hull flying conditions, flat water and beautiful blue skies. Everyone is really tired, but stoked. It’s good to come off the water tired, you know you have done something worthwhile.”
Results after day 3 of racing:
Red Bull Extreme Sailing – 50
The Wave, Muscat – 42
BT – 38
China Team – 38
Masirah – 36
Rumbo Almeria – 27
Sailor quotes:
Double Olympic Gold Medallist Roman Hagara, Red Bull Extreme Sailing: It was good to do this with the Extreme 40s and we had some tight races which was nice. I think it is a good format. It was thrilling onboard. The boats are so quick and you have to be careful not hit the other boat or the rocks. We were so close to shore at time and the spectators.
“We had another good furl at the gate and then it came undone on the downwind leg and that’s it. Not a big problem we will learn. Tomorrow we feel comfortable crew work is perfect now, not always, but getting better and better so we feel good.”
Ian Walker, double Olympic silver medallist, Rumbo Almeria: “It was very interesting today. Having skippered and been a tactician in the America’s Cup, I was interested to see how it would work in catamarans, particularly with the America’s Cup being in multihulls this time. I actually think it can work. We don’t get that many passing manoeuvres anyway in the slower, heavier boats and what we saw today was a real premium boat handling. But the most important thing is setting the course so the boats can split at the leeward mark. If it was a one way track, it wouldn’t work. But today it was an excellent course and there was a lot of over taking, from what we saw today in these conditions and these boats, I think thumbs up.
Leigh McMillan, helm on Oman Sail Masirah: “It was obviously going to be full on with a bit of wind so got to actually get the boats moving a bit which was a lot of fun and quite a tight racecourse. The short racing area meant that the manoeuvres were full on, you never had a moment in the race to settle down. But it was good fun to engage with the other boats. It wasn’t like two boat fleet racing, the pre-start dial ups in these boats were a lot of fun and a lot of pin outs at the Committee boats and that is what is exciting about match racing and we did it in the Extreme 40. We enjoyed it and had a good day. We won all of the round robin races and then we only had one final, so obviously lost that, unfortunately, but again, we had a great day and it was a lot of fun.”
Light Airs For Extreme Sailing Series Asia Fleet (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
The opening day of racing at The Wave, Muscat required a touch of finesse by the sailors onboard the six Extreme 40s taking part in the final round of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia as they battled with light winds all afternoon.
Renowned light-air specialists Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, onboard Red Bull Extreme Sailing, finished the first day as top boat – with a lead of seven points over China Team – who are keeping a tight hold on their current overall 2nd placed position – and The Wave, Muscat.
Roman Hagara, Skipper Of Red Bull Extreme Sailing, Leader After Day 1 (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
Double Olympic Gold Medallist, Roman Hagara (AUT) was pleased with his team’s performance on the opening day. “A good beginning. The difference today was we had really good starts, and once you are in the front with these courses in the light wind it is easy to stay in the front.” His tactician, Hans Peter Steinacher, agreed, “After a week of training we’ve had here in Oman it feels good on the boat. We have more time to look for the wind as our manoeuvres become more natural. It gets better and better. The secret in these light airs? Go as fast a possible over the line, it doesn’t matter in which position – that’s the clue!”
With the wind reaching a maximum of 9 knots, it was a slow afternoon for the Extreme 40s, requiring more brain than brawn to get round the four courses. With the tougher ‘reaching’ starts, when the wind hits the start line from the side, rather than the more usual head on or from behind, some of the teams struggled to adjust and found themselves blocked and unable to get over the line cleanly. Current overall leaders of the Asian circuit, Oman Sail’s Masirah, was one such team as skipper Pete Cumming explained. “It was tricky today, definitely not the 10-15 knots I predicted the fleet would get yeterday. The wind just died away and it was really hard racing. The sea was quite sloppy as we had a good wind this morning and the courses were tough so the fleet got spread out and there aren’t many over-taking lanes.
“We couldn’t get off the start line cleanly today, a lot of reaching starts and we should be better at them. We’ve done enough of them in training so it shouldn’t be an excuse. Tomorrow is another day, and we’ll be looking for less sixth places and more firsts!”
Picture The Wave Muscat Skippered by Paul Campbell-James(GBR) leading Red Bull Extreme Sailing skippered by Roman Hagara(AUT) (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
Watching the racing at The Wave, Muscat, was a delegation of statesmen from the Omani and Singaporean governments, to see the naming of The Jewel of Muscat, a traditionally built sailing vessel, using techniques and skills over 2,000 years old. It was an extraordinary sight as The Jewel of Muscat sailed through the fleet of state-of-the art Extreme 40s. Pete Cumming, skipper of Masirah commented, “There was 2,000 years of sailing history out there today. For the Oman Sail project we had every extreme – every arm of the project designed to reignite the Sultanate’s sailing heritage. There was the Jewel of Muscat, the historical part, and then you have the 2010 version of the Jewel of Muscat with the Extreme 40!”
Red Bull Extreme Sailing’s two firsts and two seconds put them in first place, seven points ahead of China Team and The Wave, Muscat. “It was a little frustrating as we didn’t start well today and our position at the finish didn’t always relate to our position at the start,” commented The Wave, Muscat Skipper Paul Campbell-James. “We’ll be looking for a bit of a better day with our starts tomorrow and I think we will be pushing Red Bull Extreme Sailing for the lead. They had a great day today.”
Hugh Styles, the helmsmen onboard China Team also found the going hard. “It was tough today. Everything was about being clean off the line and we did a pretty good job in the firt two races and we are pleased with how we were sailing the boat today. We only had yesterday’s day of practice so it has come together pretty nicely.
Extreme Sailing Asia Day 1 (Photo by Mark Lloyd/LLoyd Images/OC Events)
“It’s such a unique location here sailing in the mouth of a harbour and having all the dignatries watching it does give a bit of added pressure to it. You aren’t just sailing in front of a crowd of, you are sailing in front of government officials – you have to perform well!”
The second day of racing will begin at 2pm tomorrow, Tuesday 2 February.
Results after day 1 of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia:
Red Bull Extreme Sailing – 22 points
CHINA TEAM – 15 points
The Wave, Muscat – 15 points
Rumbo Almeria – 12 points
Masirah – 11 points
BT – 9 points
The Wave, Muscat Shown here racing close to the shore line. Skippered by Paul Campbell-James(GBR) With Alister Richardson(GBR),Khamis Al Bourrai(OMA),Greg Homann(AUS) (Phot by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
It was a long and tiring day for the top international sailors in Muscat today as they had their final shakedown before the start of the final round of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia tomorrow, 1 February 2010.
The super-fast and super-colourful Extreme 40s left The Wave, Muscat just after 11am for the first start, a downwind leg all the way to Port Sultan Qaboos. It took these state of the art catamarans just 1 hour and 10 minutes to cover the 18 nautical mile (20 mile) course and Double Olympic Gold Medallist Roman Hagara, the Skipper of Red Bull Extreme Sailing, ended the day with a smile.
“A perfect day I think! The wind was building and nice conditions going downwind with the spinnaker all the way along the coast and then inside to Muscat. We had to concentrate on the racing, but our guests told us that the mountains and the city of Muscat look beautiful from the water. It’s a good place and we especially like the temperature!” The Red Bull Extreme Sailing team, currently in joint third overall with The Wave, Muscat, will be looking for a strong performance this week. “Our aspirations for the week? We’ll try to finish in the top three. We will see how it goes. For the final leg of the Series we have a new trimmer onboard [Gabi Olivio] and we have to work out our positions and how everything fits together and then we will see what comes.”
There are eight nationalities of sailors racing this week, including the only Frenchman in the Extreme 40 Asia circuit, Thierry Barot, skipper of CHINA TEAM. “Today was very nice sailing, the way out and back. The scenery is impressive, very surprising and dramatic. We didn’t have the best day on the water though. For us, it was hard restarting as a team again after the second round in Singapore six weeks ago. The first long race down to the port was good as we finished first, but we found the two shorter races difficult, and so we need to focus on our crew work. We weren’t on the same form as Singapore, it was hard work today, so we’ll have to concentrate on getting back and finding a good solution for the first start tomorrow.
“Overall, we lie second equal with BT and we want to stay in that position by the end on Friday, we want to make sure it is ours,” he concluded.
Extreme Sailing Series Asia Fleet In Muscat (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
A full race committee team has been flown in for the five-day series including a Principal Race Officer and on-the-water umpires, similar to referees in football. It’s the first time Oman has seen a regatta of international standard take place in its waters. Masirah skipper, Pete Cumming, winner of the European Extreme Sailing Series commented, “It’s great to have everyone here in Oman and seeing what great race conditions we have to offer. The wind here isn’t going to be anywhere near as tricky or shifty as Hong kong or Singapore so it will be more down to boat handling and traditional racing. If the wind stays true, which it normally does, we’ll have 10-15 knots and everyone will have a good week, get the hammer down a bit more and put on a spectacular display. It will be like sailing on an open ocean.”
The first three days of racing will be dedicated to VIP and media sailing – an opportunity for sponsors, business associates and journalists to step onboard the catamarans and join the four-man crew race in the ‘fifth-man’ position. The weekend (4th and 5th February) will be open to all with an Extreme Beach Party at Al Hail beach including a five-aside football tournament, which 60 teams have currently signed up for, volleyball matches, ‘Try-Sailing’ sessions and family entertainment. Oman Sail core crew member, Khamis Al Anbourri, who sails onboard The Wave, Muscat, is looking forward to showing the Omani public just what competing on a professional race circuit involves. “It’s been a really great day. The final race, the long race back to The Wave, we showed the other teams who we are and came first! We have been training for the past week with just one other team, so to have the rest of the other boats here, it’s been great to have them together and a great experience for us.
“For me to sail against these sailors who have won Olympic Gold and Silver medals and World Champions – they are famous sailors – it is a great honour for me to sail against them and also alongside them. I have been waiting for this opportunity to race here in the Omani waters with the Extreme 40s. To show the Omanis what the sport of sailing is and how much fun it is, and trying to encourage them to come to the sailing world. I think they’ll see a spectacular show at the weekend. We will do everything we can to win this week for Oman!”
Oman Sail Masirah". Shown here racing close to the shore line. Skippered by Pete Cumming(GBR),Leigh McMillan(GBR),Mark Bulkeley(GBR),Nasser Al Mashari(OMA) (Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Event)
Racing begins at 2.30pm Monday 1st February at The Wave, Muscat and Al Hail Beach.
Standings after two events (Hong Kong and Singapore):
1. Oman Sail Masirah
2. China Team
3. BT
4. The Wave, Muscat
5. Red Bull Extreme Sailing
6. Rumbo Almeria
Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team Shown here racing close to the shore line. Skippered by Roman Hagara(AUT),Hans Peter Steinacher(AUT),Gabriele Olivo(ITA),David Vera(ESP)(Photo by Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/OC Events)
Oman Sail In Muscat (Photo by Lloyd Images/Oman Sail)
In just ten days time the final of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia will kick off at The Wave, Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman, with six international teams competing for the inaugural title. The Series will end on a high with the Extreme Beach Party, a two day grand finale for the public over the Omani weekend.
Khamis Al Anbouri, bowman on Oman Sail Masirah, currently topping the leaderboard, is looking forward to returning to his home port. “We are pumped up and ready to take on the World!” he laughed. “It’s great to be coming back to Muscat and for the home crowd to see first hand the five other top teams competing on the circuit. They are promised an awesome spectacle.”
Six teams, racing radical 40-foot catamarans, started their battle for the inaugural title in Hong Kong at the end of November, before heading to Singapore mid-December… And now they arrive in the Sultanate of Oman for the grand final that takes place from the 1st-5th February. Global brands such as Red Bull and BT back two of the racing teams, and China has also entered a team for the first time.
Going into the deciding round, Pete Cumming (GBR) and his crew onboard Oman Sail’s Masirah have a 5-point lead over Nick Moloney’s (AUS) BT, tied with new team China Team, skippered by Thierry Barot (FRA). Just one point behind them, also tied, is The Wave, Muscat, helmed by Paul Campbell-James (GBR) with Omani powerhouse Nasser Salim Al Mashari (OMA) as his bowman and newcomer to the Extreme 40 circuit, Red Bull Extreme Sailing, skippered by double Olympic Gold medallist Roman Hagara (AUT) with his Olympic crew Hans-Peter Steinacher (AUT) as tactician. In sixth place is another double Olympic Gold Medallist, Shirley Robertson (GBR) skipper of Rumbo Almería joined by double Olympic Silver Medallist Ian Walker (GBR).
Nick Moloney on BT In London (Photo by Th Martinez/OC Events)
The Extreme 40 multihulls are ‘speed machines’ that race close to shore on tight courses, unlike most sailing events – and in this final event they will be competing in short, exciting, 15-minute races starting each day at The Wave, Muscat from 2pm. Race Director, Gilles Chiorri (FRA) will be throwing everything at the teams including possible speed trials, slalom courses and even some match racing – an interesting prelude to the much-anticipated mammoth multihull battle between America’s Cup antagonists Alinghi and BMW ORACLE Racing. (Note: traditionally match racing is only competed in monohull boats).
His Excellency Eng. Sultan Hamdoon Al Harthi, Head of Muscat Municipality said “The Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the first of a number of high profile sporting events that will be taking place in Oman this year and we are looking forward to watching some of the world’s best sailors compete right on our shoreline. Oman has a rich maritime heritage and this event is a perfect tool to help showcase the potential of the Sultanate as a key sailing location internationally.”
The first three days of racing will be dedicated to hosting VIPs, national and international media, while the 4th and 5th February will see Al-Hail beach, to the West of the capital Muscat, transformed into the ‘Extreme Beach Party’. Each morning from 10am there will be a five-a-side football tournament featuring members of the Omani national football team, winners of the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations, volleyball matches, the Red Bull Street Style team for the Muscat leg of the international leg of the freestyle football competition, ‘try-sailing’ sessions, as well as family activities, food stands and entertainment.
Roman Hagara, skipper of Red Bull Extreme Sailing, has edged up the leaderboard, finishing second overall in Singapore after a disappointing sixth at the first event in Hong Kong where they struggled to overcome gear failure problems. “We are ready to race and proud to be invited to this beautiful country. It is not our first visit and we look forward to meet a lot of friends. I am sure that we will enjoy it. We expect a competitive but fair race.”
The Asian circuit follows hot on the heels of the award-winning Extreme Sailing Series Europe that, in just three years, has become a top five fixture in the international sailing calendar. The fleet which will race in Muscat includes three double Olympic gold medallists, a double Olympic Silver Medallist, 29 World Championship titles, 9 round the world navigations, 23 Olympic games attended and 10 America’s Cup sailors.
OC Events, organisers of the series, has brought the circuit to the Middle East and Asia for the first time to demonstrate the potential of a full-scale series in 2010/2011. Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group, explained, “Developing a series here in the Middle East is the next step in the evolution of this ground-breaking circuit. Never before has there been top-level racing, right in the heart of cities, within metres of the shore, designed to entertain the public, media and VIP’s – not just other sailors. It’s unique for the cities and it is unique for our sport.
“The GCC region is ideal for high-integrity sailing events and we are bringing the circuit here to demonstrate to key stakeholders and the media what a full scale circuit with top level on-water action coupled with high-end VIP corporate hospitality and an all-inclusive shore side entertainment package can deliver. The Muscat event promises to be a spectacular conclusion to this inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia.”
The Extreme Sailing Series Asia: Muscat is supported by the Muscat Municipality and Oman Sail, the Ministry of Tourism backed initiative to reignite the Sultanate’s maritime heritage and inspire young Omanis to achieve their potential through sailing.
Current standings after two events:
1 – Oman Sail Masirah: Pete Cumming (GBR)
2 – BT: Nick Moloney (AUS)
3 – China Team: Thierry Barot (FRA)
4 – The Wave, Muscat: Paul Campbell-James (GBR)
5 – Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team: Roman Hagara (AUT)
6 – Rumbo Almería: Shirley Robertson (GBR)
Extreme Sailing Series Asia Fleet (Photo by Guy Nowell/OC Events)
Oman Sail's Masirah Day 2 of Extreme Sailing Series Asia (Photo by Th. Martinez/Sea&Co / OC Events)
Day 3, Singapore: The fleet 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 Oman Sail Masirah as they extended their lead by 10 points over second place Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team, with China Team hot on their heels just 1 point behind.
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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. |
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 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.  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.  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.  “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.”  The penultimate day of racing commences tomorrow, Monday 14 December from 2pm. |
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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. |
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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.  “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!”  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! 
 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. |
Olympic 4x100m gold medallist and previous 100m world record holder Asafa Powell was taken to new Extremes when he stepped onboard double-Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson’s catamaran racing in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia in Singapore today, Saturday 12 December. The 27-year-old Jamaican sprinter was a guest on Rumbo Almeria, one of six teams taking part in the second leg of the Series in Marina Reservoir, under the world’s largest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer
Extreme Series Asia
The Formula 1 pit Lane in Singapore is in action again, but this time not to the drone of engines… A new type of sport is in town for five days – the Extreme Sailing Series Asia.
Gilles Chiorri/OC Events Marina Reservoir will play host to the second round of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia starting this Friday 11th December. Six state of the art 40-foot catamarans, each crewed by a team of four top professional sailors, and racing at up to 40 miles per hour, will be battling it out for supremacy on the tight races courses just metres off the shoreline by the Singapore Flyer. Twenty-four sailors from 8 nations and between them, three double Olympic Gold medallists, 24 World Championship titles, nine America’s Cup events, 8 Round the World navigations and 114 National Championship titles!
Guy Nowell/OC EventsMark Turner, CEO of OC Group, the parent company to organisers OC Events, commented, “In the first event in Hong Kong of this ‘demo’ series, we really met our objectives and took over 60 potential sponsors, key opinion formers and the media out on the water to watch the sailing and race onboard in the fifth man spots. There aren’t many other sports where corporate guests can actually take part in the scoring action – it’s a unique experience.
“We are keen to return in 2010/2011 with a full scale series with public entertainment package, similar to Europe with shoreside activities, entertainment, concerts and a bespoke VIP set-up, and will be looking to come with the support of, and to work closely with, the host venues.”
Marco Hong/OC EventsDavid Voth, Senior Director, Sports Marketing Group, the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) said: “The SSC is excited about showcasing such a key sailing race for the first time in the Marina Bay area. We hope that this will set the stage for future watersports events to be potentially held in the area, which will bring exciting life, colour and activities into Singapore’s exciting annual events calendar.”
Local Singaporean sailor Tan Wearn Haw, helming CHINA TEAM is hoping his knowledge of the sometimes fickle Singapore winds will put the team to good stead. CHINA TEAM finished third in the first round of the Asian series in Hong Kong, surprising both themselves and their competitors. Helmsman Tan Wearn Haw, who challenged for the last America’s Cup for China started his sailing career in Singapore. “The next five days of racing will bring a real mixed bag of conditions and really close racing. The winds will be tricky and testing, but definitely hoping for great winds, even if it is from rain squalls so the Extreme 40s can show off some exhilarating racing and capture the imagination of Singapore!”
Gilles Chiorri/OC EventsCHINA TEAM has a specific goal to build on its 2007 America’s Cup experience, as Tan explains: “We have a long-term vision of not just excelling in the World’s biggest sailing events like the Extreme Sailing Series, but using our experience along the way to establish a pipeline programme to develop the next generation of world class professional sailors in Asia. The upcoming years will be really important as we look to put our plans in action and chalk up some impressive results. The podium finish in Hong Kong was a fantastic start, but we really want to consolidate that here in Singapore.”
Extreme 40s in Hong Kong for the Extreme Sailing Series Asia
Gilles Chiorri/OC EventsCHINA TEAM will be on the start line under the Singapore Flyer in Marina Reservoir on Friday up against some of the World’s very best sailors. Another newcomer to the circuit is Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team, skippered by double Olympic Gold Medallist Roman Hagara and his Olympic crew, Hans-Peter Steinacher as tactician. The team experienced equipment failure in Hong Kong and are hunting down a podium position in Singapore. Asked what it is about the circuit that attracts top international sailors like themselves, Hagara commented, “The excitement of the boat. I think it’s one of the fastest boats that can race around the track. No other class that has done this before so that’s what we are looking for. We have 25 years in Olympic Sailing; this is the way to go for the future of the sport.”
Two teams are entered from the Sultanate of Oman, Masirah and The Wave, Muscat. Masirah were crowned Champions of the European Series, in the final race of the final day, after 118 races across Europe, as well as winning the first Asian Series event in Hong Kong. Skipper Pete Cumming was building his Extreme 40 today in the pit lane of the Singapore F1 track.
The Wave, Muscat. Training Day, Singapore.
Gilles Chiorri/OC Events”The racetrack here is like every race area in Europe you took us to: small! We have been really surprised by the amount of wind as we were expecting to come here with it being hot, little wind and very humid, but it’s been great. The race area isn’t as surrounded by buildings as we thought so it looks like one of the more open venues we’ve had. Certainly a lot more open than Hong Kong so I think if the wind stays up, there should be some fast, exciting racing.”
Racing onboard both the Sultanate of Oman boats are two Omani nationals, drawn from the Oman Sail project. British Double World Champion, Paul Campbell-James will be joined by Khamis Al Bourrai onboard The Wave, Muscat: “Hong Kong was my first event as a professional sailor sailing with a professional team and this is only my second event. I hope to achieve and get more improvement on my sailing skills and my professional skills. This time I will be sailing on The Wave, Muscat so I’ll be sailing with different sailors so, hopefully, I will learn new skills from them and build my sailing career.” His Oman Sail colleague Nasser Almasari will race with Pete Cumming onboard Masirah.
Rumbo Almeria racing during the Around the Island Race in Hong Kong as part of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia.
Gilles Chiorri/OC EventsDouble Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson will skipper Rumbo Almería with a strong European team including Nick Hutton, one of the most experienced Extreme sailors on the circuit. Australian Nick Moloney, who came second in Hong Kong, will skipper BT.
Six to eight races are planned from Friday 11-Tuesday 15 December. Although this year it is not planned as a public event, for Extreme sailing fans, the best place to watch will be from the F1 Pit Lane at the foot of the Singapore Flyer.
Extreme 40 Sailing In Hong Kong (Photo by Marco Hong/OC Events )
As the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia gets off to a successful start in Hong Kong (20-24 November), OC Events, organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series, take a look back at the highlights of the 2009 iShares Cup, revealing the key statistics from the series third season, and preview the 2010 European Extreme Sailing Series.
For the planned six events in 2010, four countries are already confirmed, with events taking place in the UK, Germany, France and Spain. Venue announcements will be made over the coming months, but it can be confirmed today that the final round of the Extreme Sailing Series 2010 will take place in the region of Andalucia, Spain, at the port of Almeria over the national holiday weekend in mid-October.
Almeria hosted the 2009 finalé and recently published the results of an Economic Impact Report produced by the Council of Tourism, Commerce and Sport for Andalucia confirming that the event had generated 2.7m Euros of return on their investment. Over 75,000 spectators attended the Spanish event in October this year. A total of 15,000 tourists visited the city, 92% visiting because of the event and 80% of visitors expressed their intention to return. Hotel occupancy was up by 19.2 per cent compared to the same time in 2008, with more than 606,000 overnight stays. The visitors scored the event 8.1 points out of 10, considering the event to be ‘well organised’.
Seven teams who competed in the 2009 European series have already expressed their commitment to return in 2010 ahead of the publication of the official Notice of Race.
Extreme Sailing Series Racing In Hong Kong (Photo by Guy Nowell/OC Events)
The full media evaluation report of the 2009 iShares Cup will be published shortly by independent agency Havas Insight. In the meantime, enjoy some of the key statistics from the highly successful 2009 circuit that saw 48 of the world’s best sailors compete in 108 races across six European venues with only two capsizes, compared to five in 2008, but six collisions…!
To find out more about the current Extreme Sailing Series Asia, CLICK HERE…
2009 FACTS AND FIGURES:
Entries:
BT (EUR) – Nick Moloney (AUS)
Ecover (EUR) – Mike Golding (GBR)
Holmatro (NED) – Carolijn Brouwer (BEL)
iShares (EUR) – Shirley Robertson (GBR)
Gitana Extreme-Groupe LCF Rothschild (FRA) – Yann Guichard (FRA)
Groupama 40 (FRA) – Franck Cammas (FRA)
LUNA (FRA) – Erik Maris (FRA)
Oman Sail Masirah (OMA) – Pete Cumming (GBR)
Oman Sail Renaissance (OMA) – Loïck Peyron (FRA)
BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) – James Spithill (AUS) (Venice/Hyères only)
WIRSOL Team Germany Kiel Sailing City – Roland Gabler (GER) (Kiel only)
Rumbo Almeria – Fernando Echavarri (ESP) (Almeria only)
Sailors:
48 sailors across 12 teams
52 World Championships
17 Olympians
7 Olympic medalists (4 Gold)
27 America’s Cup participations
17 Round the World navigations
11 different nationalities
Racing:
108 races: Venice 17; Hyéres 19; Cowes 20; Kiel 19; Amsterdam 17: Almeria 16
Regatta wins: Oman Sail Masirah 4 (Hyéres, Cowes, Kiel, Almeria); Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 2 (Venice, Amsterdam)
Number of 1st places: Oman Sail Masirah 36; Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 19; Oman Sail Renaissance 16 (9 out of the 12 teams, all scored 1 or more race wins during the season)
Best number of race wins per venue: Oman Sail Masirah 11 (Cowes); Oman Sail Renaissance 5 (Kiel, Amsterdam); Gitana Extreme – Groupe LCF Rothschild 5 (Almeria)
2 capsizes: Holmatro at Cowes (practice day); Ecover at Kiel, day 1 (5 capsizes in 2008)
6 collisions: Oman Sail Renaissance hit Ecover (Hyéres); Team iShares hit spectator boat (Cowes); Oman Sail Renaissance hit WIRSOL Team Germany (Kiel) and Gitana Extreme hit WIRSOL Team Germany (Kiel); Oman Sail Renaissance hit Ecover (Amsterdam, practice day); BT hit Oman Sail Masirah (Amsterdam)
7 disqualifications: Groupama 40 (Venice); Oman Sail Renaissance (Kiel); Holmatro, Team iShares and BT (Amsterdam); LUNA and Team iShares (Almeria)
Venues:
Venice, Italy
Hyeres-TPM, France
Cowes, England
Kiel, Germany
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Almeria, Spain
(2007 x 4 rounds / 2008 x 5 rounds)
Spectators (estimated):
2009 200,000
(2007 57,000 / 2008 150,000)
VIP entertainment:
2,124 VIP guests were entertained in the VIP facilities at the six events in 2009
93% of VIP guests agreed that the iShares Cup fell within the top three events they had ever attended.
