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Extreme Sailing Series / Full pressure day as the Extreme 40 fleet battle huge gusts on the Qingdao stadium racecourse

It was a full pressure day as the fleet moved into the 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 rounding’, 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.”

Testing light winds on day one, as the home team make best ever debutby an invitational entry » Extreme Sailing Series

Racing began in China’s Olympic sailing city today at the Land Rover, Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup, where five different race winners emerged from the eight races sailed, in a day that saw the fleet struggle for consistency and the leaderboard reshuffle after every race. On the open water racecourse, the Swiss team Alinghi dominated in testing light winds and strong tide, to edge ahead on the leaderboard at the end of day. But it was the local boat, Team Extreme Qingdao, who will be grabbing the headlines tonight after an outstanding debut performance sees the team in third place at the end of day one - the best ever performance by a home nation invitational team.

 

Unfortunately for Oman Air, their day was over before it had a chance to begin, after a collision with GAC Pindar in the start line tussle of the first race left the team with severe damage to their port hull, forcing them back to the pit lane. Rob Greenhalgh, skipper of Oman Air - who has welcomed the talents of America’s Cup winner Kyle Langford to the team this week - explained what happened:“Just after the start of the first race, GAC Pindar tacked onto port and misjudged the dip on us and T-boned us pretty hard – we have a pretty big hole in the side of the boat. These things happen unfortunately. The shore guys will work hard tonight and get the boat ready for racing tomorrow. We will lick our wounds and be back. It’s a disappointment – we were pumped to race.”  The team will be given a redress and will likely be awarded average points from their races over the next two days by the international jury.

12 Extreme 40s head to China’s Olympic sailing city for Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 / Extreme Sailing Series

In one week the fleet of 12 Extreme 40s, including home nation entry ‘Team Extreme Qingdao’ will line up on one of the most notorious stadium racecourses on the global tour, at the Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao, for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup, 1-4 May. Fans in China can follow all the action on the newly launched Chinese website and watch the racing live on leading sports portals PPTV.com and Letv.com, as well as on regional broadcaster Qingdao TV. International fans will be able to watch the Stadium Racing action on the official event website, www.extremesailingseries.com.

China’s host city for the 2008 Olympic sailing regatta’s holds plenty of proud memories for the fleet, with Brits Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Sarah Ayton and Ben Ainslie, and American Anna Tunnicliffe, all taking gold in their respective classes. For Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time, the Act in Qingdao will be the first time he has raced on the Olympic waters since winning the Finn gold in 2008. The J.P. Morgan BAR skipper commented: “We are all really looking forward to China. For Paul, Pippa and I who spent a lot of time there before and during Beijing 2008 it’s a special place for us. But we know that it is another difficult venue and there’s a lot of tide there so that could be challenging and tough but we certainly want to work on our performance as a team.”

Team Extreme Qingdao announced as home nation entry for Chinese Act of 2014 Extreme Sailing Series / Extreme Sailing Series

In just over one week, China’s 2008 ‘Olympic Sailing City’ of Qingdao will welcome the formidable fleet of Extreme 40s to Fushan Bay, with the home nation entry ‘Team Extreme Qingdao’ bolstering the elite level racing fleet to 12 boats, including two of China’s top sailing stars. The teams will race under the shadows of the Olympic rings on the short, sharp racecourse, designed for spectator-friendly Stadium Racing, with thousands of public expected over the Chinese national holiday. The Act, presented by Series Main Partner Land Rover will see teams vying for the ‘Double Star Mingren Cup’ from 1-4 May.

For the home-grown Chinese sailors, Liu Xue and Zhang Yiran, 2014 will be their second year competing on the circuit, following their Stadium Racing debut with China Team in Qingdao in 2013. Liu Xue, who also raced with China Team at the America’s Cup World Series in 2013, spoke of the importance of events such as the Extreme Sailing Series, for growing the sport of sailing within China. “I'm so excited and very proud to join the Extreme Sailing Series in my hometown. I think it's very important for China to host this international sailing event as we can gain more experience, and learn more from the competition. It's helpful to improve the overall level of sailing in our country.” Liu Xue and Zhang Yiran recently trialled for China’s Dongfeng Race Team for the next Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15, growing the versatility of their sailing talents.

Five-time Olympian and Extreme 40 veteran Mitch Booth will share skippers duties with Zhang Yiran, leading the home team into the stadium in front of the local crowds, alongside Nick Moloney and British multihull dinghy sailor Freddie White. Despite his Extreme 40 pedigree, Booth is realistic about the challenge ahead. “It is really great to be back in Qingdao and racing together with Chinese crew members. The Extreme Sailing Series has jumped to a very high level this year and it will be tough to compete in what is probably the premier sailing circuit in the World today. It has been exactly one year since I raced in the Series and I'm keen to do battle with the best of the best.”

The full crew lists for Land Rover Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3 Qingdao for the ‘Double Star Mingren’ Cup will be confirmed on Thursday 24th April.

How important is the final double points race? / Extreme Sailing Series

The final race of each Extreme Sailing Series™ Act is worth double points, and more often than not the outcome of the event is riding on it. Using the SAP sailing analytics, we took a look at all of the final races from the last 16 months, and found that keeping a cool head and performing under pressure can make all the difference.

Over the last nine Acts (seven in 2013, and two in 2014), the reigning champions The Wave, Muscat have won an incredibly impressive 67% of the events. Of the events they won, they also sailed to victory in 50% of the final races, often winning the Act in that moment. For the Omani team, the double points race seems to be of the upmost importance to their Act winning tactics.

Kiteboarder takes on high-speed Land Rover Extreme 40 catamaran in the gulf of Oman » Extreme Sailing Series

From 19-22 March, the blue waters of Muscat, Oman hosted the international Extreme Sailing Series™ - the second Act of the 2014 global tour that attracts the world’s best sailors to race on the short, sharp Stadium-style racecourses. Fans of the Series are more accustomed to seeing 11 high-performance carbon-fibre catamarans go head to head at speeds of up to an incredible 56kph - but spectators in Muscat were treated to a different kind of show, when Gaastra Team Rider Tom Buggy (GBR) challenged the high-speed Land Rover Extreme 40 to a drag race, to find out who would have the edge.

British rider Buggy, who is normally part of the Land Rover sailing team, lined up against his teammates in a ‘boat versus board’ head to head, in 7-9 knots of breeze and flat water – just enough for his 17 meter Jet and race board to take on the punishing three mile round course.

Buggy explained: "I kited out 500metres or so to meet the boat which was circling waiting for me to dial up and start and before I knew it, we were off at full speed. I pulled up from leeward so I was just in front of the boat and all I could hear was the full carbon 40-foot catamaran carving the water behind me and the winches groaning as the boat loaded up in the breeze. Suddenly I felt pretty small and the realisation of me falling off and getting run over was becoming a real worry."

Gaastra Team Rider Tom Buggy (GBR) challenged the high-speed Land Rover Extreme 40 to a drag race in Muscat, Oman © Lloyd Images

 

"After around a mile and half, I gybed off ready for our blast back to the event site but as soon as the boat turned behind me the 63-foot high mainsail created a huge wind shadow and stopped me dead. In a blink, the boat was already 100metres ahead and I had to work super hard in the wind shadow and light breeze to get the drive from my fins and catch up. With half a mile to our finish, I just managed to draw the boat back in - although the guys on board made it look effortless to blast fully powered, whilst I had to work every metre of the track, with my legs burning just to keep the drive from by board. We will settle for a draw – this time!"

Buggy lined up in a ‘boat versus board’ head to head, in Muscat, Oman © Lloyd Images

 

The next stop for the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series, is Qingdao, China 1-4 May, where Buggy will be taking on the Land Rover Extreme 40 challenge again – and this time, there will be no second place. Both board and boat will be linked with GPS tracking, bring the next battle closer to the fans. Watch this space.

Big breeze final race shoot out in Muscat sees The Wave, Muscat snatch victory » Extreme Sailing Series

- Four teams – The Wave, Muscat, Emirates Team New Zealand, Alinghi and SAP Extreme Sailing Team  in the running heading into the final race, with no room for error and just four points between them and 20 points on the table for the taking.

- Emirates Team New Zealand snatch second from the grasp of Alinghi with just one point in it after 29 races this week.

- SAP Extreme Sailing Team narrowly denied the podium but rise up the overall Series
rankings with an impressive fourth place.

- Replay today’s Stadium Racing, here.

- Watch the highlights from a spectacular second Act of the 2014 global tour, here.

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.”

Multiple winners on opening day in Muscat as SAP Extreme Sailing Team take early lead

- Five winners from seven races in an unpredictable and close fought opening day in Muscat, Oman.
- Series Main Partner Land Rover and Red Bull Sailing Team announce ‘Official Team and Vehicle’ partnership.
- Teams prepare for the racecourse to become narrower, and the racing more intense, as the fleet moves into Stadium mode tomorrow. Watch it live from 1530GST/1130GMT/1230CET www.extremesailingseries.com.

 

The fleet of 11 elite level Extreme 40 catamarans headed onto the Muscat racecourse for the opening day of Act 2 of the global Extreme Sailing Series™, in what it’s shaping up to be an unpredictable and close fought event, with five different winners over seven races. The Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team had the edge over the less consistent teams, but with only 16 points separating the top eight, there will be some tough competition tomorrow as the front runners try to establish a firm lead. “It’s going to be a long regatta and it’s only day one but we’re happy with our performance today and hopefully it can continue”, commentedSAP Extreme Sailing Team’s co-skipper Jes Gram Hansen, who went on to talk about the key to success on this racecourse. “When you get ahead of the fleet it becomes easier, you have clean breeze and you’re actually just gaining and gaining. Tomorrow we just need to stay focused.”

Video - Extreme Sailing Series heads to the Middle East for Act 2, Muscat

http://extremesailingseries.com Less than three weeks after the spectacular opening Act of the 2014 season, the 11 international Extreme 40 teams and their crews of elite level sailors are preparing to return to the Sultanate of Oman, for a fourth consecutive year. The fleet will race at a stunning new venue, the Almouj Golf Course at The Wave, Muscat, from 19th March, for four days of intense competition. Fans around the world can follow the racing on the official event website, http://extremesailingseries.com. Watch the preview, here.