2011 Extreme Sailing Series

[MLovett]

3rd July 2011

Pressure Is On Going Into Final Day of Act 4, Boston

Terry Hutchinson, skipper of Artemis Racing, aka ‘Mr Consistency’ did it again on the penultimate day of the Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 4 in Boston. Ensuring that his team finished no lower than 5th place in any of the 8 races staged today, sees Artemis Racing go into the final day tomorrow with a 14 point lead. The Swedish team has only conceded their dominance once during the Boston event: “The most important day to be leading is the last day!” said Terry. “I don’t take anything for granted because I know how good the people around us are and how tricky the conditions can be here, so we have to keep on fighting the fight. Tomorrow is Independence Day and it’s a great day to be in the US.”

The final day often throws up surprises, and at every Act this season victory has only been secured in the final double points race. And, right now, seven teams are still in the hunt for a podium place. But sailors are renowned for being a superstitious bunch and no one is counting their chickens (or is that rabbits?) just yet… Watch this latest video to discover what bad omens the sailors fear most, and their secret good luck talismans.

An overcast day set the scene over Boston Harbor but that didn’t seem to deter the US crowds celebrating the 4th July holiday weekend. Also at Fan Pier to experience the Extreme 40 action was US sailing legend and commentator, Gary Jobson who went for a ride on Artemis Racing, and Dawn Riley, former round the world and America’s Cup sailor. A good gradiant breeze ensured the action was close and intense, even when the threat of lightning suspended racing the teams came back out fighting after the storm had dissipated. Emirates Team New Zealand reveled in the competition, posting two race wins, to knock The Wave, Muscat off 2nd place on the overall leaderboard but Dean Barker’s team only has the slenderest of margins, just 3 points, but for Leigh McMillan recently recruited as skipper, the team are exceeded expectations: “It wasn’t our goal here to get on the podium, for me it was a bit unrealistic,” said Leigh. “But we are still in the hunt for a podium place. We’ll go out and fight for every point.”

Max Sirena’s team continued to improve today and like the Kiwis, two race wins, helped them overhaul the all-French team on board Groupe Edmond de Rothschild to claim 4th overall by the end of play. “We had an okay day,” said Luna Rossa helsman, Paul Cambell-James. “We had our ups and downs but generally we are getting better and moving up. Anything can happen at the Extreme Sailing Series and tomorrow we will go out there and sail our own race. We might look at the last double points race and the scores and try to make a plan, but we’ll try any race.” Pierre Pennec’s team was not able to find their form today, although a win in the final race will, hopefully, be a good omen ahead of tomorrow.

Other overall place changes saw the Swiss team Alinghi claim 6th ahead of Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing. Despite scoring three third places, things just didn’t go Hagara’s way in the other races. As normal, racing in stadium mode, kept the on-water referees busy, each race lasting just 10-15 minutes. Some of the legs were so short, the teams only had time to unfurl the gennaker, gybe, then furl again before piling into the mark. It is exhausting work physically and the 11 teams will need to rest up tonight ahead of the final day tomorrow when the pressure will be fully on if they want to secure a podium place.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 4 at Fan Pier Boston, USA
Current overall standings after 30 races, Day 4 (3.7.11)

Position / Team / Skipper & crew / Points
1st Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant 239 points
2nd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / James Dagg / Jeremy Lomas 225 points
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 222 points
4th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 210 points
5th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 200 points
6th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 199 points
7th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 195.2* points
8th Oman Air (OMA), Sidney Gavignet / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 149 points
9th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Mark Bulkeley / Daniele de Luca Simone de Mari 133 points
10th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mark Ivey / Andrew Walsh / Jono Macbeth 116 points
11th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Bruno Dubois / Sebbe Godefroid / Bob Merrick 94 points

[MLovett]

4th July 2011


4th July celebrations, but not for American skipper as Kiwis snatch Boston victory in final minutes of US debut

Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand clinched victory at Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ in an epic showdown as the circuit made a very successful USA debut. As the country celebrated Independence Day, American Terry Hutchinson on board Artemis Racing went in to the final race with an 8 point lead after heading the leaderboard for most of the past 5 days – but lost in the final leg of the final race of the final day. An enthralled US non-sailing public turned out in spades to watch up close what was probably one of the biggest ever on-site American audiences for a sailing event, estimated at 55,000 over the five days. The Stadium concept developed for the Extreme Sailing Series certainly engaged a largely non-sailing audience in Boston.

In a finale that could have been written by a Hollywood scriptwriter (but wasn’t!), Emirates Team New Zealand had a blinding start, taking the lead once from Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, only to lose it after painfully stalling in a tack on the final beat. Until this point, despite having to duck most of the fleet on the start line, Hutchinson had managed to stay inside the crucial four places behind Barker which were necessary to take overall victory. On the final beat, however, just one tactical choice decided it, with the right-hand side of the course for once not paying for the American, and as they approached the final top mark they were passed by four boats and scored an 8th place. A rare occurrence for Hutchinson, destroying his dream of winning on his home turf with Emirates Team New Zealand taking overall victory by four points on a total of 293 after 37 races.

An emotional and disappointed Hutchinson shared his thoughts on the podium in front of his fans: “I said yesterday there is only one race you need to be in the lead for and its the most important one,” said Terry. “We had a winning combination coming into the leeward mark going up the right-hand side and the breeze went hard left so we lost four boats up the last beat. All we can do is congratulate Emirates Team New Zealand. They hung tough for the whole regatta and sorry to the fans of Boston as it would have been great a good Independence Day finisher.”

For Emirates Team New Zealand the team were ecstatic to win their first ever Extreme Sailing Series event: “The sailing has been very challenging” said Dean. “Artemis Racing showed us the way the whole week but the racing here was so tight, with potentially four boats able to take the title going in to the final race. It’s never over until it’s over. We had a really tight finish with Artemis in Istanbul and its nice to come out on the right side of this one. Boston has been great, we love the city and have really enjoyed our time here.”

Leigh McMillan and the crew of The Wave, Muscat completed the podium in 3rd place, exceeding their own expectations in McMillan’s recent return to the circuit: “I was jumping up and down and shouting when we crossed the finishing line,” said a jubilant Leigh. “It was a very good celebration amongst the team and it meant a lot for us. We never felt that we had a lot of breaks but we worked really hard through the week so it’s fair to say that the guys carried me through the week as I had my head down.”

Luna Rossa, the winner of Act 2 in Qingdao, China, got back into the frame over the last two days of the five-day event and were in contention for the podium but it was not be the Italian’s turn this time, finishing in 4th place overall ahead of the all-French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild by a mere two points.

Alinghi came back strongly in Act 4 to climb from 9th on the opening day to finish 6th overall ahead by just three points of Red Bull Extreme Sailing. This was one of the tightest overall leaderboards in the history of the event, with the top seven teams all vying for podium positions on the final day.

Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series at Fan Pier in Boston has been a huge success with the US crowds turning out in force to be enjoy the Extreme Sailing Series and 49er racing, won by Jonathan Goldsberry and Charlie Smythe, and the awesome stunts by the Red Bull Air Force skydivers. Boston host venue partner, the Fallon Company CEO & President, Joe Fallon, pulled out all the stops: “I am thrilled about the response we have had from everyone,” said Joe. “So many people have told me – I hope everyone comes back for the action next year.” The official charity, Courageous Sailing, and the strong contingent of volunteers supported the event with huge enthusiasm.

An additional bonus for Emirates Team New Zealand is that they have also taken over the 2011 overall series lead from Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Next stop on the international nine-stop Extreme Sailing Series circuit is the UK, at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week in just four weeks time.

The Kiwi team has a lot to celebrate tonight and the whole of Boston and the USA will be joining them!

Extreme Sailing Series Act 4 at Fan Pier Boston, USA
Current overall standings after 37 races, Day 5 (4.7.11)

Position / Team / Skipper & crew / Points
1st Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / James Dagg / Jeremy Lomas 293 points
2nd Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant 289 points
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 269 points
4th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 262 points
5th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 260 points
6th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 251 points
7th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 248 points
8th Oman Air (OMA), Sidney Gavignet / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 198 points
9th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Mark Bulkeley / Daniele de Luca Simone de Mari 172 points
10th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mark Ivey / Andrew Walsh / Jono Macbeth 137 points
11th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Bruno Dubois / Sebbe Godefroid / Bob Merrick 126 points

[mpowlison]

Big Extreme 40 Action Expected for Act 5 Starting Tomorrow

(August 5, 2011) In Brief:
- Big Extreme 40 action anticipated with strong winds forecast for the seven days of ‘Stadium Sailing’ for Act 5 from Cowes
- Watch all the action live online via LiveTV multi-camera production (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) or the fixed WEBcam (Saturday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday).**** Also available to iPhone, iTouch and iPad users
- Extreme Sailing Series™ app: download and send in your Fan Pictures from Cowes
- Oman Air Trimmer David “Freddie” Carr gives an up close and personal look around what it takes to be a Trimmer onboard an Extreme 40. “This is the amazing sailing …. I can’t see why you’d want to do anything else!”. Click here to watch the video.

In full:
Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ is ready to deliver… top pro sailing talent from 15 nations, 12 Extreme 40s and plenty of breeze – perfect for this adrenalin-fuelled Stadium sailing circuit. Starting tomorrow at 1500 BST, Saturday 6 August, the Extreme 40s will, once again, be one of the headline acts of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week.**** ‘Home-grown’ skipper, Leigh McMillan, The Wave, Muscat: “I grew up on the Isle of Wight and Cowes is my home town so it is going to be really exciting to be there. Cowes Week always has some extreme conditions to offer with the tide and good breeze. It’s going to be absolutely epic!”

Act 5 marks the halfway stage of the 2011 global circuit and this event could prove to be the most challenge since China. Alberto Barovier (Niceforyou) is expecting a tough week: “Seven days of racing is going to be physically hard work, especially in these kinds of conditions… There is always 15 plus or 20 plus winds with gusts to 30. So it will be hard, really hard and we are not used to sailing in this kind of breeze since the second event in Qingdao.”

The Extreme Race Village at Egypt Point will open to the public at 11am each morning with music, food and drink concessions, a viewing grandstand, commentary team and a public bar, it is the ideal place to watch the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week racing.**** “It is really good to be close to the crowd and sometimes you can hear them when they cheer for you, so it is really fantastic and especially here with so many people on the shore along where we sail. It’s perfect!” said Roman Hagara, skipper of Red Bull Extreme Sailing.

British Windsurf Champion, Guy Cribb, has challenged an Extreme 40 to a speed duel on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And two 49er teams from Britain and Malta will be showcasing why this dinghy is one of the most popular Olympic classes.****

There will be two live streams to follow. On Saturday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday (6, 10, 11, 12 August) watch via the WEBcam by searching for: esswebcam and on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday watch the enchanced LiveTV coverage through esslivetv

Skipper/Helmsman Quotes:
Pierre Pennec, Skipper of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
“I really want to enjoy it… It's a difficult racing area here, with a lot of current and a lot of wind forecast. It will be a long week so really physically demanding for the crews. It will be mentally challenging as well for us but I’m happy to sail again in Cowes . I did the event twice already but as trimmer so this time it should be easier for the arms but harder for the brain. It should be once again very intensive !"

Yann Guichard, Helm of Alinghi:
“I am a bit disappointed for the beginning of the year. This is the fifth event and the result is not what I hoped for. We had a big de-briefing after Boston and now I am confident for this event. We’ll change nothing onboard, but at the moment we are missing a lot of things, sometimes the starts, sometimes the mix onboard isn’t quite right, every time it isn’t perfect, so we have to work on that, but we are making some progress so we will see.”

Roland Gaebler, Skipper of Team Extreme
“This is the first time I have sailed here. I’ve been sailing for 30 years and I have missed this spot, one of the most famous sailing spots. We have a complete new team, so it is a big challenge to get it together. This is the first time I’m racing on an Extreme 40 with my wife. A new challenge for us! She’s doing the mainsheet and traveler and already she did it very well for us in the strong winds so I think everything goes fine.**** Looking to the future, we work very hard for the comeback of the multihull in the Olympic programme We are maybe one of the oldest and one of the most experienced and it is a dream we would like to do as a pair, for sure.”

Santi Lange, skipper of Artemis
“We are new sailing together, so our expectation is to perform well. Our main competitors are ourselves, we want to perform at our highest level and I think we can and we should do it. We aren’t that used to sailing in front of the public. We have the medal races at the Olympics which are a bit similar to this, short course racing. It is nice for the sport [to have the public so close] and it looks like the direction the sport is going so we have to learn this type of racing. The America’s Cup is going in this direction, the Extreme Sailing Series has done it for a long time, the medal races in the Olympics as well, it looks like this is the new type of sailing and it looks to me that it is good for the sport.”

[mpowlison]

Action Ramps Up on Day 1 of Act 5 as Breeze Kicks In

(August 6, 2011) Day 1 of Stadium Sailing action at the Extreme Sailing Series™ at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week kicked off with plenty of bow-down action, near pitch-poles and close calls in the final race, thrilling the crowds. The breeze increased to 20 knots by late afternoon, and the crowds were treated to four races on the first of seven days of Extreme 40 racing – the final race being a small taste of what is to come over the next couple of days when the wind forecasted to be even stronger.

French team Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were slick in their operation and sit at the top of the leaderboard after Day 1 just 1 point ahead of the Italian entry, Luna Rossa. British helm Paul Campbell-James of Luna Rossa, was the winner here in Cowes in 2010, and today put his local knowledge to good use: “We had a good day,” said Paul. “We always pushed to go slightly further in for tactical reasons, and you can hear the oohs and the ahhs of the crowd when you are actually only 20 metres away from them... You get the odd shout when you go past, the odd odd boo when the French team go past. It’s wicked!”

The action was tight with the 12 Extreme 40s fighting for space around the two-lap courses with bearaways at the top-mark delivering plenty of jaw-dropping action and multiple waving of protest flags as the referees whistle rang out across the water: “It is so tight in this breeze,” said Leigh McMillan, skipper The Wave, Muscat. “Because we are going so fast, the closing speeds happen so quickly. We do everything possible to try to keep track of all the boats on the course so you know where the dangers are but sometimes you are taken by surprise. It is scary in between races because you know you have another one coming. But as soon as that gun goes the adrenaline is absolutely pumping and you focus on keeping the boat upright and overtaking boats. It all happens in a bit of a blur to be honest and you get to the end of a race and you think, ‘how did that just happen?’!”

A compulsory mainsail reef and no gennakers was imposed by the Race Control before the start of race 4 as wind speeds hit 20 knots with gusts over 25.

In between racing the crowds and VIP spectators were treated to a show of other stadium sailing Extreme style… Benji Borg and Seb Ripard from Maltan and Britain’s Simon Mark and Nick Murray went into close combat for a couple of hours as they raced their Olympic class 49ers pre-Extreme 40s. And British windsurfing champion Guy Cribb challenged Oman Air to a spectacular head to head at the end of the day. Enthralling stuff and plenty more to come over the coming days as Act 5 starts to ramp up.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week
Current overall standings after 4 races, Day 1 (6.8.11)

Position / Team / Skipper & crew / Points

1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 43 points
2nd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 42 points
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 34 points
4th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Luke Cross 33 points
5th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 28 points
6th Artemis Racing (SWE), Santiago Lange / Andy Fethers / Michele Ivaldi / Phil Jameson 27 points
7th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemskerk / Andrew Walsh / Jono Macbeth 27 points
8th Oman Air (OMA), Sidney Gavignet / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 24 points
9th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele de Luca / Simone de Mari 19 points
10th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Richard Meacham / Andrew McLean / Chris Ward 19 points
11th Aberdeen Asset Management (GBR) John Pink / Rick Peacock, Greg Bowman, John Gimson 12 points
12th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Dan Morris / Benedikt Wenk

[mpowlison]

Artemis Racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild in race-ending crash on day 2 of Act 5

(August 7, 2011) In the fourth race on the second day of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 from Cowes, France’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild ploughed into Sweden’s Artemis Racing at the top mark resulting in severe damage to both boats – bad enough to end their racing for the day. A busy night in the pitlanes is expected to get them racing again tomorrow.

The breezy conditions on the second day of Act 5, with 20-25 knots steady breeze with bigger gusts earlier in the day, the 12-boat fleet was split into two groups of 6 and raced with reefed mainsails and no gennakers. The first group raced three races and the action was pretty spectacular as the Extreme 40 crews manhandled their boats around the tight stadium racecourse off Egypt Point, Cowes. It was in the first race for the second group that the collision happened between Artemis Racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Artemis Racing, helmed by Santiago Lange, tacked in for the top mark on to starboard in front of Groupe Edmond to Rothschild, who were on port. Artemis Racing went through the tack and Pierre Pennec attempted to bear away around her stern, but the boats crashed – two of the French crew were thrown into the water. The impact was heard by thousands of spectators along the shore – a record crowd in the history of the event - who have been experiencing amazing close up Stadium Racing all afternoon. As a matter of course, the jury will hold a hearing in the morning.

It is the two British helmsman of Paul Campbell-James (Luna Rossa) and Leigh McMillan (The Wave, Muscat) who are sitting pretty at the top of the overall leaderboard tonight, clearly using their knowledge of ‘home’ waters to the best of their abilities (check out video below). Despite missing three races this afternoon, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild are still in third place. The Swiss team of Alinghi, Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing and Team GAC Pindar, skippered by Britain’s Ian Williams, are all tied on 42 points.

Tomorrow the forecast is still breezy – 17-21 knots, gusts peaking at 27-30 and the Extreme LiveTV continues tomorrow. A full multi-cameraman production and running commentary.


Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week
Current overall standings after 10 races, Day 2 (7.8.11)
Position / Team / Skipper & crew / Points

1st Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 60 points
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 51 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 43 points
4th Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 42 points
5th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Luke Cross 42 points
6th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemskerk / Andrew Walsh / Jono Macbeth 42 points
7th Oman Air (OMA), Sidney Gavignet / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 33 points
8th Artemis Racing (SWE), Santiago Lange / Andy Fethers / Michele Ivaldi / Phil Jameson 27 points
9th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Richard Meacham / Andrew McLean / Chris Ward 26 points
10th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele de Luca / Simone de Mari 24 points
11th Aberdeen Asset Management (GBR) John Pink / Rick Peacock, Greg Homann / John Gimson 23 points
12th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Benedikt Wenk / Dan Morris 12 points