Madeira Islands 2016 - Day three - Red Bull Sailing Team

Extreme 40 Sailing Series Madeira 23.06.2017

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23/06/17

Extreme Sailing Series™ returns to the beautiful Madeira Islands

After a successful debut Act in 2016, the Extreme Sailing Series™ is ready to return to Madeira Islands for the third round of the 2017 season.

The fleet of seven super-fast GC32 catamarans, including wildcard Team Extreme skippered by Portugal’s Olympic sailor Mariana Lobato, will race off the coast of the island’s capital, Funchal, from 29 June – 2 July.

Alongside the main GC32 Stadium Racing action, for the first time in the Series‘ history, the Flying Phantom Series will take flight as part of the on-water line-up, promising a festival of foiling for locals and tourists that is not to be missed. Twelve two-man teams will compete in the first stage of their 2017 season, which will continue at each of the European Extreme Sailing Series Acts throughout the year.

The Extreme Sailing Series crews return to the field of battle following a two-month break since Act 2, Qingdao, China, where 2016 Swiss champion Alinghi took the regatta win and leap-frogged SAP Extreme Sailing Team to take the overall season lead. With the likelihood of some tactically testing lighter conditions in Madeira, Alinghi should benefit from its experience on Lake Geneva.

„I think it is easy for us to sail in light wind conditions because we do most of our sailing in less than 10 knots on the lake in Geneva,“ said co-skipper and helm, Arnaud Psarofaghis, who helmed Alinghi to its seventh Bol d’Or regatta victory last weekend.

„We feel really confident that we can win the Act again this year but it’s going to be a great battle. We need to be stronger than before because the other teams have started catching up,“ added Psarofaghis, whose squad defied the odds at this venue last season, claiming victory despite a dismasting due to a collision with Red Bull Sailing Team.

Qingdao saw the two youngest crews, Land Rover BAR Academy and NZ Extreme Sailing Team, starting to shake things up. The British squad, who claimed their best result to date with a second, will return fresh from a win in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda.

„There is no training like racing and we have seen some quite light and changeable conditions here in Bermuda so this could be quite similar to what we might face in Madeira,“ said skipper and bowman Rob Bunce, whose team finished in sixth place at the Portuguese venue last season.

„We have got a bigger bank of knowledge and experience a year on, so we will be pushing for a good result,“ added a confident Bunce, whose crew line-up includes a new addition for Madeira, Matt Brushwood, and sees Owen Bowerman return to the helm.

With the on-shore support of multihull legend Mike Drummond as coach, and the recent successes of Emirates Team New Zealand in the America’s Cup to spur them on, NZ Extreme Sailing Team could be set to achieve great things. However, with light to moderate breeze forecast, co-skipper and mainsail trimmer, Graeme Sutherland, is also aware of the difficulties his team will face.

„Fast and foiling is where we have excelled in the previous events so lighter conditions will be a challenge for us, as they are for all teams,“ explained Sutherland, whose crew line-up features three new faces; Harry Hull, Aaron Hume-Merry and Olympic medallist Sam Meech. „Boat speed and mode changing is going to be a bigger factor at this event and these are the areas we will be focussing on.“

Groupama Team France’s America’s Cup back-up helmsman, Adam Minoprio, will return to the helm of SAP Extreme Sailing Team for the third stage of the year-long contest, having helmed the team to victory in the first stage in Muscat. The roster also includes a change in bowman to Minoprio’s Groupama teammate, Nicolas Heintz.

The Danish-flagged crew currently rank second in the overall standings, one point ahead of third-placed Oman Air and four ahead of fifth-placed Red Bull Sailing Team.

The regular crews will be joined by Portuguese-flagged wildcard Team Extreme. Female Skipper Mariana Lobato, who competed in the 2012 Olympics, will be joined by Team SCA crew member Élodie Mettraux. Both sailors raced on board the all-female wildcard Thalassa Magenta Racing in Lisbon last season.

Paulo Manso, who is from Madeira Islands, will also join the team to compete on his home waters. Manso was part of the Portuguese-flagged ROFF Cascais Sailing Team that came third in the first edition of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013.

Kiwi sailor Olivia Mackay will helm the boat, with her regular teammate Micah Wilkinson by her side on mainsail trim. Together the pair won the 2016 Red Bull Foiling Generation. Owen Siese and Peter Dill, who just days ago competed on home waters for TeamBDA in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, will be the first Bermudians ever to race in the Extreme Sailing Series. With more than two females in the crew line-up the rules allow the team to have a total of six sailors on board, one more than its rivals.

Racing begins at 14:00 (UTC+1) on Thursday 29 June and fans can follow the action online via the live website blog and social media channels. Racing will be streamed live on the official Facebook and YouTube channels on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July.

The free entry Race Village is located at Pier 8, in the Bay of Funchal, and will provide a whole host of entertainment throughout the day, as well as offering front row seats for the racing. For more information on the event schedule and how you can follow the action, visit the official event page.

For those looking for a more unique experience, the Extreme Sailing Series offers a range of VIP packages, which include the opportunity to race on board a GC32 catamaran. More information can be found on the VIP tickets page.

Crew line-up for Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 3, Madeira Islands

Alinghi (SUI)
Co-skipper/helm: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI)
Tactician/mainsail trimmer: Nicolas Charbonnier (FRA)
Headsail Trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI)
Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI)
Floater/foil trimmer: Timothé Lapauw (FRA)

Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR)
Skipper/bowman: Rob Bunce (GBR)
Helm: Owen Bowerman (GBR)
Mainsail trimmer: Will Alloway (GBR)
Headsail trimmer: Oli Greber (GBR)
Floater: Adam Kay (GBR)/Matt Brushwood (GBR)

NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL)
Co-skipper/helm: Chris Steele (NZL)
Co-skipper/mainsail trimmer: Graeme Sutherland (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Harry Hull (NZL)
Foil trimmer: Josh Salthouse (NZL)
Bowman: Aaron Hume-Merry (NZL)/Sam Meech (NZL)

Oman Air (OMA)
Skipper/helm: Phil Robertson (NZL)
Mainsail trimmer: Pete Greenhalgh (GBR)
Headsail trimmer: Ed Smyth (NZL)
Bowman: James Wierzbowski (AUS)
Bowman: Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)

Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT)
Skipper/helm: Roman Hagara (AUT)
Tactician: Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT)
Mainsail trimmer: Stewart Dodson (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Adam Piggott (GBR)
Bowman: Will Tiller (NZL)

SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN)
Co-skipper/coach: Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN)
Co-skipper/tactician/mainsail trimmer: Rasmus Køstner (DEN)
Helm: Adam Minoprio (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Pierluigi de Felice (ITA)
Bowman: Nicolas Heintz (FRA)
Trim assist/grinder: Mads Emil Stephensen (DEN)

Team Extreme (POR) – Wildcard
Skipper: Mariana Lobato (POR)
Helm: Olivia Mackay (NZL)
Mainsail trimmer: Micah Wilkinson (NZL)
Trimmer: Owen Siese (BER)
Bow: Élodie Mettraux (SUI)
Foil trimmer: Peter Dill (BER)
Floater: Paulo Manso (POR)

Land Rover BAR Academy celebrates its groundbreaking win

Extreme Sailing Series 22.06.2017

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22/06/17

Extreme Sailing Series™ sailors outshine competition in Red Bull Youth America’s Cup

Land Rover BAR Academy’s superb win for Great Britain in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda yesterday has rightly been praised by the sailing world, but nowhere more so than at OC Sport, the founder and organiser of the Extreme Sailing Series™.

The Land Rover BAR Academy squad, led by skipper Rob Bunce, pulled off a dramatic last gasp victory to beat New Zealand and Switzerland to the title. Bunce’s squad has been racing in the Extreme Sailing Series for the past two seasons and the experience it has gained in super-fast foiling catamarans has undoubtedly helped propel it to the title in Bermuda.

„Although the boats appear very different, they are actually sailed in very much the same way,“ said Bunce, who acknowledged that the similarities between the Cup and the Extreme Sailing Series had helped his team get ahead of the game in Bermuda.

„The tight race courses and challenging venues of the Extreme Sailing Series mean that boat handling and decision making has to be spot on. I think the high-pressured environment it creates has put this team in very good stead,“ he added.

Extreme Sailing Series Event Director, Andy Tourell congratulated Bunce and his team. „Rob and his crew sailed a great regatta and we are absolutely delighted for them,“ he said.

Tourell added: „If you look at the teams that rose to the top in Bermuda over the past two weeks, they are the ones who have experience in our Series. That experience has given them invaluable skills in a professional racing circuit, where they have raced against some of the world’s best. The Extreme Sailing Series is the only sailing platform around that gives sailors the opportunity to test their skills with so much racing.“

The Extreme Sailing Series can see up to 40 races completed at each of the four-day Acts, meaning the sailors often compete in more races in just one day than are run across entire regattas.

„Whilst we have stretched the courses to optimise the performance profile of the GC32s, facilitating speeds of close to 40 knots, the tight, fast-paced Stadium Racing format still tests and allows the crews to hone their split-second decision making, faultless team dynamics and seamless manoeuvres, all things that are absolutely vital for success,“ explained Tourell

„The pressure is so great, which is ultimately what has enabled these sailors to develop their skills to be in the best position going into the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup,“ he added.

The Brits were not the only squad showcasing their prowess and finely-tuned skills on the Great Sound in Bermuda. The two other podium finishers also featured faces who at various times have competed in the Extreme Sailing Series.

Five of the eight sailors in the NZL Sailing Team squad had formed the team of the same name that competed as a wildcard in the first Act of the Extreme Sailing Series in Muscat earlier this year, as did Swiss-flagged Team Tilt. Overall a total of 26 of the sailors have previously raced in the Extreme Sailing Series and many of them are now on their way to Madeira Islands to compete on board the GC32s next week.

Another familiar face on the Kiwi team was Stewart Dodson, who has been a regular at the Extreme Sailing Series since 2013. Dodson currently competes for Red Bull Sailing Team alongside the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup’s inventors and Sports Directors, Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, one of the Series‘ most experienced and long-standing teams.

The Extreme Sailing Series racing resumes at 14:00 on Thursday 29 June, when the fleet of seven international teams take to the water off the coast of the Madeira Islands capital, Funchal, for Act 3.

Spectators can watch for free from the public Race Village located at Pier 8, Marina Funchal, and fans across the globe can follow via the live blog. Racing will be streamed live from 14:00 – 17:00 on 1 and 2 July on the official Series‘ Facebook and YouTube.

 

 

Extreme Sailing Series 22.06.2017

/in /von

 

22/06/17

Extreme Sailing Series™ sailors outshine competition in Red Bull Youth America’s Cup

Land Rover BAR Academy’s superb win for Great Britain in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda yesterday has rightly been praised by the sailing world, but nowhere more so than at OC Sport, the founder and organiser of the Extreme Sailing Series™.

The Land Rover BAR Academy squad, led by skipper Rob Bunce, pulled off a dramatic last gasp victory to beat New Zealand and Switzerland to the title. Bunce’s squad has been racing in the Extreme Sailing Series for the past two seasons and the experience it has gained in super-fast foiling catamarans has undoubtedly helped propel it to the title in Bermuda.

„Although the boats appear very different, they are actually sailed in very much the same way,“ said Bunce, who acknowledged that the similarities between the Cup and the Extreme Sailing Series had helped his team get ahead of the game in Bermuda.

„The tight race courses and challenging venues of the Extreme Sailing Series mean that boat handling and decision making has to be spot on. I think the high-pressured environment it creates has put this team in very good stead,“ he added.

Extreme Sailing Series Event Director, Andy Tourell congratulated Bunce and his team. „Rob and his crew sailed a great regatta and we are absolutely delighted for them,“ he said.

Tourell added: „If you look at the teams that rose to the top in Bermuda over the past two weeks, they are the ones who have experience in our Series. That experience has given them invaluable skills in a professional racing circuit, where they have raced against some of the world’s best. The Extreme Sailing Series is the only sailing platform around that gives sailors the opportunity to test their skills with so much racing.“

The Extreme Sailing Series can see up to 40 races completed at each of the four-day Acts, meaning the sailors often compete in more races in just one day than are run across entire regattas.

„Whilst we have stretched the courses to optimise the performance profile of the GC32s, facilitating speeds of close to 40 knots, the tight, fast-paced Stadium Racing format still tests and allows the crews to hone their split-second decision making, faultless team dynamics and seamless manoeuvres, all things that are absolutely vital for success,“ explained Tourell

„The pressure is so great, which is ultimately what has enabled these sailors to develop their skills to be in the best position going into the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup,“ he added.

The Brits were not the only squad showcasing their prowess and finely-tuned skills on the Great Sound in Bermuda. The two other podium finishers also featured faces who at various times have competed in the Extreme Sailing Series.

Five of the eight sailors in the NZL Sailing Team squad had formed the team of the same name that competed as a wildcard in the first Act of the Extreme Sailing Series in Muscat earlier this year, as did Swiss-flagged Team Tilt. Overall a total of 26 of the sailors have previously raced in the Extreme Sailing Series and many of them are now on their way to Madeira Islands to compete on board the GC32s next week.

Another familiar face on the Kiwi team was Stewart Dodson, who has been a regular at the Extreme Sailing Series since 2013. Dodson currently competes for Red Bull Sailing Team alongside the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup’s inventors and Sports Directors, Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, one of the Series‘ most experienced and long-standing teams.

The Extreme Sailing Series racing resumes at 14:00 on Thursday 29 June, when the fleet of seven international teams take to the water off the coast of the Madeira Islands capital, Funchal, for Act 3.

Spectators can watch for free from the public Race Village located at Pier 8, Marina Funchal, and fans across the globe can follow via the live blog. Racing will be streamed live from 14:00 – 17:00 on 1 and 2 July on the official Series‘ Facebook and YouTube.

 

 

Palmarina

Extreme40 Sailing Series 2017

/in /von

08.05.2017

www.extremesailingseries.com –

Extreme Sailing Series™ announces partnership with Palmarina

The Extreme Sailing Series™ today announced premium Turkish superyacht marina, Palmarina, as an Official Supplier.
Located in Yalikavak, on Turkey’s Bodrum Peninsula, Palmarina also becomes an Official Partner to the Flying Phantom Series, which takes place at the European Extreme Sailing Series regattas, broadening the offering to fans, media and commercial partners by diversifying the on-water action.
Andy Tourell, Event Director of the Extreme Sailing Series at founding organiser OC Sport, welcomed the partnership for the world’s pioneering Stadium Racing Series.
„We are thrilled to announce this new partnership with Palmarina,“ said Tourell. „The Extreme Sailing Series has a long association with Turkey, having hosted events there in the past on the iconic Bosphorus strait, and I am excited to see this relationship develop.“Palmarina is Turkey’s first mega-yacht and giga-yacht marina, and it provides a host of entertainment, restaurants, shopping and boutique hotels for its guests.
Derya Akyuz, Head of Marketing and PR at Palmarina Group, said: „Palmarina Bodrum is delighted to once again be part of the Extreme Sailing Series after supporting the racing in Istanbul in 2014. We now look forward to supporting the race on a global scale and underlining our commitment and passion for maritime sports.“OC Sport announced its partnership with the Flying Phantom Series in December. The two-man pocket-rocket catamarans have since been added to the hydro-foiling line-ups at Extreme Sailing Series Acts at Madeira Islands, Hamburg, and Cardiff, as well as a fourth European venue, which is yet to be revealed.
With no less than 16 international teams on the start line at each European Act, the Flying Phantom Series brings with it a whole new pool of talent. The partnership is intended to provide a development pathway for this fresh talent, helping them to break into competitive world class sailing, particularly high-performance foiling multihull sailing, benefiting from the Extreme Sailing Series as a global stage to generate exposure.
„Our sponsorship reflects our desire to raise awareness of new, dynamic marine sports that engage the younger generation. They are the future of our industry and we aim to inspire the growth of both local and international talent,“ added Akyuz on the partnership with the Flying Phantom Series.Thomas Normand, Flying Phantom Class President, said: „I am very excited to see Palmarina partner with the Flying Phantom Series. This is the first major sponsorship for the event so it is great that we have teamed up with OC Sport. This season will be incredibly intense with an international fleet of teams from nine nations, a new partnership with Palmarina, and four iconic venues in Europe. Entertainment and drama will be at the forefront of our Series.“
The 2017 season of the Extreme Sailing Series is now well underway, with two of the eight Acts completed in Muscat, Oman, and Qingdao, China. The next Act will take place in Madeira Islands, Portugal, from 29 June – 2 July, and will see the Flying Phantom Series take off, alongside the Stadium Racing Series, for the first time.