23.06.2007
iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series 2007:
iShares Cup, Munich, 25-27 May
iShares Cup, Marseille, 7-9 July
iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week, 3-5 Aug
iShares Cup, Amsterdam, 14-16 Sept
iShares Endurance Races 2007:
Bol d'Or Mirabaud, Geneva 15-16 June
JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, Cowes 22-23 June
CentoMiglia, Lake Garda 7-8 Sept
JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
Ellen MacArthur takes overall line honours in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
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JPMorgan Asset Management, skippered by Dame Ellen MacArthur wins the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
© onEdition http://www.onEdition.com/
Hitting speeds of close to 30 knots the Extreme 40 JPMorgan Asset Management helmed by Ellen MacArthur took line honours in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race today after 4 hours and 6 minutes of full-on racing. Fifty seconds, at 0916 BST later, the Extreme 40 ABN AMRO slipped across the line making it a one, two for this exciting 40-ft catamaran class who are competing in the event as one of the iShares Endurance Races in the iShares Cup Extreme 40 series. Nick Moloney's Offshore Challenges Sailing Team, had to officially retire having received outside support during a man-over-board incident, finished seven minutes later crossing the line in fourth as Mike Slade's brand new 100-ft monohull ICAP Leopard, which scuppered the potential Extreme 40 hat-trick by squeezing across the finish line 54 seconds before in third place.
"What an incredible race and what an amazing event to be a part of," said Ellen MacArthur. "My index goal being here was to help raise money for the Ellen MacArthur Trust, but to win the line honours as well was fantastic.
"It was an exhilarating race for the Extreme 40 crew and we had everything thrown at us. Three-metre high waves and a gusty 12-17 knot winds on the south side of the island were almost too strong for us but the Extreme 40s coped fantastically. They are designed for inshore racing but today we were pretty much offshore and thank goodness everything held together for the team."
"It will be great to have these boats back here in early August for the penultimate iShares Cup event at Skandia Cowes Week when the public can get a closer look at them when they race off the Green by the Royal Yacht Squadron."
While Ellen MacArthur and skipper of ABN AMRO Jonnie Hutchcroft had a relatively smooth race, Offshore Challenges Sailing Team had a bumpier run round the island, facing a series of problems with the drama unfolding even before the Royal Yacht Squadron start line. "We had some great sailing today, but the problems were really stressful. It was definitely the most adventurous three hours I have ever spent on a boat, hitting 26 knots on the backside of the island," said skipper Nick Moloney.
At 0510 hours the Extreme 40s were off the start line with JPMorgan Asset Management and ABN AMRO clearing the line ahead of Basilica while Offshore Challenges Sailing Team were suffering from hydraulic problems and were late for the start-gun.
With the 55-mile race underway and the 1753-boat fleet heading west out of the Solent towards the west, the four Extreme 40 boats approached the iconic Needles in building wind and lumpy seas. Three of the boats made the call to round the Needles, whilst Basilica who had suffered damage to her boat the day before, turned back, officially retiring from the race. Basilica helmsman, James Grant explained: "We got to the Needles and had to make a decision. It was rough, the wind was gusting and so we decided to pull back. Mostly we wanted to protect the boat for the upcoming iShares Cup event in Marseille that is the focus of our sailing season, and we decided that we would do this best by turning round. At the end of the day we're disappointed that we didn't go the full way around but are thrilled that the Extreme 40s have had such a successful run and shown everyone what incredible boats they are."
The three reindexing boats pushed on, rounding the western point of the island and tackled the 4-6 foot swells head on with Offshore Challenges Sailing Team feeling the pressure. "We had an unfortunate scenario just after the Needles when three big waves caught the boat and Charlie Darbyshire was knocked off balance," recounted Moloney. "He managed to grab the traveller and he was half in, half out and being dragged along in the water. Our support RIB was a couple of metres away so he let go and was picked up by the RIB. We stopped the boat and he got back on and I reckon in total he was probably in the water for just 10-15 seconds, but it's always stressful when you have a man overboard situation."
Once recovered Offshore Challenges Sailing Team put the pedal to the metal and were the first boat to unfurl their huge gennaker on the downwind section of the course along the south-side of the island. An incredibly close race between the three Extreme 40s ensued with little distance separating the boats as they closed in on the 100-foot monohull ICAP Leopard. Just after the halfway mark of the course off St. Catherine's Point, the three Extreme 40s overtook ICAP Leopard with JPMorgan Asset Management pulling ahead first with ABN AMRO in tow.
At Bembridge, Offshore Challenges Sailing Team ran into further trouble, suffering damage to their port rudder: "We had two guys hanging off the back of the boat and two guys pushing down on the rudder to get it back down and eventually we hit a big gust, the hull popped up and we were able to slam the rudder back down, only to quickly run aground minutes later at Ryde," said Moloney.
The success and drama of the Extreme 40 fleet today underpin the excitement of this burgeoning class: "It was just awesome," said iShares Cup Racing Manager, Alan Hillman. "Today we have seen how the Extreme 40s, built for inshore racing, can hold their own on a long-distance course. It's great that this iShares Endurance Race has been a success and has given these racing thoroughbreds the opportunity to step away from their index discipline of short course racing and prove we can hold our own in these marathon events. We didn't know what conditions to expect when the boats turned the corner at the Needles but the sailors handled the conditions brilliantly and had a bit of fun along the way. What a race and what a result to reach the finish line first, ahead of pre-race favourite ICAP Leopard which at 100-foot and over 30 crew on the rail, dwarfs our four-man 40-foot racing machines!"
It is expected that over £20,000 will be raised today for the Ellen MacArthur Trust, one of four preferred charities for the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race. Ellen MacArthur, Patron of the Trust said: "We had three Trust boats going around today as well as our own. Two of them had five children onboard and one boat was crewed by Dan Monk and Katie Miller who recently sailed around Britain all on her own. This is a fantastic event for the Trust as everyone gets a chance to pitch in and sail, has loads of fun in the knowledge that more funds are being raised to continue the Trusts work."
The final overall positions for the race will not be decided until the bulk of the 1753-boat fleet have finished the 55-mile course. Results can be found at www.roundtheisland.org.uk http://www.roundtheisland.org.uk
To follow the Extreme 40 Sailing Series visit the official event website www.iSharesCup.com http://www.isharescup.com
To donate money to the Ellen MacArthur Trust or to sponsor one of the Trust boats competing in the JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, please visit www.justgiving.com/EllenMacArthurTrust http://www.justgiving.com/EllenMacArthurTrust
For further media information please contact:
PR and Media Relations
Emily Caroe
Emily@ocevents.org
Mobile: +44 (0)7785 565929
Event Communications
Myrrh Walker
myrrh@ocevents.org
Telephone: +44 (0)870 063 0218
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