Extreme 2011

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A TRULY GLOBAL AFFAIR

Nine host venues across 3 continents

STADIUM SAILING

Extreme Sailing Series Official Magazine - 5th edition

Close combat for the world’s best sailors

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CONTENTS Full on!

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R-Evolution

The Extreme Sailing Series, setting new standards in sports entertainment.

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Valuable asset

David Fuller, editor of YachtSponsorship.com, puts the Extreme Sailing Series™ under commercial scrutiny.

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Meet the skippers

The all-star skipper line-up for 2011.

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In their own words

Skippers, celebrities and journalists give their raw impressions about the Extreme 40 circuit.

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High speed duels Match racing in multihulls? Yes, we did it first and it worked out great.

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Close combat

All you need to know to understand what’s happening on the racecourse in the unique ‘stadium’ format.

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Zoom

Check out some of the best Extreme Sailing Series™ photos.

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The 2011 line-up

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Global tour

The 2011 international venues in detail.

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On the map…

All the teams at a glance.

Where is the Extreme Sailing Series™ 2011 going?

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Skipper interviews Get to know what makes America’s Cup aficionado Dean Barker, defending champion Paul Campbell-James and new ‘young-gun’ Torvar Mirsky tick. Daily Sail Editor James Boyd reveals all.

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Turn up and take off

All you need to know about the Extreme 40 catamaran.

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A wild ride!

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Form guide

BBC Sport correspondent, Rob Hodgetts, on his wild Extreme 40 ride.

James Boyd takes a close look at the forces to be reckoned with this year.

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Creating the event

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Follow the circuit

A full package of entertainment – on and off the water!

Find out how to follow the circuit this year online, on TV or on your mobile device.

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Hitting the red zone

Extreme 40 co-creator Mitch Booth discusses the “crash and burn” nature of the circuit.

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Vital stats

Some vital stats and facts for the 2011 season.

You can follow the latest news at:

extremesailingseries.com Cover photo: Mark Lloyd - www.lloydimages.com Edited by: OC ThirdPole Editor: Lou Newlands Contributors: James Boyd, Rob Hodgetts

and David Fuller Design: Wez Maynard / Sam Freeman Copyright: OC ThirdPole All rights reserved. Published February 2011

Printed by Pindar on stock with a Mixed Sources label supporting the development of responsible forest management worldwide. The wood comes from FSC certified well managed forests, company controlled sources and/or post-consumer reclaimed material.

OFICIAL SERIES PARTNERS

VENUE PARTNERS

The Sailing Seacily

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

© Lloyd Images

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CH A N G I N G T H E WAY S A I L I N G I S S E E N … G L O B A L LY

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Changing the way sailing is seen…globally MORE TOP CL A SS RACING, THE BEST S AILOR S IN T H E WOR LD A N D T H E MOS T E NTERTAINING FORM OF PRO-S AILING – IN A SI A , T H E MIDDLE E A S T, EU ROPE A ND THE US A THE CIRCUIT HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE 2007 WHEN WE HAD JUST FOUR EUROPEAN EVENTS AND FIVE TEAMS. The series now attracts top new sponsored teams (more than our ‘ideal’ eight), professional sailors of 15 different nationalities and, importantly, major new venues where we can showcase the sport with our gamechanging ‘stadium’ format. We are getting closer to the perfect mix of established iconic cities, premium venues, great sailing destinations and emerging markets.

The emerging markets for sailing events are interesting and challenging at the same time – countries where there is no recent culture of sailing but almost always a strong maritime tradition, even if forgotten in recent years. To make sailing entertaining in these markets it has to be different.

White sails moving slowly on the horizon isn’t really a commercially viable spectator sport. A big part of the professional sailing world is based on private owners with hired crews racing at exclusive yacht clubs – it’s a good and important part of the sport. The Extreme Sailing Series proposition is an entertainment-driven approach – whilst maintaining the very highest level of sporting competition. This is the challenge we have chosen for this event since its inception in 2006.

www.extremesailingseries.com

The Extreme Sailing Series aims to be the place to come in the sport for brands, venues and teams wanting to experience and use the sport of sailing to get a solid commercial return. Be it through direct contact with the public, global media coverage, social media fans, or outstanding money-can’t-buy VIP experiential hospitality in outstanding, worldrenowned destinations.

Backed by the sport’s governing body ISAF, and recognised by the sports and sponsorship industry with a number of awards for excellence, the Extreme Sailing Series is leading the sport in to new territories and into a new dimension, putting it in front of new audiences, and pushing the boundaries of rules and tradition. Flattered to be copied by some much larger entities in the sport, we’ll continue to be the mavericks and the innovators.

Our ambition is not to be the biggest in dollar terms – iconic events like the America’s Cup will clearly remain at the top of that pile – but to be the best top level One Design multihull racing (identical boats) the sport has ever had. Best in terms of commercial return on investment for the stakeholders (the venues, the sponsors of the teams and the event, the professional skippers and team leaders). Best in terms of entertainment and experience for the spectators and the online fans. Best, yet not

necessarily the biggest in financial terms.

And we must continue a journey we started in 2010, ensuring the growth in the circuit is accompanied by continual reduction in our energy, waste and water footprint. A process we started in 2010 with ideas such as trying to eliminate throw away plastic water bottles, and a full audit of our footprint. We’ve already worked out a way to fit two Extreme 40s in one container, halving the shipping footprint – these are important long-term investments that aim to reduce our energy spend. This particular race has no finish line, but we’re well in to the course! We will also step up our local campaigns to contribute positively to the local communities we are visiting – partnering with a local charity in each venue.

Maintaining the highest level of sporting integrity is key for us and recently taking control of the Extreme 40 Class has allowed us to also develop the rules of both event and boats in unison, to ensure a more equal chance to win and also to drive down many of the costs for the teams. An ongoing major investment in on-water umpiring will help us manage a 2011 series that will be the most hotly contested yet.

Finally, a big thank you to the many stakeholders that are an important part of the Extreme Sailing Series family – sponsors, host venue partners, sailors, suppliers, the media and the public – who all make this circuit so special. And, last but not least, the hard-working OC ThirdPole organisation team behind the scenes who make it happen, under pressure, time and time again!

Mark Turner Executive Chairman, OC ThirdPole

© Th.Martinez / Sea&Co

Leading the way...

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

FULL ON!

© JUERGKAUFMANN.COM

A HANDFULL IN STRONGER BREEZES, THE POWERFUL EX TREME 40 REQUIRES EXPERT HANDLING.

www.extremesailingseries.com

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R-EVOL U T I O N

ABOUT THE EXTREME SAILING SERIES™

R-EVOLUTION

Now in its fifth season, the Extreme 40 catamaran fleet’s adrenalin-fuelled global series has given sailing a healthy dust-off. Bringing the action to the public, putting guests at the heart of the competition and dramatically increasing the pace on the water, the creators of the Extreme Sailing Series™ have set new standards, both in terms of sporting integrity and entertainment.

Booth, with the aim of providing the international sailing

It’s a sport, helming state-of-the-art multihulls on very demanding courses and the most respected skippers are lining up to do just that, competing so fiercely that heartstopping close encounters always feature on the menu.

And it’s great entertainment as the public has full access to the ‘stadium’ action from the shore, in carefully chosen venues combining challenging sailing conditions and spectator-friendly stadiums. It’s a VIP experience, and ‘hot seats’ are available onboard. A fifth man is able to join the four-man crew in order to get a firsthand experience and feel the excitement.

Not willing to compromise, the organiser of the circuit has created a formula where serious competition and spectacle go hand in hand. The rapid success of the circuit is proving how well balanced the recipe is. In four seasons, the Extreme Sailing Series has become a benchmark in the sailing world, steadily growing and attracting the biggest names in the sport whilst proving to be an extremely efficient partnership opportunity in these uncertain economic times.

arena with a visually stunning and 100% performance-

© Lloyd Images

T HO S E M A GNIF IC E N T M E N . . .

focused multihull. Flying a hull in as little as 8 knots of breeze (9mph / 15kmh), the 40-foot (12m) long carbon speed machine does not only require coordination and finesse, but also muscular power from the crews who battle it out on short courses during races that do not exceed 20 minutes – and there can be up to eight of them per day!

Tricky wind conditions combined with a high level of competition inevitably lead to some spectacular crashes, capsizes and other hair-raising near misses as previous seasons have proved (see our Zoom photo section on pages 42-53). Logistically, everything is put in place so that teams can resume racing as soon as possible should an incident occur, and the professionalism of the technical support team is clearly comparable to that of Formula 1 squads operating in the pit zone.

A GLOB A L E X P E R IE NC E After four European seasons and a test series in Asia and the Middle East, the creators of the Extreme Sailing Series have now set the stage for a truly global circuit with nine events spanning three continents, over 11 months. In 2011, each Act will generally consist of five days of racing as opposed to four days in 2010, and three in 2009. Each Act will be true to the core aspirations of the Extreme Sailing Series ethos – mixing ‘open-water’ racing with ‘stadium’ shortcourse racing in front of the public, including all the various disciplines and courses used already from fleet racing to match racing, straight line duels and speed trials. A large investment will be made again in the on-water umpiring – essential for ensuring the fans know the results as they

. . . IN T H E IR F LY ING M A C HIN E S

watch, rather than wait for post-event protests.

Capable of reaching speeds usually reserved to motorboats even in medium wind conditions, the Extreme 40 has been designed by Olympic champions Yves Loday and Mitch

Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of the organising company OC ThirdPole, confirmed: “We are committed to

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

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maintaining the highest sporting integrity, as we have done since 2007. Recently taking control of the Extreme 40 Class has allowed us to also develop the rules of both event and boats in unison, to ensure a more equal chance to win, and also drive down many of the costs for the teams. We’ve limited the number of sails each team can have, decreased support costs with a central Tech Zone and team, and are managing all shipping logistics centrally as well as a host of other detail changes that all affect both return on investment for team sponsors, and ensure sporting equality regardless of budget size.”

Further developing the public events side, the organiser has committed to providing an eight-hour mix of entertainment on ‘public’ days. On the water a number of support acts, like the Olympic 49er class, windsurfing and kiteboarding, will build up to the main Extreme 40 headline act. A strong local community and charity campaign in each venue will see children given the chance to get on the water each morning. Wrapped around the on-water competition will be a comprehensive on-shore entertainment programme within the race village, from interactive entertainment to music, alongside bars and food outlets. Music acts will also take centre stage under the Extreme Sailing Series ‘Sailing Remixed’ banner at a number

of the venues. Whether it’s on or off the water, there is no down time and everybody involved in the circuit is committed to keeping the excitement at its maximum – which naturally includes the skippers, whose eagerness to come back to racing Extreme 40s is in itself an indicator of the event’s quality.

Campbell-James as helmsman, with the boat skippered by America’s Cup winning sailor, Max Sirena. Oman Air returns, skippered

by French Volvo Ocean Race veteran Sidney Gavignet; double Olympic gold medalist Roman Hagara enters for the second season with his Red Bull Extreme Sailing team.

A LONG LIN E OF GR E AT M E N

Britain’s Ian Williams, two times winner of the World Match Racing Tour joins Team GAC Pindar; another new Italian entry, Niceforyou, led by Alberto Barovier and 2010 winners, The Wave, Muscat return to defend their title, this time skippered by emerging star Torvar Mirsky.

“We have some of the best sailors in the world”, says Racing Director Gilles Chiorri, “I don’t think there is one sailing discipline that has not been represented on the water since the Extreme Sailing Series was created in 2007, and the best part is that new blood can always hope to achieve a good result.

Of course consistency and experience pay, but with hard work anything is achievable because the game is really open on the water.

The outcome of the competition is rarely determined until the last day of every event, and part of the attractiveness of the circuit, for competitors and for the public alike, is that there is no clear domination by one team, anything can happen and suspense is always on the menu.”

Diversity and quality are once again hallmarks of the Extreme Sailing Series lineup... Two-time runner-up Groupe Edmond de Rothschild returns; new entry Luna Rossa has snapped up last year’s winning skipper Paul

Alinghi returns to the fleet after winning in 2008, skippered by experienced Extreme 40 tactician Tanguy Cariou; Paul Cayard’s Artemis Racing is skippered by American Terry Hutchinson and finally, new to the 2011 circuit will be Team New Zealand, skippered

by Kiwi America’s Cup winner Dean Barker, who experienced Extreme 40 racing for the first time at the final event in Almería last year.

2010 SEASON RESULTS 1. The Wave, Muscat (Paul Campbell-James) 2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Yann Guichard) 3. Ecover Sailing Team (Mike Golding)

2009 SEASON RESULTS 1. Oman Sail Masirah (Pete Cumming) 2. Gitana Extreme Groupe LCF Rothschild (Yann Guichard) 3. Oman Sail Renaissance (Loïck Peyron)

2008 SEASON RESULTS 1. Alinghi (Ed Baird) 2. TEAMORIGIN (Rob Greenhalgh) 3. BT (Nick Moloney)

2007 SEASON RESULTS 1. Basilica (Rob Greenhalgh) 2. Holmatro (Carolijn Brouwer / Andreas Hagara)

www.extremesailingseries.com

© Lloyd Images

3. BT (Nick Moloney)

VALUABLE A$$ET VALUA B L E A S S E T

IN 2011, THE EXTREME SAILING SERIES™ WILL VISIT NINE DISTINCT INTERNATIONAL MARKETS. THE CIRCUIT, WHICH HAS BEEN TRIED AND TESTED OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, IS NOW IN A POSITION TO OFFER GLOBAL EXPOSURE FOR COMPANIES WISHING TO USE THIS EXCITING MARKETING PLATFORM TO ACHIEVE MULTIPLE SPONSORSHIP GOALS. It’s the kind of statement that sits in glossy brochures and proposals and means everything – because every word is true, but also means nothing – because if you swapped the Extreme Sailing Series for another sporting or entertainment sponsorship opportunity, then it would also be true.

Before we get onto things like Return on Investment (ROI) and media value and hospitality opportunities, it’s worth considering another change that has happened recently. The organiser of the event is a leading outdoor sporting and entertainment group – OC ThirdPole.

The company, based in the UK, Switzerland and France but operating worldwide managing events like the Extreme Sailing Series, the Geneva Marathon, the Biathlon World Cup and the new multi-stage Haute Route cycling event, to name just a few, ensures this range of events exposes the

David Fuller, editor of YachtSponsorship.com, the all-encompassing yacht racing and sailing business news website, puts the circuit under commercial scrutiny.

operators of the Extreme Sailing Series to best practise outside the bubble of professional sailing and allows sharing of ideas to make all the properties better.

The Extreme Sailing Series has done all of these things to adapt the product to its various audiences, both business and consumer.

But innovation is not new to the Extreme Sailing Series. From day one, the circuit has been unashamedly open about combining sporting excellence with entertainment.

Multiple formats have been tested.

Rules have been changed. The phrase ‘it can’t be done’ has been met with the response – ‘Why not?’

While the series began as a businessto-business product driven by the title sponsorship of the financial brand iShares, there has always been a focus on making the event attractive to land-based spectators. In 2011 the Extreme Sailing Series will offer even more to the public - because the more people get involved, the better the returns for sponsors and partners. As Executive Chairman of OC ThirdPole, Mark Turner explains: “The B2B experience is enhanced by the fans being there in bigger numbers because the VIPs feel more like VIPs. The B2B experience is enhanced by the media coverage, and media coverage is hard to get from a pure B2B event because the media need to feel there is a big event going on.”

Why not put a guest on the boat during a points scoring race?

Why not run 8 races a day instead of one or two?

Why not combine sailing with music concerts and DJs? Why not run races in the heart of cities right in front of the public?

When it comes to the VIP experience, the Extreme Sailing Series has

© Vincent Curutchet / DPPI

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something no other sport can compete with – the fifth man spot. It’s just not possible for a guest to ride on the same bike as Valentino Rossi in a MotoGP race.

It is unthinkable for a guest to be in the scrum in an international rugby game.

Golf can offer the chance to play alongside the best in the game.

Being able to offer guests the chance to sit onboard the boats during points scoring races is unique. For some, it is an unforgettable chance to ride with their sporting heroes, but perhaps it is the guests who have never been sailing who get the most from the experience.

In a world where the power of peerto-peer recommendation is becoming more important and people are sharing their experiences, often in real-time via the internet, the cumulative word-ofmouth effect of this kind of experience is incredibly powerful.

For some businesses, this ability to interact with a small group of special clients in a unique environment may be enough to justify an investment in the Extreme

Sailing Series. A single deal may pay for the sponsorship several times over. Of course different companies do sponsorship for different reasons and a large part of the ROI calculation is based on traditional measures like media value.

In 2010, Havas Sponsorship Insights conservatively estimated the value of media coverage achieved by the Extreme Sailing Series at €9.5 million. The headline figure was a near 50% increase in the value of media coverage versus the previous year.

The organiser of the Extreme Sailing Series has invested heavily in third-party measurement of its media returns. While some sports operators still claim billions of potential television viewers, OC ThirdPole prefers to be realistic about the numbers.

This kind of openness and transparency might not get the big headlines in the sailing press, but it is welcomed by potential sponsors.

Notable numbers from a detailed report covering five markets in Europe include:

IN A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE WITH A MOBILE PHONE CAN BE A TELEVISION PRODUCER AND GLOBAL AUDIENCES CAN BE REACHED VIA SITES LIKE YOUTUBE, THE MEASUREMENT OF MEDIA VALUE IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE. UNTIL NEW WAYS OF MEASURING THESE NEW-MEDIA PLATFORMS CAN BE AGREED BETWEEN RIGHTS HOLDERS AND SPONSORS, CALCULATIONS ARE STILL BASED ON TELEVISION AND ‘PRESS’.

As a product in five European markets in 2010, the Extreme Sailing Series represented good value for money as a sponsorship investment. The difference in that investment for the addition of extra events in key markets like China and the USA will be small due to efficiencies developed by the organiser through running the series over a sustained 11-month period.

- More than 491 hours of evaluated TV exposure - 529 articles or features evaluated in printed media - 1,547 online articles

If the Extreme Sailing Series was a good deal in 2010, then it is a great deal for 2011 and beyond.

So as the Extreme Sailing Series adds new territories and becomes a global circuit with nine events, the potential for media exposure increases. The organisers is delivering partners a platform that includes VIP hospitality, event activation to fans and spectators and media coverage on traditional and new media.

© Vincent Curutchet / DPPI

© Vincent Curutchet / DPPI

More than 491 hours of TV exposure across news and programming was evaluated alongside €3.7m in print exposure.

www.twitter.com/extremesailing // www.facebook.com/extremesailingseries // www.youtube.com/extremesailingseries

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MEET the

SKIPPERS Terry Hutchinson (USA) / Artemis Racing (SWE) / DOB: 20.05.65

2ND PLACE IS LAST PLACE

A well-known name in sailing and a veteran of three America’s Cup campaigns, Terry is moving on to two hulls with the Exteme Sailing Series as part of Artemis Racing’s preparation for the 34th America’s Cup. He is a past J/24, Farr 40 and IMS world champion and raced alongside Dean Barker as tactician onboard Team New Zealand in defence of the 2007 America’s Cup. In 2008 Terry was awarded the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award in honour of his sailing achievements.

Tanguy Cariou (FRA) / Alinghi (SUI) / DOB: 21.04.73 Tanguy previously raced on the Extreme Sailing Series in 2009 and 2010 with Groupama 40 as tactician. This Olympic sailor has plenty of Extreme 40 experience, and a huge knowledge of how to get these racing machines to go fast! A keen sports enthusiast who likes to travel and experience new cultures, he will enjoy travelling the globe with the Series this year.

Pierre Pennec (FRA) / Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) / DOB: 19.04.77 A true multihull sailor whose first professional race and best sailing achievement were both onboard multihulls, including representing his country at the Sydney Olympics in the Tornado class. His scariest moment was sailing a 49er in over 20 knots of wind, giving him a taste of a certain intensity that he believes makes an Extreme 40 sailor tick. In ‘another life’ he would have loved to have been an astronaut, proving that a keen sense of adventure is mandatory for an Extreme 40 skipper.

GO FOR IT

Max Sirena (ITA) / Luna Rossa (ITA) / DOB: 04.12.71 A four-time America’s Cup veteran, three with Luna Rossa, and most recently with the winning BMW Oracle Racing team, now Defenders of the 34th America’s Cup. A keen TP 52 sailor as well, he will be adapting quickly to the small crew dynamics onboard the Extreme 40 this year. Quick thinking and sharp calls are vital on the racecourse when vying for a podium finish.

Alberto Barovier (ITA) / Niceforyou (ITA) / DOB: 08.05.72 A skipper who identifies himself with the wolf will use this prowess to stalk the competition.

Alberto likes the simplicity of the spectacular one design Extreme 40 and is looking forward to racing with his team which is made up of friends. Being calm whilst racing is one of the traits ‘Albi’ relies on in the midst of stressful competition, and retaining a clear head during racing will, hopefully, help ward off the competition.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST

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Sidney Gavignet (FRA) / Oman Air (OMA) / DOB: 23.12.68 The three top things about the Extreme Sailing Series that attracted Sidney are the successful organisation, the public and its professional nature. Having the racecourse so close to the public, allowing them to sometimes be just meters away, is one of the unique features of this series that inspires skippers to race harder. A family man from Paris, Sidney has competed in four Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Races and set many records, including a new solo Round Britain and Ireland record onboard the 100ft trimaran Oman Air. He is eager to get racing onboard the Extreme 40 Oman Air to see if he can impress in another class.

Roland Gaebler (GER) / Team Extreme (EUR) / DOB: 09.10.64 If he wasn’t a sailor he would be a rock star in the music world! However, listing the top three things about the Extreme Sailing Series as the real Formula 1 of yachting, adrenalin sailing at its best and rock ‘n roll on the water, he still gets his chance to be a rock star!

An eagle on the water, better known as ‘Rolando’, for whom speed is one of the things that makes him tick as an Extreme 40 sailor. A true diplomat when asked which rival team he would like eliminated, he said “we like them all behind us!”

ENJOY LIFE

Roman Hagara (AUT) / Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) / DOB: 30.04.66 Two-time Olympic gold medallist Roman is back for another season of the Extreme Sailing Series hoping to improve on last year’s sixth place. A ‘bull’ on the racecourse, aiming to be the best of the best in the series – his crew are his friends, experienced and focused on winning. Roman collects stones from all over the world as souvenirs of his races and holidays. A keen photographer who loves the adrenalin of the Extreme 40 combined with high-level sailing in front of the crowds that the Series is famed for.

Ian Williams (GBR) / Team GAC Pindar (GBR) / DOB: 26.04.77 A lawyer who decided to give his passion for sailing a shot, he has not looked back since.

Hugely competitive in nature he is looking forward to competing against the best sailors in the world this year on the Extreme Sailing Series circuit. No matter how tough the conditions or the racing, Ian will persevere to the end which makes him a tough rival for the other Extreme 40 skippers. Comparing his team to the Arctic Tern who is peaceful until defending its territory when it will be come ferocious, Ian is sure to be a competitive addition to the circuit this year.

NEVER GIVE UP

Dean Barker (NZL) / Team New Zealand (NZL) / DOB: 06.02.72 This formidable America’s Cup skipper is looking forward to his first full Extreme 40 campaign and the steep learning curve that goes with it. The speed, manoeuvrability and the acceleration are the top aspects of the Extreme 40 boats that he is looking forward to. Having sailed since a child and winning the ISAF Youth World Championships, he has demonstrated a passion for sailing which has seen him competing in the most prestigious races. As skipper of the Emirates Team New Zealand campaign since 2001, the team have enjoyed consecutive victories in the Audi MedCup over the past two seasons.

Torvar Mirsky (AUS) / The Wave, Muscat (OMA) / DOB: 24.05.86 Torvar Mirsky, aka the ‘Russian’ is this year’s youngest skipper. He lists the top three things about the Extreme Sailing Series as fast, fun and furious, and is itching to get out onto the racecourse. Skydiving has been his scariest moment in life so far, so we will see if his answer changes after this year’s Extreme Sailing Series! Competitive in nature he will be sure to ignite some sparks this season amongst the diverse teams. When not in race mode this water sports enthusiast prefers to relax on the beach with a Mojito.

www.extremesailingseries.com

HARD AND FAST!

IN THE I R O W N W O R D S

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14 CLOSE C O M B AT

CLOSE COMBAT THE RACING EXPLAINED AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FOLLOWING ALL THE ACTION ON AN EX TREME 40 RACECOURSE...

© Paul Wyeth

E ACH ACT WILL BE TRUE TO THE CORE A SPIRATIONS OF THE EX TREME SAILING SERIES™ ETHOS MIXING ‘OPEN-WATER’ RACING WITH ‘STADIUM’ SHORT-COURSE RACING IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC USING ALL THE VARIOUS COURSES FROM FLEET AND GROUP RACING TO MATCH RACING, STRAIGHT LINE DUELS AND SPEED TRIALS. ON-WATER UMPIRING IS A KEY FACTOR A S THE REFEREES [LIKE ON A FOOTBALL PITCH] MONITOR THE RACING FOR FAIR-PL AY ISSUING PENALTIES AND FOR SERIOUS INFRINGEMENTS, DISQUALIFIC ATION. RE AD THE CHIEF UMPIRE’S RE VIEW TO GET THE INSIDE STORY ON THE ROLE THEY PL AY IN MAINTAINING A LE VEL PL AYING FIELD.

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

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THE STA R T THE START IS ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING PARTS OF ANY SAILING RACE, and with such short races a good start is a vital part of the winning tactics. Generally, it will be more advantageous to start at one end of the line (either nearer the committee boat or the buoy), due to factors such as the wind direction, the tide and who has right of way.

The more aggressive crews may be fighting to start at their chosen end of the line, while more conservative crews may start further away from the jostling boats, but they are likely to have the benefit of ‘clean’ undisturbed wind.

THE STAR TING P R O C E D U R E The races are started with a four-minute countdown set to music – even the sailors listen to it to time their runs to the start line!

Giant flags displaying the number of minutes remaining until the start are flown from the Race Committee platform, hoisted in a ‘4 - 3 2 - 1 - and Go’ sequence.

If the race committee sees any part of a hull over the line when the starting gun goes there will be a second loud sound signal. In that case the boat or boats judged over the start line have to go back and re-cross the start line again, keeping out of the way of the other teams. Restarting is a substantial penalty, so the teams avoid this at all costs.

THE COURSE Depending on the number of boats, venue, and wind conditions, the race organisers can decide to run racing over different shape courses around a number of large inflatable race marks. The sailors will know which course to sail by the flags flown from the committee boat and announcements over the radio.

For the public on-site, a jet ski will race around the race marks ahead of the start to show spectators the course the boats will take. When the boats are sailing upwind they will be zigzagging as they tack towards the first mark, then when they sail away from the wind the

crew will hoist the huge gennaker sail at the front of the boat using just man power. Their heart-rates will be pumping.

D U R ING THE RACING The sailors will be shouting at other boats to try and use the racing rules to outwit each other, especially at the mark roundings. If any skipper thinks another boat has infringed one of the racing rules they can wave a yellow and red diagonally striped flag and shout “protest!”. Umpires are on the water and work like football referees – they decide if any boats have committed a foul and can give penalties (the boat has to complete a penalty turn, a bit like a drive-through penalty in F1 racing).

The umpire signifies a penalty by whistling and pointing a red flag at the boat that has committed the foul. If the umpire thinks no foul has been committed they blow a whistle and raise a green and white flag. If there is a really bad foul the umpire can show a black flag resulting in instant disqualification.

F INI S H

© Roberto Foresti / Canon

First past the post wins – it’s as simple as that!

The racing is scored using a ‘high point’ system, so if there are 11 boats in the fleet the winner scores 11 points, the second placed boat gets 10 points, the third nine points and so on.

A disqualified team gets zero! As does a boat that does not start or finish a race. The last race of each Act scores double points, putting the pressure on for a great finale. The overall regatta points are calculated on the same highscoring system, ie, first overall has 11 points (if 11 boats are competing). The team with the highest number of points across all the regattas wins the overall Extreme Sailing Series.

www.extremesailingseries.com

16 CLOSE C O M B AT

© Paul Wyeth

UMPIRE’S VIEW EWAN MCEWAN The Racing Rules of Sailing are designed to keep boats apart and to avoid contact. The first written edition of the Racing Rules of Sailing was published in the 1700s and was used to stop Sunday races between London’s merchant trading companies. These Thames sailing barges risked destroying each other, not good for work on Monday morning! However, the Extreme Sailing Series is all about putting the world’s best sailors in very fast boats on small racetracks, massively increasing the chance of incidents. And the result… lots of high-adrenalin fuelled incidents requiring quick-fire decisions throughout the fast and furious race.

The umpires, who are all accredited International Umpires by the International Sailing Federation, provide a service to the sailors to ensure, as much as possible, that every team has an equal chance to win. To make sure as many incidents as possible are seen we have at least three umpire boats, each with at least two umpires spread out around the racetrack. When the fleet is close

together, especially at the start, the umpires work in orientation to the fleet in positions ‘right’, ‘middle’ and ‘left’ (relative to the wind direction) just behind the boats – not a good idea to be in front when the sailors ‘pull the trigger’, there simply isn’t time to get out of the way!

As the fleet spreads out, keeping up is almost impossible with the Extreme 40s charging along at 30 knots (34 mph / 55 kmh) plus, so then we go to a ‘zone’ based positioning system making sure we have an umpire boat in each of the key spots around the course. Of course, we don’t see every incident – like most referees, we don’t have eyes in the back of our heads! We use radios to hand over developing situations to the umpire patrolling the next part of the course to ensure we keep up with the action.

For me, as Chief Umpire, the key thing is to make sure we are in the right place at the right time to monitor the ‘pressure points’ of the race – these are the points in the race where the biggest advantage can be gained by breaking a

rule – and by so doing we make sure the race is as fair as possible for all the competitors. But these ‘pressure points’ are always moving as the race unfolds so we have to read the race as quickly as possible and react to get in position.

The concept of using on-the-water umpiring is to ensure that all rules incidents are dealt with during the race so that the results are as the spectators see them. Of course, as in any sport, there are the occasional technical or procedural protests which may involve hearings to determine the right action – fining a team or giving a points penalty – but these are increasingly rare.

Umpiring is, undoubtedly, a challenging job and things can get heated but, ultimately, with the number of races we have over the season, the good guys who might see a decision go against them in a race still come out on top.

EWAN MCEWAN, CHIEF UMPIRE

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

© Paul Wyeth

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THE COURSES

L ARGE CONIC AL RACING MARKS IN YELLOW, RED, GREEN, ORANGE AND WHITE MARK OUT THE RACECOURSE. THE RACE COMMIT TEE COMMUNIC ATES TO THE TE AMS AND PUBLIC THE ORDER IN WHICH THE RACING MARKS MUST BE ROUNDED DEPENDENT ON THE CHOSEN COURSE, AHE AD OF THE COUNTDOWN SEQUENCE FOR E ACH RACE.

-COURSE AThis course is a windwardleeward course and is based on a tactical analysis from Ex treme 40 crew to play with the wind shifts by tacking (when going upwind) or gybing (when going downwind). The finish is judged after two or three laps.

-COURSE B-

WIND

WIND

-COURS E CThis course is shaped to fit the geometr y of the race area inside the harbour and the wind conditions, two or three laps are sailed before f inishing.

Th i s cou r se i s a v a r ia nt of cou r se A w ith some h ig h speed r u ns a nd a spectacu la r g ybe w hen r each i ng the tr ia ng le ma r k ( yel low on th i s d iag ra m ) . The f i n i s h i s af ter two or th r ee laps.

-COURSE D-

WIND

WIND

The ‘ Velo d rome’ cou r se i s used f or a dua l race one- to one be tween two E x tr eme 40 cr ew s, it i s ma i n ly based on pu r e speed. The f i n i s h i s af ter two or th r ee laps.

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Š Th. Martinez / Sea & Co

18 EXTREM E 4 0 s O N T O U R

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THE 2011 GLOBAL CIRCUIT

EXTREME 40s ON TOUR NINE INTE R N ATION A L V E N U E S W ILL HOST T H E E X TR E M E S AILING S E RIE S ™ T HIS S E A S ON. H E R E IS A QUI CK GUIDE TO E ACH OF T H E S E ST U N NING LO C ATIONS W HI C H W ILL SET THE S C E N E FOR T HIS Y E A R ’ S HOT T E ST R ACING – A MIX OF NE W R AC E COU R S E S A N D GLOBA L CITIE S THE EXTREME SAILING SERIES WILL THIS YEAR TAKE THE CREWS ON AN INTERNATIONAL TOUR OF BUZZING WORLDWIDE CITIES AND SPECTACULAR COASTAL RESORTS. EACH VENUE HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO PROVIDE NOT ONLY TOP RACING BUT ALSO GREAT VANTAGE POINTS FOR SPECTATORS TO GET UP CLOSE TO ALL THE ACTION.

and media a chance to get out on the water and experience the Extreme 40, and then the real action of the Series racing itself – during racing the ‘fifth man’ guests will get to experience the boats in full race mode. Expect the sailors to take no prisoners in the fiercely competitive races. The final race of each event will heat up the action even further as it will count for double points!

Each regatta uses a variety of race courses, and some venues will have ‘open-water’ racing days followed by ‘stadium’ days where the race village will be open for the public and the Extreme 40 fleet will race right in front of the spectators. There will be 47 days of racing this season with up to an incredible 282 races, each race lasting no more than 20 minutes!

M US C AT, OM A N 2 2- 24 FE BRUA RY

www.extremesailingseries.com

The Race Village will be based at The Wave, Muscat an ideal

On land, fauna and flora of a stunning diversity thrive. In the ocean, coral reefs churn the turquoise sea into surf that breaks onto white sandy beaches. The coastline of Oman extends over 1,700 km, most of which borders the Indian Ocean.

Until recently much of Oman was undiscovered by tourists but it has developed into a high-end tourist location and a destination for foreign investment. The country has initiated and developed a national sailing program in recent

M U S C AT, O M A N www.mm.gov.om

(20-21 ‘OPEN-WATER’ RACING) The 2011 Extreme Sailing Series will kick off in the Sultanate Oman in Muscat as part of the Muscat Festival, celebrating Oman’s traditional arts, culture and heritage. Perched on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula,

© Lloyd Images

Each day is a mix of corporate sailing races, giving VIP guests

Muscat was originally referred to as Cryptus Portus, the Hidden Port by Greek geographer Ptolemy in the 1st Century, stark beauty and vastly contrasting landscapes typify Oman: arid desert, secret oases, awe-inspiring mountains and a lush shoreline.

setting providing spectators with a natural stadium where the racing can be watched from the waters edge. The Wave, Muscat is a new development with over 4,000 apartments, townhouses and villas spread over 2.5 million square meters offering contemporary architecture with subtle Middle Eastern influences.

20 EXTREM E 4 0 s O N T O U R

I S TA N B U L , T URKE Y 27- 29 M AY

Q I N G DAO, C H I N A

© Qingdao City

(25 -26 ‘OPEN-WATER ’ RACING)

QINGDAO, CHIN A 15 -17 APRIL ( 13-14 ‘OPEN-WATER ’ RACING) Now known as the City of Sailing, Qingdao was the host venue for sailing for Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games boosting its profile to an international audience. Perfectly located on the Southeast peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Yellow Sea, Qingdao is now China’s premier sailing destination with first class facilities at its International Sailing Center.

The Extreme Sailing Series Race Village will be located in Fushan Bay, which was also the home of the Olympic Village in 2008, the Extreme 40 fleet will race inside the bay every day of the event.

Originally opened to tourism in 1984 the city now attracts 15 million visitors a year and is the fourth largest manufacturing www.goturkey.com port in the country.

Framed by miles of golden sandy beaches, a warm climate combined with steady winds that make it a perfect racing location.

I S TA N B U L , T U R K E Y

Qingdao is a city steeped in China’s 20th century history. Now a tourism hotspot in China, the sprawling city has a population of 7.5 million and a vibrant economy. The Downtown skyline can rival that of any major city with an impressive array of cultures, cuisines and lively nightlife. Tsingato, the most popular beer in China operates their headquarters and main brewery in Qingdao.

The brewery is open to visitors who can take a tour around the oldest working brewery in China, whilst the brewery can be observed in action and guests can enjoy the beer tasting afterwards!

© Istanbul City

years under the banner Oman Sail. Oman Sail is a new scheme set up to revitalise Oman’s rich sailing history and connect with young Omanis, whilst offering them the chance to compete internationally. Khamis Al Anbouri made history last year racing onboard The Wave, Muscat, when they won the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series and became the first Omani to win an international sailing event having only taken up the sport three years ago. Oman’s other famous sailor is of course the legend of Sinbad whose tales are still told today!

The city where East meets West, set on the boarder between Europe and Asia, Istanbul has a unique historic cultural heritage. Situated on the Bosphours coast, this has ensured a long history in sea trading and was previously the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today the Extreme Sailing Series racing will be hosted on the Golden Horn, a natural harbour with Istanbul’s business district on one side and the historic old town on the other. Istanbul has consistent steady winds that will treat spectators to some truly Extreme racing.

Dating back to the 7th millennium BC, Istanbul has a wealth of historical sites to explore, including the spectacular Blue Mosque. The city’s Bazaars are a treat for visitors, from the touristy Sultanahmet district to the more local ones, without the crowds, which can be found down hidden alleyways throughout the city. Visitors are left in awe by the stunning Imperial Ottoman architecture that can be found across the city.

The Golden Horn provides spectators with a natural race area with two banks parallel

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The Esplanade. This year the city will celebrate with splendor the 30th anniversary of Boston’s Harborfest celebration!

BOSTON, USA

C O W E S , ISLE OF WIGHT, UK 6 -12 A U GUST

www.fanpierboston.com

© Boston City

(ALL P UBLIC DAYS)

the racing.

BOSTON, US A 3 0 JUNE – 4 J U LY (ALL P UBLIC DAYS) The Extreme Sailing Series will visit Boston, one of America’s oldest cities, during the most celebrated time of year for Americans, culminating on Independence Day on the 4th July. Boston is rich with cultural and social history, since its incorporation in 1630 Boston has evolved into one of the most stylish and

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT www.cowesweek.co.uk

sophisticated destinations in America.

Embraced by the city’s Harborfest (June 29th – July 4th) and the North Atlantic sea breezes frequenting Boston, this quintessential North American city is the ideal www.provincia.trapani.it location for the Extreme 40s to race.

The Extreme Sailing Series will be hosted at Fan Pier, situated directly on 21 acres of the most picturesque waterfront property in Boston, providing excellent viewing points for fans and spectators.

Fan Pier is surrounded by the internationally acclaimed Institute of to become Cowes Week was organised by the Contemporary Art, LOUIS luxury retail, a Royal Yacht Squadron, and the tricky emerald myriad of parks, Boston’s HarborWalk, and green waters of the Solent soon became a some of the finest new playground of choice for yachtsmen. The town’s restaurants. Fan Pier is preserved charm and welcoming facilities are a extremely accessible with coveted haven for visiting crews, and numerous excellent transport links spots along the seafront close to Cowes Castle, whether you are arriving home of the Squadron, offer spectators a good by car, train or plane view of the action. In Cowes, everything is via Logan International about sailing and no less than nine yacht clubs Airport. are to be found despite the town’s modest size Spectators can revel in the - the population usually doubles (from 16,000 city’s spectacular 4th July to more than 30,000 people) during the sailing celebrations, which will week in early August! World-class racing and include fireworks and a great onshore entertainment definitely are on concert program, by The the menu, with more than 1000 boats on the Boston Pops Orchestra on various race courses.

T R A PA N I , I TA LY

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© Trapani City

to each other and two bridges at either end forming a natural stadium. The Race Village will be on the waters edge in the lush park surroundings, providing spectators with the opportunity to be just a few steps away from

Home of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes is the birthplace of the America’s Cup and hosts the oldest annual regatta, Cowes Week, during which the UK act will take place once again this year. The building of an 80-ton vessel for Queen Elizabeth in 1589 is believed to have initiated the town’s shipbuilding tradition, and its reputation in that field quickly grew to an international level. Recreational sailing became a trademark with King George IV, who arguably gave Cowes its “Yachting Capital of the World” status. In 1826, the first edition of what was

22 EXTREM E 4 0 s O N T O U R

TRAPA NI, ITL AY 16 -18 SEPTEMBER

NIC E , F R A NC E 3 0 S E P T E M BE R – 2 O C TOBE R

( 14 -15 ‘OPEN-WATER ’ RACING)

(28-29 ‘OPEN-WATER ’ RACING)

Trapani, the ancient Drepanon and its surroundings represent the western part of a unique, intriguing The Sailing Seacily and varied Sicily. A multicultural place, containing ancient styles and traditions, where history and myth merge to provide an atmospheric setting for the Extreme Sailing Series for the second consecutive www.nice.fr year.

A diverse international city rooted in history but looking towards the future, Nice is the capital city of the Cote d’Azur nestled between Cannes and Monaco in the heart of the French Rivera. The city is enjoying a new dynamism under the direction of its Mayor Deputy, Christian Estrosi, with the fifth largest population in France and the second most popular tourist destination with more

Greek temples, theatres, churches and castles, post-modern architectural traditions, treasures of religious and pagan celebrations can all be found in Trapani and the surrounding areas.

The authentic flavours of the local gastronomy and its recipes, are a popular treat to visitors.

Trapani also boasts many places full of art and archaeology: Selinunte, Segesta, Mozia and the Arab-Norman architecture of Mazara, Castelvetrano and Salemi, the medieval town of Erice. In 2009 the city gained international exposure on the sailing scene by hosting two Acts of the Louis Vuitton Cup, in the buildup to the America’s Cup… and it’s also worth noting that Trapani is twinned with the French port of Les Sables d’Olonne, of Vendée Globe fame.

than 4.5 million visitors a year who travel to Nice to enjoy the exceptional climate of this Mediterranean city.

Positioned between the sea and the mountains, Nice provides an ideal setting for all sports, particularly sailing due to its stunning waterfront location. The Extreme Sailing Series

Nice’s shoreline boasts a long promenade with a mix of cafés and restaurants where locals and tourists mix together to relax and enjoy the unique French ambience. Spectators will be able to watch the Extreme 40 close quarter action unfold just a few steps away from the Race Village and shoreline.

Nice is particularly dedicated to sustainable practices such as the Eco-Valley, where the great stadium due for completion in 2013, in the new eco-district of Saint-Isidore.

The 35,000-seater stadium will host the 2013 Francophone Games and the 2016 Euro Football Cup. As the perfect location for high-level, mass participation sports, Nice is deserved in achieving its European Sport title this year and, as such, hosting the Extreme Sailing Series for the first time in 2011 is another sign of their dedication to internationally renowned sporting events.

A LM E R I A , S PAIN 12-16 O C TOBER (ALL DAYS P UBLIC E VENT) Founded by Abd ar-Rahman III, Emir and Caliphe of Cordoba, in 955, Almeria was established to strengthen the region’s Mediterranean

A L M E R I A , S PA I N www.andalucia.org

© Almeria City

A territory decorated by authentic art treasures such as coral, gold and silver, surrounded by the green of the olive groves and vineyards of the countryside and the whiteness of the salt pans, where old mills beat to the sound of the wind.

White beaches, crystal clear waters, picturesque seaside resorts, and the peaceful nature of the islands and nature reserves add to the ambience. In addition to the capital, the other important town of the province is Marsala, known especially for its wine tradition.

© Nice City

NICE, FRANCE

Race Village will be located on the Promenade des Anglais in front of the historic Théâtre de Verdure.

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By the early 18th century Almeria found a new prosperity when iron mines of considerable size were discovered. The economic growth has been particularly spectacular during the 20th century with the development of extensive agriculture, Almeria becoming one of Europe’s biggest orchards, while tourism certainly played an important part in the city’s expansion. Hosting the Mediterranean Games in 2005 was an important step, and welcoming the Extreme Sailing Seriesis for the third year is part of the regional government’s objective to position Almeria as an international reference on the world map of sailing.

SINGAP ORE 9 -11 DECEMBE R (7-8 ‘OPEN-WATER ’ RACING) Singapore was once a humble fishing village that has now developed into a high-rise

SINGAPORE

www.yoursingapore.com

© Singapore City

defences. Built and designed around its harbour, the city has always looked to the sea and rapidly became wealthy thanks to its silk industry - on top of having a “natural” high value due to its strategic location. Almeria grew in terms of regional influence, and the most visible symbol of that golden era, the Alcazaba castle, is today the second largest Moorish fortress of Andalucia behind the legendary Alhambra. Unfortunately, a series of earthquakes devastated the city during the 16th century, and frequent attacks by Berber pirates put its defences to the test.

cosmopolitan city and is the world’s fourth largest financial centre with a diverse group of cultures and religions calling it home. An island surrounded by the Singapore and Johor Straits with many inland waterways, which provide the perfect setting for the Extreme 40 fleet to race.

Sailing is popular in Singapore with three yacht clubs on the island including the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club. Many regattas are held throughout the year and the Extreme Sailing Series will really turn up the heat at this island location.

Originally discovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1819 who set up the island as a

trading station with a policy of free trade that soon attracted merchants from all over Asia and from as far away as the Middle East and America. One of the smallest countries in the world, it is home to nearly 5 million people.

The Marina Bay which receives North to Northeasterly winds in December, is in the heart of Singapore and provides a natural onwater stadium for the Extreme Sailing Series.

Situated a stones throw away from the famed Raffles Hotel, named after Sir Raffles. The hotel is home to the world-renowned Singapore Sling cocktail, originally created before 1951 in the Long Bar by Nigiam Tong Boon. The original recipe can be seen on display in the hotel.

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TM 26 EXTREM E S A I L I N G S E R I E S 2 0 1 1

ACT 1

ACT 2

ACT 3

Boston, USA ACT 4

ACT 5

ACT 6

ACT 7

ACT 8

ACT 9

THE DATES LISTED ABOVE ARE THE DATES WHEN THE RACE VILLAGE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND THE EXTREME 40 FLEET WILL RACE IN FRONT OF THE SPECTATORS. MUSCAT, QINGDAO, ISTANBUL, TRAPANI, NICE AND SINGAPORE ACTS INCLUDE TWO DAYS OF ‘OPEN-WATER’ RACING PRIOR TO THE START OF THE PUBLIC DAYS.

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Cowes, UK Nice, France

Istanbul, Turkey Qingdao, China

Almeria, Spain

Trapani, Italy Muscat, Oman

Singapore

EXTREME SAILING SERIES 2011 TM

www.extremesailingseries.com

28 TURN U P A N D TA K E O F F

It’s SIMPLE, BIG and POWERFUL. It requires great handling skills, and nerves of steel are a definite plus. And no, brakes do not come as standard… Meet the EXTREME 40 CATAMARAN, the speed machine that gave birth to the most exciting international inshore racing circuit.

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

Š OnEdition

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TRAMPOLINE: Held taut between the two hulls and made of lightweight but tough nylon mesh, this allows the crew to move from side to side

www.extremesailingseries.com

30 TURN U P A N D TA K E O F F

© P.Contin / DPPI / OC Events

2 5

3 1

4

THE CREW 1. HELMSMAN: Steers the boat using extended

LENGTH 40FT / 12.2M WIDTH 23FT / 7M MAST 62FT / 18.9M (WEIGHT 100KG) MAINSAIL 246FT SQ / 75M SQ JIB 82FT SQ / 25M SQ GENNAKER 256FT SQ / 78M SQ WEIGHT 1,250KG TOP SPEED 40 KNOTS / 46 MPH / 74 KPH

tiller arm 2. MAINSHEET TRIMMER: Controls the biggest sail on the boat and how much horsepower the boat can handle, will also normally be calling

balance and build speed 4. Bow crew: Super agile crew at front of boat, deploying and retrieving the huge gennaker used downwind 5. FIFTH MAN: A place set aside for a VIP guest

FA S T E N Y O U R SE ATBELTS

Both light – for better speed and acceleration potential – and very stiff – to withstand the huge efforts put on the structure – the Extreme 40s are made of a honeycomb core trapped between two carbon fibre skins. These skins are pre-impregnated with resin, and the various elements of the boat (hulls, crossbeams etc) are cured under pressure in an autoclave.

The resin hardens while the pressure ensures that the honeycomb / carbon fibre sandwich is as compact as possible. The whole boat – including sails – weighs about the same as a Mini Cooper. The finished catamaran fits inside a standard 40ft shipping container, and the crew can assemble it in just a few hours – then just add water for instant fun!

The magic of multihulls lies in their absence of counterweight, which makes them extremely light and responsive. The stability is provided by the shape of the structure, the Extreme 40 being a ‘rectangle’ sitting on the water, but things change very quickly when the wind kicks in and one hull starts to fly: it’s a treat for spectators, and a real challenge for the crew who have to maintain the balance whilst making the most of the boat’s potential. The Extreme 40 is capable of reaching speeds of 40 knots – if you want an idea of what that feels like, it is like putting your head out of the window in a car when it is raining at 45mph (73kph)! Also, the Extreme 40 often flies a hull, sometimes over three metres above the water, giving the sensation of gliding like a bird.

The generous sail area allows the Extreme 40s to sail faster than the wind, which might seem puzzling at first – in just 15 knots of wind, an Extreme 40 is capable of travelling at over 25 knots – if you get on a push-bike on a still day and start pedalling, the faster you go the more wind you feel on your face. This wind is created by your speed; sailors call it the apparent wind. The sails are designed and are adjusted by the crew to harness this wind and use it to increase the boat’s speed.

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

© Lloyd Images

triangular sail (jib) which is used to find

U N DE R P R E S S U R E

© Lloyd Images

the tactics.

3. HEADSAIL TRIMMER: Controls the small

© Roberto Forosti / Canon

32 A WILD R I D E

A WILD RIDE! BBC SPORT ONLINE CORRESPONDENT ROB HODGETTS RACED ON BOARD AN EXTREME 40 IN THE CLASSIC ROUND THE ISLAND RACE – A 55-MILE HIGHSPEED DASH AROUND BRITAIN’S ISLE OF WIGHT. READ HIS ACCOUNT HERE...

Welcome to Extreme 40 catamaran sailing. What a rush! One of these monsters was my steed for a quick dash around the Isle of Wight on Saturday morning, before most people were awake.

The 40ft missiles are designed for flatwater blasting on the Extreme Sailing Series, and the pre-race talk in Cowes was of records – or boats – being broken.

*

THE IMAGINE OUNCY ST B BOUNCIE BUNKING CASTLE, AHAT REARS T BRONCO H AND THE 20F T HIG ILDEST LOG W WETEST, THE WORLD. FLUME IN *

“They’re flying machines but they’re not designed for this,” says my skipper Nick Moloney. “When things go wrong, they go wrong very quickly.”

The annual 55-mile Round the Island Race is the fourth largest participation event in Britain, with more than 1,700 boats and 14,500 plus people taking part.

Some will take about 10 hours but with a top speed of 40 knots in the right conditions, we’re eyeing the multihull record of three hours, eight minutes and 29 seconds.

“Looking forward to coming second today?” I ask Dame Ellen MacArthur, who is skippering one of the other four

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Extreme 40s in the fleet, as we ready the boats in the dark. “Not a chance,” she fires back.

I’m racing with Australian Moloney, a three-time round-the-world veteran, and his three crew. “You alright with the ‘f ’ word?” he asks in his Aussie drawl as we slip the dock in the half-light. “It might help.”

Crewmen Charles Darbyshire, Dave ‘Freddie’ Carr and Alec Fraser ready the boat for our 0510 BST start. There’s a calm but businesslike air on board. “Ten minutes to our starting gun,” says Charlie.

The tension mounts when the hydraulics for hauling in the sails fail. “Five minutes,” warns Charlie. We waste valuable time but when it’s fixed we turn for the line and make a late run. “Full knacker here guys,” shouts Nick from his perch at the stern. We accelerate smoothly, deceptively, and the windward hull lifts, leaving the six of us perched high in the air. “Ellen’s leading,” says Charlie. “Can’t have that,” fires Nick.

C A L A MIT Y

Just before rounding the Needles we tack and are hit by three waves in succession.

There’s a mound of bodies, and when we disentangle ourselves, Charlie is missing. Nick cries the dreaded “Man overboard” and we all lunge over the side to grab a piece of Charlie as he clings on desperately. He’s spluttering and trying to keep his head above water but miraculously, his glasses are still on.

But we’re going too fast to haul him in so we let him go, to be picked up by the RIB (rigid inflatable boat) which is trailing us.

We keep racing and round the Needles at 0630 BST, fourth behind Leopard and the other two Extreme 40s. (Basilica turns back with a technical problem). The RIB delivers the dripping Charlie back to us and we settle back into race mode. “Sorry about that. I flew into the air and when I came back down the boat had gone.”

The first leg of the race is left out of Cowes, towards the rocky promontory of the Needles at the western tip of the Island. We slice through the fleet chasing MacArthur and the other Extreme 40s ABN Amro and Basilica. We’re also hunting the largest boat in the race, a £6m, 100ft giant called Leopard, which started 10 minutes before us. It’s out to break the monohull record of its predecessor of four hours, five minutes and 40 seconds.

Looking back, there’s a wall of sails filling the Solent. “I can’t believe there’s that many people who sail in this country,” says Nick. The boat hums and creaks and the crew keep up a constant dialogue – where’s the best wind, when to tack, where are the opposition. The communication, teamwork, leadership and camaraderie are inspiring. “We’ve got good pace here boys.

We’re dropping Basilica like third grade French,” says Alec. We seem to be gaining on the leaders until we make a hash of a tack off Yarmouth, but we hook into another windy patch and get a slingshot down the coast.

www.extremesailingseries.com

© Paul Wyeth

INSPIRING

W E T A N D W ILD

We hoist the gennaker, the big downwind sail at the front, and accelerate down the swells. The sensation of speed as the ocean rushes between the hulls is awesome.

But with it comes the waterworks – it’s like sitting in front of a giant fire hose.

Our speed nudges 26 knots – plenty fast enough to water ski behind – and even the pros are having fun. “This is the absolute buzzcocks,” says Freddie (he actually uses another word – this is the Beeb after all).

But the whoops and hollers are silenced by a volley of ‘nautical’ language from Nick.

He can’t control the steering. And without that, at these speeds and with so much sail up, we’re in big trouble. “Freddie, help me here, I can’t hold it,” he screams.

One of the rudders has lifted, and we have to slow before Alec can force it back. “Let’s get back in this game,” says Nick as we speed up again. Surfing down the steep waves, the danger is that the leeward hull will dig into the wave in front and stick, causing us to ‘pitch-pole’, the same as going over the handlebars on your bike.

“Come up, come up,” urges Freddie as he stares at the hull.

Soon, Nick’s shouting again. The rudder’s lifted and two of us dive onto the tiller bar to help steer. The fourth time it happens, off Ventnor, something breaks and we have to raise the rudder altogether.

It seems our race is over but Nick is confident we can get home on one rudder.

“I don’t mind coming third but I want to bloody finish,” he says.

S T R E S SFUL

Turning back into the Solent, we head back into the wind and when the hull flies, we’re able to slam the rudder back in place. Without it, we couldn’t sail on port tack. The leading Extreme 40s are too far gone to catch but it’s neck and neck with Leopard until we get stuck on the bottom at Ryde Sands for a few minutes.

“Anything else want to go wrong?” says Nick. Freeing the daggerboard, we press on and cross the line a couple of 100 yards behind Leopard in four hours and 15 minutes. “At least we got close enough to give them the bird,” says Nick.

Ellen won but an unfavourable wind direction means there are no records this year. And after all that, it turns out the blighters ‘retired’ us for receiving ‘outside assistance’ when we lost Charlie over the side. “That’s probably the most painful four hours’ sailing I’ve had in years,” says Nick. “There were times when I was wondering where the limit was. It was really stressful when we lost the steering.

You could probably tell by the tone of my voice, and sorry we couldn’t give you any quotes without swearing.”

“NO FLAMING WORRIES, MATE. YOU’VE GIVEN ME THE FLIPPING RIDE OF MY LIFE.”

Trapani the Sailing Seacily

T

rapani, the ancient Drepanon and its surroundings represent the western part of a unique, intriguing and varied Sicily. A multicultural place, containing ancient styles and traditions, where history and myth merge.

The crescent-shaped promontory juts into the sea offering wonderful views.

A territory decorated by authentic art treasures such as coral, gold and silver, surrounded by the green of the olive groves and vineyards of the countryside and the whiteness of the salt pans, where old mills beat to the sound of the wind.

White beaches and the crystal clear waters of the picturesque seaside resorts, the sea and the peaceful nature of the islands and nature reserves.

Greek temples and theatres, churches and castles, post-modern architectural traditions, treasures of religious and pagan celebrations.

The authentic flavours of the local gastronomy and its recipes.

In addition to the capital, other important towns of the province are: Marsala, known especially for its wine tradition.

Mazara del Vallo the hub of fishing and of the fish economy. San Vito Lo Capo, Castellammare del Golfo, Erice and Alcamo for their tourist appeal, due to the natural beauty and the artistic-historic heritage.

There are also many places full of art and archaeology: Selinunte, Segesta, Mozia and the Arab-Norman architecture of Mazara, Castelvetrano and Salemi.

Comune di Trapani

The Sailing Seacily

CREAT I N G A N E V E N T F O R T H E P U B L I C

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35

Onshore action

Creating an event for the public The Extreme Sailing Series™ is more than a sporting event, it is a full public entertainment festival that appeals to both sports fans and the mainstream public...

NEARLY THREEQUARTERS OF A MILLION SPECTATORS HAVE WITNESSED THE EXTREME SAILING SERIES SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2007, attending events across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The ethos of the circuit has always been to provide high-integrity sporting competition as a full entertainment package and this has seen the development of the public events side as the series has evolved: “With a sailing product like the Extreme Sailing Series where the boats are effectively racing in a ‘stadium’ format right in front of the public, we realised the importance of creating more than just a sailing event,” commented Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of the event organisers OC ThirdPole. “We set out to create a public event that would satisfy the sailing fans and

at the same time appeal to the non-sailing public by creating a race village that could offer a variety of entertainment © Lloyd Images to families and people of all ages.”

With the support of the host venue partners, the circuit is developing further the public events side, and in 2011 the organiser has Muscat was the last event committed to providing of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia. Both the an eight-hour mix racing and the onshore of entertainment entertainments of the on the public days Extreme Beach Party [each event generally attracted large crowds. consists of five days, with three of those days classed as full public days which will see the race village open to the public with the Extreme 40 fleet racing right in front of the spectators]. On the water a number of support acts, like the Olympic 49er class, windsurfing and kiteboarding, will build up to the main Extreme 40 headline act. With live commentary and audio from on board the boats, the action comes alive right in front of the spectators.

www.twitter.com/extremesailing // www.facebook.com/extremesailingseries // www.youtube.com/extremesailingseries

CREAT I N G A N E V E N T F O R T H E P U B L I C

37

Wrapped around the onwater competition will be a comprehensive on-shore entertainment programme within the race village, from interactive entertainment to music, alongside bars and food outlets. Music acts will also take centre stage under the Extreme Sailing Series ‘Sailing Remixed’ banner at a number of the venues following on from the successful 2009 event in Almeria which saw folk legend Kiko Veneno open the event in front of a capacity crowd of 4,000 before the city’s Symphonic Orchestra performed a free concert on the final night. “The Extreme Sailing Series events have the capability to attract serious consumer footfall and that in itself attracts sponsors and retailers who can access a

captive audience from a wide demographic,” concluded Turner.

In addition to the public side, the organiser has a progressive social responsibility programme in place at each venue. Local children will be given the chance to go sailing each morning of the event using the 12-boat Optimist dinghy fleet made available by the organisers and, at the same time, get to meet or even learn from their sailing heroes as the skippers proactively take part.

The organisers also encourage a volunteer programme to provide a valuable working experience to local people of all ages who are interested in working in events. On the charity side, a local charity will be nominated

per event as a platform to help raise their awareness and much needed funds.

A global event such as this has a significant ‘footprint’. The 2010 environmental audit is being used as a benchmark to improve all aspects of the event’s energy, waste and water footprint going forward. Initiatives from 2010, such as minimising bottled water, are being evolved for 2011. This particular challenge has no finish line, but the race has begun.

POSITIVE IMPACT A report produced by the council of Tourism, Commerce and Sport for Andalucia confirmed that the 2009 Almeria event generated €2.7m of return on investment. A total of 15,000 tourists visited the city, 92% because of the event and 80% of visitors expressed their intention to return. Hotel occupancy was up by 19.2% compared to 2008.

© Th.Martinez / Sea&Co

© Lloyd Images

Spanish national star Kiko Veneno attracted crowds of around 4,000 when he performed on the main stage of the Extreme Sailing Series race village in Almeria.

© Th.Martinez / Sea&Co

Celebrating the centenary of the Port of Almeria, the city’s Symphonic Orchestra gave a free concert in the race village.

www.extremesailingseries.com

38 HITTIN G T H E R E D Z O N E

CRASH AND BURN

HITTING THE RED ZONE EXTREME 40 CO-CREATOR AND 10 TIMES WORLD CHAMPION MITCH BOOTH TALKS US THROUGH ALL THE TRICKY SITUATIONS THAT ARE LIKELY TO ARISE ON THE EXTREME SAILING SERIESTM RACE COURSE. Was the spectacle factor high on the agenda when you first started to work on the initial concept?

“The priority was to bring the sport to the public and of course the boats had to be spectacular. We wanted a class that could both be challenging for the sailors and really entertaining for the spectators.”

The Extreme 40 proved tricky and great fun right out of the box: did you then think that it would take a bit of time for the sailors to get used to its raw power?

“The power to weight ratio makes these boats a handful in stronger breezes, but I believe they should be difficult and the top sailors in the world have to be pushed to the limits, otherwise we are

not demonstrating the sport to its full capacity.”

How often do crews feel they’re reaching a limit in terms of control?

“Not that often in under 10 knots, but after that the limits are stretched, and sometimes too far. But that is the challenge – who will push the boat the hardest?”

three lap races, sometimes in less than 15 minutes, so you get to the first buoy very quickly and mostly at the same time as the other boats. Really tricky!”

Once at the top of the course, crews bear away and set the gennaker – when the breeze kicks in, the risk of being overpowered is important at that stage, no?

Definitely, and the sea state plays a big part as well. As has been the case often in Cowes, breeze and chop make the bear away difficult since the bows can dig into the waves while the rush of power generated by the big downwind sail is very sudden. A lot of teams push so hard to set the gennaker they don’t even round the mark before setting!”

Now in some venues, the race course is surrounded by walls...

“Yes, but UNLESS the wind is very Startlines are crowded and often very gusty and the only escape is a big narrow, how are they best dealt with? ‘bear away’ “The important thing then the is to be careful not to “Crash and Burn is the danger is get locked outside the essence of Extreme 40 the leeward lay lines and watch for racing.

The Series has boat has any port tackers (note: right of crews that do not have to push the World’s best way and the right of way). In can cause that class once you’re sailors to the limits. out you’re out, every a capsize mistake is paid at full of the price. It’s full on!” windward boat… Not to mention the quays, that are not exactly inclined to Once the race is underway, crews rush move out of your way!” to the first buoy, and boat crossings are often very intense, hence risky.

“The race for the first mark is always a huge risk. Keep in mind we are doing

All images © Th.Martinez / Sea&Co

MITCH BOOTH’S AMAZING CV Having captured two Olympic medals – bronze in Barcelona, 1992, and silver in Atlanta, 1996 – Mitch Booth has been Sailor of the Year twice in his native Australia. The man has taken part in a staggering 64 World Championships, winning a total of 10 of them in Tornado, Hobie and Formula 18. Offshore, he’s captured two world records (aboard the maxi multihulls Club Med and PlayStation), and also took part in the 1995 America’s Cup.

We are on board

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40 HIGH S P E E D D U E L S

MATCH RACING

HIGH speed

© Lloyd Images

DUELS

The Extreme Sailing Series™ continues to innovate on the water, and the format of racing can vary from groups or fleet racing, one-on-one speed duels or match racing, a form of competition that many people believed would never be successfully performed in multihulls. The Extreme 40 crews proved that not only is it viable, but it’s also spectacular. We talk to Extreme Sailing Series™ 2010 champion Paul CampbellJames, skipper of Luna Rossa and Match Racing expert.

IN AVIATION TERMS, IT’S BLUNTLY REFERRED TO AS A DOGFIGHT. IT’S A FAST AND MERCILESS GAME, WITH ITS OWN EXTENSIVE AND SUBTLE SET OF RULES. On the water, it’s a one-on-one battle, during which crews try to push each other towards the edges of the race course, and force each other to commit mistakes resulting in penalties. Aggressive by nature, that tricky game becomes all the more exhilarating when played on board high-performance catamarans like the

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© Lloyd Images

THE DIAL-UP: a crucial phase in match racing.

Basically the two boats come into the starting area going at full speed straight towards each other and at the last moment turn up into the wind and stop side by side. Turn too early, you stop too far apart, which is normally good for the boat coming in from the right. But if you leave it too late you collide going at full speed, which in Extreme 40s is ridiculously fast!

Extreme 40s. Introducing that discipline during the Oman stopover of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia 2009/2010 winter tour, the organisers have yet again pushed the boundaries of the circuit, keeping true to their mission of changing the way sailing is seen, and done, for that matter.

Paul Campbell-James, skipper of Luna Rossa for 2011 (skipper of The Wave, Muscat in 2010), has been British National Match Race champion three times, Student Match Race world champion and finished second in the Youth Match Race Worlds. He says: “Match racing in the Extreme 40s is awesome. The closing speed in the pre-start dial-ups is a little scary but good fun. Holding the boats head to wind afterwards, not to jump the gun, is pretty tricky too. In the end, as it’s generally the case in match racing and Extreme 40 sailing, it comes down to the last 30 seconds of the pre-start and good boat handling.”

“FLY ING OVE R ” Y O U R R I VA L

www.extremesailingseries.com

racing, obviously in monohulls all you have to worry about is your bow and their stern, but if you can do it in a catamaran you can fly your windward hull over the back of the port boat’s leeward hull gaining you a heap when you come to the next cross, real dodgy and high risk though, and you don’t want to see me messing it up!

“Match racing is great to watch and easy to understand, which is what the Extreme Sailing Series is all about. I think it will play a bigger part in the circuit, as it’s a fantastic complement to fleet racing, which offers the awesome sight of 10 or more of these machines coming off the start all lined up next to each other flying a hull.”

© Lloyd Images

/ Sea inez .Mart © Th

signal to further hinder your competitor, not really something you’d do when there are lots of boats in the race as everyone else would sail past you. Another difference is if you infringe a rule, you can choose where on the course you can be penalised.

“The Extreme 40s are capable of high speeds, but are also slow to tack or gybe which affects the tactics as much, if not more. Ducking upwind boats is also very important in match

&Co

Paul continues: “The main difference between match racing and fleet racing is that it doesn’t really matter how fast you go round the course as long as you beat your opposition. Often on the start you purposely slow the boat down after the starting

For example, if one boat hits the starting mark they can choose to do their penalty on the finish line. This produces some interesting tactical scenarios where the infringed boat might sail the other guy miles out to the side in an attempt to turn in the opposite direction and do their penalty without losing too much.

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54 THE 20 1 1 L I N E - U P

EXTREME SAILING SERIES TEAMS

THE 2011 LINE-UP A linghi ( sui)

11 TEAMS, bringing together 44 of the world’s most talented sailors from 13 different countries, will be competing in the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series. AMERICA’S CUP COMPETITORS, ROUND THE WORLD RACERS, OLYMPIANS, RECORD BREAKERS AND WORLD CHAMPIONS battle it out for your viewing pleasure - here is a quick guide on who to watch out for on the race course.

Read our detailed form guide on pages 64 - 66.

A rtemis Racing (S WE)

Team & Nationality SK IPPER

SK IPPER

(FRA)

(US A)

Tanguy Cariou

Skipper

Crew

About the skipper

About the crew 2010 position Team URL

Terry Hutchinson

Helm

Yann Guichard (FRA)

H elm

Terry Hutchinson

Tactician

Tanguy Cariou (FRA)

M ain Trimmer

Sean Clarkson

Trimmer

Nils Frei ( sui)

T rimmer

Morgan Trubovich

Bowman

Yves Detrey (sui)

Bowman

Andy Fethers

(US A)

(NZL) (NZL)

(AUS)

Olympic sailor Tanguy Cariou will be the skipper and tactician onboard Alinghi for the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series.

Tanguy previously raced as tactician with Groupama 40 in the 2010 Series finishing 5th overall. His extensive racing experience also includes two America’s Cup’s, Sydney Olympics, five World Championships and the Transat Jacques Vabre transatlantic race.

Terry kick started his career by winning the Colligate all American Trophy for four consecutive years, and the Colligate Sailor of the Year award twice in college. Since those early years Terry has competed in three America’s Cup campaigns, won the Audi MedCup Championship title in 2008 and won six World Championship titles.

America’s Cup veterans who will now be pushing their Extreme 40 to the max, Yves Detrey on bow with Nils Frei as trimmer. Driving will be helmsman Yann Guichard, an Olympic sailor, whose consistency on the water ensured his previous team, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, were runners-up in 2009 and 2010.

Record setting Olympic sailor Sean Clarkson, current holder of the transatlantic record for the fastest monohull crossing, will be joined by America’s Cup sailor Morgan Trubovich, who has seven World Championship titles. The final team member is America’s Cup sailor Andy Fethers.

This international team will be a hot new addition.

N/A

N/A

www.alinghi.com

www.artemisracing.com

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1 201

M TEA

13 Nationalities

97 World Championships contended

12 Records set/broken

100 European Championships contended

29 Olympians

11 Round the World navigations

Groupe E dmond de R othschild

Luna Rossa

Niceforyou

(ITA)

(ITA)

(FRA)

S K IPPER

SK IPPER

S K IP P E R

( F R A)

(ITA)

( I TA )

Pierre Pennec

Max Sirena

H elm

Pierre Pennec

TRAVELER

Christophe Espagnon

Trimmer

Thierry Fouchier

Bowman

Hervé Cunningham

(FRA) (FRA)

(FRA) (FRA)

Alberto Barovier

H elm

Paul Campbell-James

Tactician

Max Sirena

T rimmer

Alister Richardson

Bowman

Manuel Modena

(GBR)

(ITA) (GBR)

(ITA)

H elm

Alberto Barovier

Tactician

Alberto Sonino

T rimmer

Daniele de Luca

(ITA)

Bowman

Simone de Mari

(ITA)

(ITA)

(ITA)

A lover of competitive competition from 60ft ORMA mulitihuls, small 32ft Figaro monohulls to record breaking giant maxi mulithulls, and now the Extreme 40’s. Pierre sailed onboard Groupe Edmond de Rothschild as tactician last year, finishing second, and he will have his sights firmly set on the top spot this year.

Max Sirena is no stranger to competition, and is a four-time America’s Cup veteran racing in the Extreme Sailing Series this year.

Looking forward to racing on the circuit for the first time alongside his new crew, who will be sure to deliver some outstanding racing.

Alberto previously raced on BMW Oracle Racing where he had a taste of the Extreme Sailing Series. Now with his own team he is thrilled to be back and racing in 2011. An America’s Cup sailor who believes that being calm ensures success on the racecourse.

An experienced crew who have a combined eight seasons of Extreme 40 racing under their belts. The crew know all the moves and how far they can push the limits on these powerful boats.

Thierry, Christophe and Hervé will be a force to be reckoned with in 2011.

Driving will be the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series Champion, Paul Campbell-James, the ‘young-gun’ who last year upstaged the more seasoned skippers. Joining him is Manuel Modena, and Alister Richardson the only sailor to have won the Extreme Sailing Series twice. This British Italian team will be pushing the limits and aiming for the top of the podium.

An all Italian crew onboard this new entry for the 2011 Series. These experienced monohull sailors are relishing the challenge of racing the Extreme 40 catamarans. Olympian Daniele de Luca, America’s Cup sailor Simone de Mari and Alberto Sonino are eager to prove themselves as serious contenders on the circuit.

2nd skippered by Yann Guichard

N/A

N/A

www.gitana-team.com

www.lunarossachallenge.com

www.nicesailingteam.com

www.twitter.com/extremesailing // www.facebook.com/extremesailingseries // www.youtube.com/extremesailingseries

56 THE 20 1 1 L I N E - U P

Oman A ir (OMA)

Red Bull E xtreme S ailing

Team E xtreme (EUR)

(AUT)

S K IP P E R

SK IPPER

S K IP P E R

(FRA)

(AUT)

( GE R )

Sidney Gavignet H elm

Sidney Gavignet

Tactician T rimmer Bowman

Nasser Al Mashari

Roman Hagara H elm

Roman Hagara

Kinley Fowler (NZL)

Tactician

Hans Peter Steinacher

David Carr

T rimmer

Will Howden

Bowman

Craig Monk

(FRA)

(GBR) (OMA)

Roland Gaebler

(AUT) (AUT)

(UK)

(NZL)

H elm

Roland Gaebler

Tactician

Bruno Dubois

T rimmer

Sebbe Godefroid

4TH CREW

TBC per Act (TBC)

(GER)

(C AN) (BEL)

A seasoned offshore sailor who has notched up four Volvo Ocean Race cirumnavigations as well as setting a solo record for the fastest passage Round Britain and Ireland onboard the 100ft trimaran, Oman Air Majan. A newcomer to the circuit Sidney will be one to watch closely.

Hagara has taken part in the Olympic Games six times and on two occasions racing in the Tornado class in Sydney and Athens, bringing back Gold to his native Austria. Hagara and Red Bull Extreme Sailing joined the class for the first Extreme Sailing Series Asia tour and then competed in the European Series last year.

Roland Gaebler raced in the German event in 2009 and skippered Team Wirsol from shore, due to illness, last season. Having won over 50 international titles since 1981, including a Bronze Olympic medal, will mean the team will benefit from his well-rounded experience.

Sidney has David Carr as trimmer which will make this his fifth year on the circuit, and was part of the team when they won overall in 2009. Kinley Fowler will bring both match and fleet racing experience to the team in his first Extreme 40 season. On bow is Nasser Al Mashari, another Oman Sail trainee who is keen to follow in Al Anbouri’s footsteps (see The Wave, Muscat).

Racing alongside Hagara will be his long term Olympic Tornado crew Hans Peter Steinacher. Olympic Bronze medalist Craig Monk will be on bow alongside another Olympic sailor and previous Extreme 40 sailor Will Howden. Will raced on Ecover in 2010 finishing third overall. A truly Olympic team will be one to watch out of the starting blocks in 2011.

This is a new combination of crew sailing together, although they all have previous Extreme 40 experience. Bruno and Sebbe have an exceptional racing pedigree from Round the World races to the Olympics. As the Series event boat they will have a different fourth crew member for each Act to introduce new sailors to the class in markets the circuit has not visited before.

4th skippered by Loick Peyron

6th

N/A

www.omansail.com

www.redbull.com

www.extremesailingseries.com/teams/ www.teamgaebler.com

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M TEA

69 America’s Cup sailed

4 Olympic Gold Medals 2 Olympic Silver Medal

2 Olympic Bronze Medal

216 National Championships contended

Team GAC P indar

Team N ew Zealand

(GBR)

T he Wave , M uscat (oma )

(nzl)

S K IPPER

SK IPPER

S K IP P E R

( GBR)

(nzl )

( aus)

Ian Williams H elm

Ian Williams

Tactician

Brad Webb

Trimmer

Gilberto Nobili

(ITA)

Bowman

Jono Macbeth

(GBR)

(GBR)

(NZL)

Dean Barker H elm

Dean Barker

Tactician

Glen Ashby

T rimmer

James Dagg

Bowman

Jeremy Lomas

Torvar Mirsky

(nzl )

(aus ) (nzl ) (nzl )

H elm

Torvar Mirsky

(aus)

Tactician

Kyle Langford

(aus)

T rimmer

Nick Hutton

Bowman

Khamis Al Anbouri

(gbr) (oma)

Ian has taken home the ISAF World Match Racing Tour Championship title twice in 2007 and 2008, as well as the Farr 40 North American Championship crown in 2007. Another match racing expert on the Extreme 40 circuit will ensure some lively action in the starting blocks.

A key part of the winning America’s Cup crew in 2000 put Barker firmly in the spotlight, and he has been resident skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand since 2001. He won the World Championship of Match Race Sailing at the ACI Cup in 2000 and the Audi MedCup in 2009/10. He had his first taste of racing an Extreme 40 at the 2010 final event in Almeria.

Torvar Mirsky has joined the Extreme Sailing Series as the new young gun from the world of match racing, claiming 2nd overall in the 2010 ISAF World Match Racing Tour. His experience will make him aggressive on the starts, and his “hard and fast” motto will guarantee some exciting racing this year.

Brad, Gilberto and Jono have competed in 12 America’s Cup events between them. This experience will ensure they have excellent teamwork skills and a seriously competitive nature. This team will add some excitement to the mix and will be one that the other teams are watching out for.

James Dagg and Jeremy Lomas have both notched up three America’s Cup campaigns and will be joined by Olympic silver medalist Glen Ashby as tactician.

A strong antipodean team, this combination of talent and experience is a huge asset to their first full season of Extreme 40 racing.

This year will see Kamis Al Anbouri and Nick Hutton return to crew the The Wave, Muscat after their 2010 Extreme Sailing Series victory. To complete the team will be Kyle Langford, 2010 RC44 World Champion and experienced match racer. A team to watch this season.

8th skippered by Nick Moloney

N/A

1st

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58 RISING S TA R

Skipper interview

Rising star 2010 winners , T he W ave , M uscat “I did it and I never return to defend their title , stopped. It was just a good bunch of people,” Mirsky recalls this time skippered by emerging of what attracted him to the sport. Fortunately family was accommodating and family star Torvar M irsky . D A ILY S A IL his holidays camping turned into family holidays E DI TOR J ames B oyd finds out more carting the young Torvar around Australia to regattas. “I guess I wouldn’t be here unless they about the man and his origins . . . had committed to that,” he admits.

From his name, one might get the impression the Extreme Sailing Series has its first Russian skipper. In fact, The Wave, Muscat skipper Torvar Mirsky is Australian, heralding from Fremantle, close to Perth.

Mirsky’s mother is Australian, while his father is half Swedish, half Russian.

After the Mirror, Mirsky moved briefly into 420s, then 505s, and from there into Olympic classes, starting with the popular singlehanded Laser and ultimately ending up in the 49er, the ultra fast Olympic skiff, which he still sails whenever he has the chance.

However, where Mirsky really found his metier was on the very active youth match racing circuit in Australia and New Zealand. He first started to compete in this when he was 15, winning his first international youth match racing regatta the following year. Over the next two years he went on to win most of the events on the Antipodean youth circuit. This would be an invaluable proving ground when, at the tender age of 20, he was given the opportunity to step onto the international stage by competing in the World Match Racing Tour.

© Lloyd Images

“Torvar is Scandinavian-ish and Mirsky is Russian – so it shows my origins, except that I haven’t come across another Torvar anywhere and I have been to most of Scandinavia!”

As the young skipper, who turns 24 this year, explains: Despite his success on the water, Mirsky doesn’t come from a sailing family, but growing up near the sailing club in Fremantle, Western Australia’s leading regatta venue, it was inevitable that he would be exposed to it. He took to the water when he was 10 years old in the Mirror dinghy fleet at Fremantle Sailing Club, his participation in this class culminating when, aged 15, he raced in the 2001 Mirror World Championship in Howth, Ireland.

Mirsky recalls: “We didn’t realise it at the time, but the racing we did was of a very high standard, so when we went over to compete in open events in Europe we realised we were really competitive. It was quite a shock at how quickly we rose up the rankings and were winning events.”

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Like the Extreme Sailing Series, the World Match Racing Tour comprises a circuit of events around the globe, but here the similarities pretty much end, although the format is used in the eclectic mix of Extreme Sailing Series racing. In match racing, different types of boats are used at each regatta and they are always monohulls, and the race format is solely match racing – the same boat-on-boat duel-type format used in sailing’s premier event, the America’s Cup.

In joining the Extreme Sailing Series he says he is looking forward to what will be a significantly new challenge. “It is really fun to be on some fast boats. Hopefully, we can be competitive.”

To get up to speed he has been sailing dinghy catamarans, while at the start of the season Oman Sail’s two teams were being coached by Darren Bundock, the Australian double silver medallist and multiple world champion in the Olympic Tornado catamaran.

Mirsky says that on the World Match Racing Tour he is used to racing unfamiliar boats, but acknowledges his move into the high performance Extreme 40 catamaran is a significantly bigger step than he is used to.

“Sailors should be able to switch between boats and if they are good sailors they can be competitive pretty quickly.”

He adds: “Jumping into any new boat, you just have to figure out how to do it. With

© Lloyd Images

Mirsky has been competing on the World Match Racing Tour for the last four seasons, finishing second overall in 2009 and third last year. catamarans there is a lot of co-ordination and you are going faster so things are happening more often, more speed changes, etc, so you have to be really on the ball, concentrating all the time.”

He is encouraged by Paul Campbell-James’ victory in 2010, as he too is a former 49er sailor and match racing helmsman. “Half of the racing is the start and boat handling. Paul had a very good grasp of the rules and the ‘beat the boat next to you’ mindset. He is a very good match racer and match racers aren’t afraid when the boats get close.”

As an added bonus two of Campbell-James’ former crew Nick Hutton and Omani bowman Khamis Al Anbouri remain on board The Wave, Muscat this year with the remaining main sheet spot being taken by Mirsky’s longterm match racing tactician Kyle Langford.

Today Mirsky’s ‘home’ is just outside of Perth, close to Fremantle and when he is in Europe it is Gothenberg in Sweden, but this year competing in the Extreme Sailing Series, while continuing with the World Match Racing Tour, whenever he can, will mean he has little

opportunity to spend time in any one place.

If he hadn’t been sailing professionally, Mirsky says he might have had time to complete his engineering degree he started at the University of Western Australia. This is unlikely to happen since his sailing career has taken off and he is able to travel the world and do what he loves.

When he does have down time, Mirsky says he is typically not far from the water.

“Basically I love anything that is water related.

With all this sailing I haven’t had a winter for six years.”

“When I go back to Australia at the end of the year I am kite surfing, scuba diving, windsurfing, wakeboarding and twilight sailing with friends.”

Come December when the sun sets on the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series, the young Mirsky could be adding another accolade to his impressive list of sailing achievements, if his current track record is anything to go by.

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60 HOT PR O P E R T Y

Skipper interview

Hot property N ew entry L una R ossa has snapped up last year ’ s winning skipper Paul C ampbell - J ames as helm , with the boat skippered by A merica’ s C up winning sailor , M ax S irena . J ames B oyd , shoots the breeze with sailing ’ s latest hot property.

BRITISH SKIPPER PAUL CAMPBELLJAMES IS COMING INTO THE NEW SEASON AFTER WINNING THE EXTREME SAILING SERIES IN 2010 DESPITE BEING THE CIRCUIT’S YOUNGEST SKIPPER. For 2011 Campbell-James is helmsman of a new team, driving what will be the Extreme Sailing Series’ most glamorous entry: Luna Rossa, backed by Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of Italian fashion house, Prada.

“It all happened perfectly for us, right place, right time,” says Campbell-James of how he got his new position, heading to the veteran Italian America’s Cup challenger with his tactician/mainsheet trimmer from The Wave, Muscat Alister Richardson. At the time he had been trialling to be a crewman with a team competing in the next Volvo Ocean Race around the world.

Those new to the Extreme Sailing Series and catamaran racing this season can take heart, for at the beginning of last year Campbell-James was in the exact same position. However, racing on two hulls is very much in his blood. His father, David, qualified for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow with 1976 gold medallist Reg White in the Olympic Tornado catamaran, only for Team GBR to boycott the event following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

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Four years later he teamed up with Reg White’s son, Rob, finishing sixth at the Games in Los Angeles.

Despite this heritage, Paul, who turns 27 this year, maintains his experience on two hulls was almost non-existent until the beginning of 2010. One of these few occasions was during the Extreme Sailing Series event in Cowes in 2008 when he took over the helm of JPMorgan Asset Management only to become one of several Extreme 40s to capsize in the blustery conditions.

Extreme 40s moving around the world there is a fair bit of time when we can’t go training or racing because the boat is in the container, there is time to fill in the middle when we’ll do a bit of match racing and as much sailing as I can get in.”

While he may have had limited catamaran experience prior to 2010, the 49er gave him

helmsmen, going for gaps between boats...that occasionally weren’t there, resulting in several collisions through the season.

Personally, Campbell-James continues to live in Southampton as he did when he was at university. His girlfriend works for the Williams Formula 1 team, enabling him to go to Grand Prix events regularly, which he enjoys. But in

© Lloyd Images

Coming from a family that lives and breathes sailing, Paul’s first experiences on the water began when he was just five years old, on Piddinghoe Pond, in Seaford just east of Brighton on the south coast of England. By coincidence this is also where Rob Greenhalgh, skipper of 2007 Extreme Sailing Series winner Basilica and, subsequently, of the TEAMORIGIN Extreme 40, cut his teeth too.

“I used to go out with a piece of string tied to my Oppie! If I got into trouble dad just used to pull me back in,” recalls Paul.

Paul followed the classic route up the dinghy racing ladder, as recommended by the Royal Yachting Association – from Optimists into the 420. In the former he became Optimist national champion in 1995. In the latter he competed in the ISAF Youth Sailing world championship, but his preparation for this event was hampered as he recovered from breaking his leg.

After school Paul was at Southampton University, where appropriately he studied Ship Science, and it was during this time that he took up match racing. After leaving uni, he attempted to mount an Olympic campaign in the 49er two-man skiff but last year abandoned his Olympic aspirations – for the time being – in order to join the Extreme Sailing Series so successfully aboard The Wave, Muscat.

“The 49er has stopped,” he says. “I am just really enjoying the Extreme 40 and that is the big focus for the year. If we can fit in some match racing we will hopefully do that. With the

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adequate experience in performance boats and Campbell-James believes that the intense twoboat jousting that goes on in match racing is good preparation for the Extreme Sailing Series.

“It is a good mix – the match racing and the 49er – in both there isn’t a huge amount of time for communication. We have to know each well enough to know that you are going to go into whatever gap and make decisions quickly.”

His winning the Extreme Sailing Series regattas in Cowes, Kiel and the final event in Almeria in 2010 came as quite a surprise, as even within the Oman Sail camp they started the season as the ‘B’ team to Oman Sail Masirah, driven by the highly experienced French multihull ace Loick Peyron.

“They didn’t expect us to do really well,” says Paul of his team’s initial hopes last season.

“They thought if we did really well we’d get on the podium.” Despite his success on the race course, on the 2010 circuit he gained a reputation as being one of the most aggressive

his down time he says he likes any sport. In particular, he plays a lot of squash and goes kite surfing whenever he can.

As to his goals in sailing, Campbell-James says he would like to win the America’s Cup. “That has been my ambition since I first saw it. Everything I have done in the past has been heading towards that goal. But really I’d like to do everything. I’d like to try the Volvo [Ocean Race] too, although I’m not sure it is for me. I would not rule out going back into the Olympic scene, particularly if match racing came back.”

No doubt, in the meantime, his focus will be on retaining his winning form in the highly competitive Extreme Sailing Series circuit.

62 KIWI C O U P

Skipper interview

Kiwi coup T eam N ew Z ealand joining the E xtreme S ailing S eries is a considerable coup. T hey are the oldest sailing team in the world, formed in 19 93 when they challenged for the A merica’ s C up. K iwi D ean B arker is skipper . mild - mannered on shore , B arker has a killer instinct when he is at the helm of a boat.

As the underdog, Team New Zealand unexpectedly won the America’s Cup in San Siego in 1995 and successfully defended it in Auckland in 2000, all the time under skipper/ helmsman Russell Coutts, considered the greatest racing sailor of modern times. For the final race of their successful 5-0 defence, Coutts handed over the wheel to his young protégé: the writing was on the wall. Dean Barker took the helm of the Kiwi Cup team where he has remained ever since.

In the intervening years, Barker may not have enjoyed quite the same success of his mentor, but he has come close. Team New Zealand won the challenger final of the America’s Cup in Valencia in 2007 and over the last two seasons has notched up back to back wins in the Audi MedCup, considered the pinnacle of monohull fleet racing. Barker, who turns 39 this year, heralds from Takapuna, on Auckland’s North Shore. He is married to New Zealand field hockey player Mandy Smith and the couple have four children, son Matteo and daughters Mia, Olivia and Isla.

he was scooped up by Russell Coutts to join his match racing team.

However, like many of the crews joining the Extreme Sailing Series for the first time, Barker is new to catamaran racing and is on a steep

In the rapid cut and thrust of match racing Barker had found his metier. He subsequently formed his own match racing team which he campaigned vigorously from 1998 until 2000, winning the World Match Racing Championship in that year, in addition to three other World Match Racing Tour events, the Congressional Cup twice and multiple victories at the Swedish Match Cup. At the same time he was successfully fighting his way up through the ranks of talented America’s Cup sailors within Team New Zealand. This process culminated in his helming the B-boat against Coutts in the build-up to the 2000 defence and then, with Coutts’ departure to Alinghi, being handed the keys to the campaign.

learning curve. Bravely, he had his catamaran inauguration last year when he competed in the final Extreme Sailing Series event of the year in Almeria.

“We are struggling with boat handling and boat positioning, but it has been an enjoyable experience,” Barker said at the time. “It is a lot of fun – very, very different from what we are used to. It is going to be a real challenge but every day you feel like you are making improvements and that is rewarding, but there is still a long way to go.”

So, specifically, what is different about it? “The speed, the acceleration, the manoeuvrability,” says Barker. “The manoeuvrability aspect is the single biggest difference, not being able to throw the boat round like you’re used to. The game will be different, no question.”

Since then Team New Zealand has recruited Tornado Olympic sailor and multiple A-Class catamaran World Champion Glen Ashby to

© Paul Wyeth

But for Dean, sailing has always been his paramount interest. He grew up racing P-Class dinghies, winning two of New Zealand’s top trophies in that class. Moving into the Laser, he followed the same path as Russell Coutts and another great Kiwi sailor, Chris Dickson, when in 1990 he won the ISAF Youth World Championships. Being tall he naturally graduated up to the Finn, but narrowly lost out on the trials to represent New Zealand at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. Fortunately, at a time when his sailing career was at a hiatus,

help bring them up to speed with the new discipline. Ashby worked as a coach with BMW Oracle Racing prior to them winning the 33rd America’s Cup and will be the fourth of

Despite being mild mannered, almost shy when you meet him off the water, Barker has a killer instinct when he is at the helm of a boat. He will be ably supported by one of the world’s top crews, two of whom, James Dagg and Jeremy Lomas, are sailing the Team New Zealand Extreme 40 with him in 2011.

Barker’s crew for this year’s Extreme Sailing Series.

Clearly Barker is coming on as a catamaran sailor. Earlier this year at the Australian A-Class National Championship, in a field of 73, Barker finished fifth. Watch this space.

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

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64 ELEVEN T E A M S F O R T H E 2 0 1 1 T I T L E

ELEVEN TEAMS FOR THE

2011 TITLE

W

ith a wealth of new teams and crew line-ups, the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series season promises to be the most competitive yet with 11 boats manned with talent from every corner of competitive yacht racing – the America’s Cup and Volvo Ocean Race skippers and crew to Olympic medallists and numerous world champions.

Whilst just two of the 11 teams are current America’s Cup projects, certainly the America’s Cup moving to catamarans has given an extra edge to the circuit this year, with several new top international sailing teams competing, including two past America’s Cup defenders.

But the question hanging over the outcome to this season is: will victory go to one of the top Cup-style teams that may be new to multihulls or to one of the more experienced Extreme Sailing Series competitors?

Over the past four seasons the Extreme Sailing Series has been won by three teams where the helmsman has previously been a leading skiff sailor: Rob Greenhalgh, the International 14 and 18ft skiff world champion aboard Basilica in the first year, 49er Olympic bronze medallist Chris Draper on Oman Sail Masirah in 2009 and most recently The Wave, Muscat’s Paul Campbell-James, also a 49er sailor. The

HOTSHOTS FROM THE AMERICA’S CUP AND THE OLYMPICS SQUARE UP AGAINST WORLD CHAMPIONS AND RECORD HOLDERS IN THE IMPRESSIVE ROLL CALL FOR THE 2011 EXTREME SAILING SERIES™. BY JAMES BOYD

exception was 2008, won by Alinghi with helmsman Ed Baird, a former Laser and threetime ISAF Match Racing world champion, best known for steering Ernesto Bertarelli’s team to a successful defence of the America’s Cup in 2007.

In 2008 Baird arrived on the Extreme Sailing Series circuit as a newbie multihull sailor, although Alinghi had carried out much in-house training beforehand. The Swiss team ended up winning four out of five of the regattas that year, followed by another America’s Cup team, TEAMORIGIN. Alinghi didn’t compete in the last two seasons and since then the level of competition has certainly risen. So while Cup teams are typically the best resourced, with the most experienced sailors and the most days spent training with the best coaches, victory will be by no means assured for them this season.

One of the two actual Cup teams competing, Team New Zealand, famously won the America’s Cup in 1995 and successfully defended it in 2000. Dean Barker, the 2000 ISAF Match Racing World Champion, has been skipper and helmsman of their team since 2001 and during his tenure the Kiwis ended up racing Alinghi in the 2007 America’s

Cup, eventually being beaten 5-2. However, in the last two seasons the team has enjoyed consecutive victories in the Audi MedCup, considered the leading fleet racing circuit for monohulls. Dean Barker is regarded as one of the top helmsmen in the sport, both in match racing and fleet racing.

Sailing with Barker are two crew from the Kiwi Cup team, trimmer James Dagg and bowman Jeremy Lomas and with them they have catamaran talent in the form of Glen Ashby, the Olympic Tornado, two-time world champion and silver medallist in Beijing. Like Baird in 2008, so Barker is undergoing a fasttrack schooling in sailing on two hulls, but will he learn as quickly?

The second of the two America’s Cup teams, and also on a steep catamaran learning curve is that of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis, who have ultra-competitive American Terry Hutchinson on the helm. Hutchinson is a past J/24, Farr 40 and IMS world champion, a veteran of three America’s Cup campaigns, most recently with Dean Barker on Emirates Team New Zealand in 2007. Like Dean Barker, he has also won the Audi MedCup, as skipper of Quantum Racing in 2008.

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Although Ernesto Bertarelli’s Alinghi, the America’s Cup victor in 2003 and successful defender in 2007, have no aspirations to compete in the next event in 2013, they return to the Extreme Sailing Series this year after a two-year absence.

On this occasion, the team is being led by Breton Tanguy Cariou and helmed by Yann Guichard, who skippered Groupe Edmond de Rothschild into second place in both 2009 and 2010. A very experienced offshore multihull sailor Guichard has also represented France in the Tornado class at the Sydney Olympics.

On the water Yann shows nerves of steel and consistency. Cariou represented France in the 470 class in Sydney, and is a well respected tactician who competed in the America’s Cup in 2007 with

Like Alinghi, Luna Rossa, the team of Prada boss Patricio Bertelli, has a long association with the America’s Cup, having challenged on three occasions. But they are believed not to have their sights on the 2013 event. As is the case with Team New Zealand and Artemis, the team is new to catamaran racing, but has two aces up their sleeve. They have recruited British Olympic 49er sailor and match racer Paul Campbell-James as helmsman and his able tactician Alister Richardson. This British duo won the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series aboard The Wave, Muscat, while Richardson is the circuit’s only two-time winner, having also been on board Basilica, the 2007 winner. They are joined by their skipper Max Sirena, a fourtime America’s Cup veteran – three with Luna Rossa/Prada and most recently with BMW Oracle Racing – and Manuel Modena, another past Luna Rossa America’s Cup crewman, also a past Melges 24 world champion and, like team mates Richardson

and Campbell-James, a former Olympic 49er sailor.

The Austrian duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher return in 2011 aboard Red Bull Extreme Sailing joined by the talented Will Howden and Craig Monk. While they finished sixth in the eight strong Extreme Sailing Series field last year, this duo have the most formidable Olympic track record in the Tornado catamaran, having won gold at both the Sydney and Athens Olympics. Will they be able to up their game this season?

Four other teams are returning, but with new crew line-ups. Oman Sail is once again fielding two boats – The Wave, Muscat and the rechristened Oman Air. Close attention should be paid to this duo as Oman Sail has won the last two seasons of the Extreme Sailing Series and will certainly be gunning for the hat trick.

PI

Unlike Barker, Hutchinson has opted not to bring any catamaran expertise on board and instead is joined by three old hands from the America’s Cup: Sean Clarkson, Morgan Trubovich and Andy Fethers. While it is hard to gauge their form going into this season, Artemis has been undergoing the most intensive two-boat training to get themselves up to speed and will be favourite versus Team New Zealand.

France’s Areva Challenge. He knows the Extreme Sailing Series well, having previously been tactician on Franck Cammas’ Groupama 40. Recently Cariou has become a regular on the Alinghi D35 catamaran, racing on Lake Geneva. They are joined by old Alinghi hands, and seasoned multihull sailors, Nils Frei and Yves Detrey.

rutchet / DP © Vincent Cu

© Paul Wyeth

So who’s going to win? Going into this season probably two-thirds of the teams have the experience, talent and sheer nerve to win.

If the Oman Sail skippers are new this season, many of the crew from last year’s Oman Sail teams remain. They are Nick Hutton and Omani Khamis Al Anbouri on The Wave, Muscat and the UK’s David (‘Freddie’) Carr and Omani Nasser Al Mashari on Omar Air. It is worth mentioning that Khamis was one of the original recruits into the Oman Sail training programme in 2008 and after two seasons of Extreme 40 training he was given a permanent crew spot as bowman on The Wave, Muscat in 2010. He was part of the team that beat some of the best sailors in the world last year. Not bad for a man who had no prior sailing experience before joining Oman Sail.

After competing in two events on the circuit for the first time last year, Team GAC Pindar return this season with an all-new crew. In 2011 their turquoise Extreme 40 is to be helmed by Britain’s Ian Williams. Like Torvar Mirsky, Williams comes from the World Match Racing Tour but with better credentials, having won the series flying the Pindar colours in both 2007 and 2008. Sailing with Williams will be an all-star cast of crewmen from BMW Oracle Racing – beefy Italian Gilberto Nobili and New Zealanders Brad Webb and Jono Macbeth.

Assuming they get the training time in, and Williams acclimatises to catamarans to which he is new, then this could be an extremely powerful team.

Also returning, having finished a close second to The Wave, Muscat last year, is Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. This season the French team will be skippered by Tornado helmsman from the Sydney Olympics, Pierre Pennec, who has been main trimmer/tactician on board Baron Benjamin de Rothschild’s entry for the last two seasons. Experienced all-rounder Hervé Cunningham also returns and the team are bolstered this year with two new recruits: Thierry Fouchier who was previously with BMW Oracle Racing for the 33rd America’s Cup and Christophe Espagnon who represented France in the Tornado in Beijing and previously competed in the Extreme Sailing Series as part of Franck Cammas’ crew on Groupama. © Rober

For 2011 young talented Australian match racer Torvar Mirsky has taken over the helm of last year’s winner The Wave, Muscat and brings with him his tactician from the World Match Racing Tour, Kyle Langford, while leading Oman Air is Frenchman Sidney Gavignet. Gavignet is best known as a multiple Volvo Ocean Race sailor, winning the fully crewed round the world race in 2005-6 on ABN AMRO One. He competed for the team last autumn in the French singlehanded transatlantic race, the Route du Rhum. However, aside from his experience on his 100ft Omar Air trimaran, Gavignet is otherwise new to racing multihulls, particularly inshore and on tight courses, while conversely Mirsky is completely new to multihulls, but used to racing tight courses from his years spent on the World Match Racing Tour.

to Forest i / Cano n

66 ELEVEN T E A M S F O R T H E 2 0 1 1 T I T L E

Two further brand new teams for this season round out the 11 competitors. Following his participation twice at the Extreme Sailing Series in Kiel, German Roland Gaebler is fielding an eclectic mix on Team Extreme.

Gaebler is an Olympic Tornado veteran, Sydney bronze medallist and reigning world champion. While he is relatively new to the class, among his crew are two veterans. Leading French sail maker and one-time Whitbread Round the World Race skipper Bruno Dubois, who previously competed on Mike Golding’s Ecover, and Belgium Olympic sailor Sebbe Godefroid who won silver in the Finn at the Atlanta Games in 1996 and competed at the Beijing Games in the Tornado as part of the only mixed crew. Godefroid has competed on Extreme 40s since the class’ inception. This being a campaign primarily funded by the event organisers, the fourth crew member will be selected locally to represent each host venue country when there is no other home team.

Organisers OC ThirdPole hope to give either an established or up-and-coming sailor some exposure to the Extreme 40 class and perhaps inspire another nation to compete in future years.

While the Luna Rossa team may have an Anglo-Italian crew, team Niceforyou is an allItalian affair. If you are wondering about their name, Nice is an Italian manufacturer of home automation systems.

The crew once again has largely America’s Cup experience – skipper/ helmsman Alberto Barovier has sailed in the last three with Prada, Mascalzone Latino and, most recently, was mid-bowman for BMW Oracle Racing. He is also a 10-time World Champion, but all in monohulls. His tactician will be Alberto Sonino and they will be joined by veteran sail maker and Olympic coach Daniele de Luca, the trimmer on board, who has sailed two Cups, most recently with Mascalzone Latino, while bowman Simone de Mari has sailed four, three with Luna Rossa and, like Barovier, was last year with BMW Oracle Racing.

Bringing catamaran experience to the team is Alberto Sonino, the 2001 Hobie Tiger World Champion, a regular competitor on Tornados, Hobie Cats and Formula 18s, who also raced on Giovanni Soldini’s ORMA 60 trimaran, TIM. Sonino helmed Trapani the Sailing Seacily Extreme 40, when the Extreme Sailing Series visited Italy last year.

So who’s going to win? Going into this season probably two-thirds of the teams have the experience, talent and sheer nerve to win.

So we’re going to leave that one unanswered for now!

Paul Campbell-James, helmsman of the 2010 winning team gives his assessment: “Artemis and The Wave, Muscat again will be strong.

They [The Wave, Muscat] have Torvar, who has done a bit of 49ering and a lot of match racing and they have Nick [Hutton] and Khamis [Al Anbouri] back with them. You can’t rule out Alinghi and Team New Zealand.

It is going to be a wicked season.”

He’s right about that!

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

WELCOME TO BOSTON Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Boston’s Harborfest Welcome The 2011 Extreme Sailing Series™ at Fan Pier

Fan Pier Marina

EXTREME SAILING SERIES™ AT FAN PIER JuNE 30 – JuLy 4 EXTREME sailing in the heart of Boston Harbor! On shore spectator viewing up close and personal.

Five days of racing. Five days of entertainment. Five days to explore Boston’s Waterfront.

Live Entertainment | Fabulous Food | Harbor Regattas | Sailing Exhibitions Civic Displays | Children’s Programs

Proud to serve as host venue to the 2 0 11 e X t r e M e s a i l i n g s e r i e s ™ Boston Harborfest

www.extremesailingseries.com | www.fanpierboston.com | www.bostonharborfest.com

68 MARIN E P O O L

Official clothing

Marinepool - Official technical clothing partner Marinepool is widely regarded as one of the leading sailing clothing and maritime lifestyle brands and is the biggest producer of life jackets for the leisure market in Europe.

© Paul Wyeth

www.marinepool.com

Using only the best materials and state-of-theart production technologies, no stone is left unturned to optimize every product before it reaches the market. 20 years of experience and design excellence, plus the invaluable input of the world class athletes on the Marinepool Racing Team guarantee products at the cutting edge of technology. Uncompromising, highly functional and extremely light weight.

Tested and approved by many of the world´s finest sailors.

Marinepool was founded by German sailors in 1991 who turned their hobby into their job. Ambitiously, the friends chose the globe for their logo, clearly indicating their goal of building an international brand. Their motto “from sailors for sailors” proved a successful strategy for Marinepool. Starting as a sailing clothing company, the success of the technical lines and the demand for aprés sail wear led to diversification into fashion for sailors and watersports enthusiasts.

Marinepool garments shall be worn by the race officials and shore team at the Extreme Sailing Series™.

Nowadays Marinepool defines herself as a “maritime lifestyle company“. A description that is well reflected in a product range covering everything from cutting edge sailing clothing and outdoor wear, technical fashion for sailing and pleasure boating to a superb range of fashion for women, men and kids in true maritime style.

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

OFFICIAL CLOTHING SUPPLIER TO THE EXTREME SAILING SERIES TM

WWW.MARINEPOOL.COM

Excellence and independence since 1849...

Sea for yourself.

Surfing, sailing, windsurfing, kite surfing. The Isle of Wight is nature’s playground, and it’s all yours.

From the big swells and 10ft waves of the West Wight, to the sheltered bays of Sandown and Freshwater, there’s something for everyone. All set against white chalk cliffs, golden sandy beaches and rolling green hills. And with award-winning accommodation to suit every taste and budget, your adventure is sorted.

For more holiday information or to book accommodation visit www.islandbreaks.co.uk or call 01983 813 813.

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Official Print Supplier to

Extreme Sailing Series™

Pindar has been a wide supporter of sailing campaigns for 30 years. We help companies improve their online and offline publishing strategies through provision of print and electronic media, seamlessly integrated using our leading product management software AgilityCMS®.

www.pindar.com • catalogues and brochures from the experts •

FOLLOW THE CIRCUIT E X TREME ONLINE Follow all the action, learn more about your favourite teams, get upto-the minute news and results, and watch the spectacular video online.

You can stay in touch with what’s happening via the official website (you can also view the site from your mobile phone), Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Coming soon an App for iPhone and Blackberry users, and you can sign up for regular updates at the official series website.

Official Website extremesailingseries.com Facebook facebook.com/extremesailingseries Twitter twitter.com/extremesailing YouTube youtube.com/extremesailingseries

E X TREME ON T V All the action and drama, on the water and on shore, is captured for a dedicated TV series and news broadcasts around the world. In 2010 over 120 countries broadcast coverage in 13 languages including CNN, Channel 4 (UK), Bloomberg, Sky Sports (UK/NZ), CNBC (Europe), Fox Sport (Australia), Sport+ (France) and ESPN (Brazil).

Check the website for the 2011 TV listings.

specialising in professional sailing and outdoor events ranging from running, cycling and biathlon, to more extreme sports including adventure racing and trail running.

The company can be found in every outdoor arena: oceans, lakes, mountains, deserts and city centres. Operating from bases in the UK, France and Switzerland, OC ThirdPole is an award-winning and leading event management company and rights holder, it manages competitive teams and athletes and provides consultancy to global brands, host venues and other event organisers. In 2011 this international team will organise more than 80 days of competition, across 17 events in 11 countries. www.octhirdpole.com

CONTACT US

OC ThirdPole UK office t: +44 (0)1983 282797 Swiss office t: +41 (0) 22 707 99 20 e: info@octhirdpole.com

ABOUT...

THE ORGANISER S OC ThirdPole is a global sports marketing and events company

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

Š Lloyd Images

72 FOLLOW T H E C I R C U I T

Marathon Half-Marathon

42.195km 21.1km

La Genevoise Kids runs

6km 500m upto 3km

74

VITAL S TAT S & FA C T S

2011 Extreme Sailing Series™

VITAL STATS & FACTS 11 T E A M S ( IN A DDI T ION , U P TO 3 W IL D C A R D E N T R IE S A LLO W E D PER ACT) 13 N AT ION A LI T IE S * 9 V E N U E S A C R O S S 3 C ON T IN E N T S 4 N E W V E N U E S FOR 2011 ( Q ING D A O, I S TA N B U L , BO S TON A N D NIC E ) 4 C R E W PE R BO AT PL U S A ‘ 5 T H M A N ’ G U E S T 4 4 W OR L D - C L A S S S A ILOR S INC L U DING 29 OLY M P I A N S A N D PA R T IC IPAT ION IN 69 A M E R IC A’ S C U P E V E N T S 47 D AY S OF R A C ING A N D U P TO 282 R A C E S PL A N N E D Y O U NGE S T S K IP P E R TOR VA R MIR S K Y OL DE S T S K IP P E R R OL A N D G A E BL E R A LI S T E R R IC H A R D S ON I S T H E ON LY S A ILOR TO H AV E W ON T H E E X T R E M E S A ILING S E R IE S T W IC E ( B A S ILIC A IN 20 07 A N D T H E WAV E , M U S C AT IN 2010 ) OLY M P IC M E D A L S – 4 GOL D ( R OM A N H A G A R A A N D H A N S P E T E R S T E IN A C H E R , 2 E A C H ) ; 2 S ILV E R ( GL E N A S H B Y A N D S E BBE GODE F R OID ) ; 2 BR ON Z E ( R OL A N D G A E BL E R A N D C R A IG MON K ) DE F E N DING C H A M P ION S T H E WAV E , M U S C AT S INC E T H E S E R IE S BE G A N IN 20 07, A N E S T IM AT E D 75 0 , 0 0 0 S PE C TATOR S H AV E AT T E N DE D TOP S P E E D 4 0 K NOT S ( 74 K M / H / 4 6 M P H ) I T ’ S P O S S IBL E TO “ F LY A H U LL” IN 8 K NOT S ( 14 K M / H / 9 M P H ) L E NGT H 4 0 F T C ATA M A R A N ( 12 . 2 M ) H E IGH T OF M A S T 62 F T ( 18. 9 M ) C A P S I Z E A NGL E : 4 6 ° * A s at January 2011. This number likely to increase as, at some events, the four th crew member on Team Ex treme will be a national sailor from the host venue.

EXTREME // The Official Extreme Sailing Series magazine for 2011

The all-carbon high-performance Extreme 40, main act of the Extreme Sailing Series, is available to buy*

* THE FAINT-HEARTED NEED NOT APPLY • Prepreg carbon/Nomex autoclave construction • North 3DL Carbon Kevlar sails • Race spec equipment • Easy assembly and disassembly • Optional road trailer

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NEW AND USED BOAT SALES AND CHARTER, VISIT:

WWW.EXTREME40.ORG