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Extreme Sailing grabs the momentum
10 Feb 2016
Alinghi at full stretch – photo: Lloyd Images
FOILING: When the Extreme Sailing Series decided to add foils to its already fiendishly quick catamarans, many wondered how it would all turn out.
But now the Extreme Sailing Series has launched its 10th season with new boats, teams and venues, it’s obvious they made a good decision.
Because, with the America’s Cup still some way off, it’s very obvious all the contenders need as much foiling time (and design opportunities) in the new fleet of GC32 catamarans as they can get.
The series will visit eight urban city centres and the Portuguese capital Lisbon makes its debut as a new Stadium Sailing race course and looks set to be a venue highlight for 2016.
Alongside the Portuguese city will be seven other tried-and-tested city stadium settings that have attracted more than one million spectators to the Extreme Sailing Series over the last nine years.
“2016 marks the tenth year of competition for the Extreme Sailing Series and it is going to be a milestone year for us in more ways than one,” said event director Andy Tourell.
“The change of racing platform to the GC32 brings with it a whole new dimension to the racing and public experience.”
Diversify
We have a chance to diversify our format, he added, combining Stadium Racing with match racing, plus the chance to open up the racecourse in some venues, allowing these boats to really stretch their legs – starting with a 20km coastal race to start the season in Muscat, Oman.
The competition on the water promises to be fierce and action-packed with America’s Cup legends, Olympic heroes and world champions preparing to do battle at close quarters.
Among the crews will be veterans of 13 Olympic campaigns and 22 America’s Cup campaigns. Between them they also hold 27 World Championship titles, 27 European Championships and 106 National titles.
The Land Rover BAR Academy squad, announced two weeks ago, will be led for the first two Acts by the 2015 winning skipper and most successful sailor in the series history, Leigh McMillan.
Mr McMillan will mentor the Academy sailors alongside experienced Extreme 40 crew Bleddyn Môn, Ben Ainslie and the Land Rover BAR senior team.
After the season-opener in Muscat in March – where the eighth team will be revealed – the fleet will travel to China’s Olympic Sailing City, Qingdao in May, a venue that has become a firm favourite on the calendar over the years.
Returning to Europe in June, the racing takes place in Cardiff for the fifth consecutive year, an event that attracted record numbers of spectators in 2013, with over 120,000 people taking front row seats around Cardiff Bay.
2016 Extreme Sailing Series Calendar of Acts
16-19 March, Muscat, Oman
29 April – 2 May, Qingdao, China
23-26 June, Cardiff, United Kingdom
28-31 July, Hamburg, Germany
1-4 September, Saint Petersburg, Russia
22-25 September, Istanbul, Turkey
6-9 October Lisbon, Portugal
8-11 December, Australia