Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 2, Muscat, Oman - Day 1
by Extreme Sailing Series 19 Mar 2014 19:25 GMT
19-22 March 2014
Multiple winners on opening day in Muscat as SAP Extreme Sailing Team take early lead
The fleet of 11 elite level Extreme 40 catamarans headed onto the Muscat racecourse for the opening day of Act 2 of the global Extreme Sailing Series™, in what it's shaping up to be an unpredictable and close fought event, with five different winners over seven races. The Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team had the edge over the less consistent teams, but with only 16 points separating the top eight, there will be some tough competition tomorrow as the front runners try to establish a firm lead. "It's going to be a long regatta and it's only day one but we're happy with our performance today and hopefully it can continue", commented SAP Extreme Sailing Team's co-skipper Jes Gram Hansen, who went on to talk about the key to success on this racecourse. "When you get ahead of the fleet it becomes easier, you have clean breeze and you're actually just gaining and gaining. Tomorrow we just need to stay focused."
SAP Extreme Sailing Team, Emirates Team New Zealand and The Wave, Muscat all came away with a win apiece, with Alinghi and Groupama sailing team taking two, keeping everyone guessing right up to the last race as to which team would finish the day on top. The fleet raced in open water, giving them the chance to stretch their sails under a brilliant Arabian sun, in a light breeze between 5-7 knots that played across the course, with each windward-leeward two-lap race lasting just over 15 minutes.
Series Main Partners Land Rover today announced a new partnership with the Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team, as the Official Team and Vehicle Partner, adding further gravitas to the premium British car company's relationship in the sport of professional sailing. On the water, it was a frustrating end to the day for the Austrian boat, fronted by double Olympic champions Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, who were tied on points at the top of the leaderboard going into the final race. A tenth place in that race proved costly, and the team finish the day in sixth, showing just how quickly things can change on the racecourse.
Skipper Hagara commented: "The teams will need to be more consistent tomorrow. You really need a good start out there, as it's so difficult to get back in it when you start from the back. All the teams are very strong and that's why we are very tight on points. No mistakes will be the plan for all teams!"
After a somewhat conservative start to the event for both four-times Olympic champion Ben Ainslie's British team J.P. Morgan BAR, and Gazprom Team Russia, helmed by two-times Series winner Paul Campbell-James, the British helms began to master the racecourse, both securing finishes in the top three. Campbell-James summed up the day: "We had some good races and some bad races, unfortunately more bad races than good ones so it was a little frustrating. There's a lot of positives we can take from today – our downwind speed was a lot better, our upwind speed felt pretty good and our crew work is improving every day. The most important thing tomorrow is that we will be back to reaching starts, which may provide a bit of variety as to who gets to the line first. We're close to the shore with a good Omani crowd as enthusiastic as ever, so we're looking forward to it!"
It was a testing day for Realteam, who were unable to continue riding on their wave of success following their third place in Singapore just three weeks ago, and also for GAC Pindar, who couldn't emulate their recent 18-foot skiff success during the day's racing, with the teams finishing tenth and eleventh respectively.
During this morning's press conference, attended by national and international media, Alinghi's helm for this Act Morgan Larson predicted, "this event will be a real test, and only the best team will rise to the top" and with three days of Stadium Racing still to come, it is anyone's guess who will be crowned champions in Muscat.
Standings after Day 1: (seven races)
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Peter Wibroe, Nicolai Sehested 48pts
2nd Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 45pts
3rd Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Sophie de Turckheim, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 45pts
4th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 44pts
5th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 43pts
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Nick Blackman, Stewart Dodson 41pts
7th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Tom Johnson, Will Howden, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 33pts
8th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Pippa Wilson, Matt Cornwell 32pts
9th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 25pts
10th Realteam (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wassem, Nils Palmieri 22pts
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) Seve Jarvin, Troy Tindill, Ed Smyth, Sam Newton, David Gilmour 16 pts
www.extremesailingseries.com
The edge on the fleet for the SAP Extreme Sailing Team (from Gillian Clarke, SAP Extreme Sailing Team)
The heat is on for the SAP Extreme Sailing Team today in more ways than one as they hit the race course later today in Oman Muscat for the second day of Act 2 in the Extreme Sailing Series 2014. Spectators and guests visiting the Almouj Golf Club will be gripped by the racing, as the competing teams will battle it out in 12 gruelling races in temperatures reaching 30 degrees.
Despite the intense heat The SAP Extreme Sailing Team, who are competing against 10 other teams of world class sailors, know that to stay ahead of the pack, they need to play it cool and calm when executing manoeuvres today.
This morning Rasmus Kostner commented:
"Today the intensity rises as we go into stadium racing format. Reaching starts and shorter courses makes the race even more challenging and more about positioning and boat speed. We know that yesterday's result is just the first step on the way and there's a lot of work ahead to retain a good result here in Oman.
We've been consistent with our drills and procedures within the team. Our rigorous preparations to setup for the new racing format should put us in a strong position and support our decision making and staying out of trouble on the race course.
Our team is really competitive and we're sure we will continue to push even harder today to even the score. We're pretty motivated to perform well and with the sunshine, sea breeze and good atmosphere on board we are ready to keep fighting on day 2 here in Oman.
Key points for the team today will be to get speed off the start line. Choosing the clean lanes and keep fighting. Our boat speed is very promising and we feel we match the best teams around the course. We are very thankful to Conde del Mare and the great refit they have made leading up to this season."
The SAP Extreme Sailing Team currently lie in 1st place overall for this regatta and are determined to keep the pressure on.
Solid start for Oman Sail's The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air on opening day of Extreme Sailing Series Muscat (from Oman Sail)
Muscat rolled out the red carpet for teams competing in the Extreme Sailing Series at the stunning new venue at Almouj Golf Club today and spurred local crews from Oman Sail's The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air to some solid performances on the first day of racing.
Hosting the Extreme fleet for the fourth consecutive year, Oman delivered near perfect conditions for the start of the four-day event with brilliant sunshine, blue skies and a light and puffy seven-knot breeze welcoming the 11 crews as they headed on to the water for the first of seven races.
Both Oman Sail teams achieved podium places in the opening race with Rob Greenhalgh's crew on Oman Air storming to a second place and The Wave, Muscat, skippered by Leigh McMillan, taking third in a promising curtain-raiser.
There was more success to come when McMillan, the defending Extreme champion who is seeking his third crown in three years, swept to a resounding victory in Race 7, the last race of the day to lift The Wave, Muscat two places on the leaderboard to fourth.
Oman Air closed the first day 11 points adrift in 7th place, one point ahead of Sir Ben Ainslie's JP Morgan BAR but with five different winners from seven races today, skipper Greenhalgh knows full well there is every chance of making significant gains on day two.
"We started the day off well but then had a couple of bad races but everyone was up and down as the results showed," said Greenhalgh, who has two Omani sailors, Hashim Al Rashdi and Musab Al Hadi, as an integral part of his five strong crew.
"Conditions were light and tricky and the race courses were short so there were plenty of tactical decisions to be made.
"One thing for sure is that the fleet gets better through the day and we have to get better as well. It's a challenge - there are a lot of good guys out there and any mistakes get penalized heavily.
"But I feel we've had a good day, we are improving all the time and we feel we can move things forward."
Hashim Al Rashdi, one of the only crewmembers to have raced in the waters off the Almouj Golf Club before said it had been a mixed day but having family and friends among the crowd was strong motivation.
"Sailing in home waters is making me very proud because all of my family and friends are here and expecting great things from me," he said.
"We felt as if we made good progress so it was a good day for us. We had two or three good starts and a few average starts but there are 11 boats on a small start line so this is a challenge. We were mainly happy with the positions we picked. Hopefully we can do better tomorrow."
McMillan, who won the Muscat Act last year, admitted the day had proved quite challenging but their excellent downwind speeds had pulled them out of trouble.
"The conditions were tricky and the difference in boat speeds were massive," he said.
"We didn't have the starts or the strategies we needed for a fantastic day but we had some really good comebacks especially downwind to keep us in the fight and we will continue pushing to the last day.
"We ended up locked in with other boats off the start line and not being able to sail our own race all the time which made things difficult.
"In these conditions, this competition is an open book – the boats are evenly matched and everyone is having their moment. The stadium sailing tomorrow will be just as challenging – the set up on the start will be different and it will be even more crammed and the wind will be more messed up by the boats so it will be interesting!"
Light and inconsistent racing for Extreme Sailing Series Act 2 opener (from J.P. Morgan BAR)
Act two's opening day of the Extreme Sailing Series brought light and tricky racing for Britain's J.P. Morgan BAR and the 11 Extreme 40 sailing teams. The team, lead by Ben Ainslie, collected a mixed bag of results throughout the day as they tried to master the unpredictable sea breeze off the Arabian Peninsula.
Finishes in the bottom three were followed up by two-second places, but overall the team were content with their results as, across the board all the teams were delivering inconsistent finishes. Reflecting on their first day and only their fifth time racing together as team, Tactician, Paul Goodison commented, "It was a bit of a mixed bag today, some of the races we did quite well in, some of the races we got caught in the middle of the pack and always seem to come out at the back end which was very frustrating.
We still need to sharpen up going round the corners and with some of the tacks and gybes but I guess all in all some reasonable positives to come out of our first day."
Bowman, Matt Cornwell continued, "Overall it was quite hard to get a handle on it - everyone is kind of going the same speed, everyone seems to be doing pretty well then having a bad race. We feel a little frustrated as we struggled to get a real grip on the day but we know a couple of things we can improve on, so that will be a focus tomorrow and we recognize what we did well so we will keep those going.
Goodison concluded, "When we were at the front we managed to stay there a couple of times so moving forward we know what we can learn from so it's a case of debriefing and looking at some videos tonight, seeing how we can get better and ready to go again tomorrow."
The team finishes the day in eighth place with 32 points, one point behind local team, Oman Air and seven ahead of Gazprom Team Russia. Racing continues from 14.00 local time on Thursday 20th March.
GAC Pindar take positives from difficult first day in Muscat (from Adam Tanous, GAC Pindar)
The GAC Pindar team experienced a difficult first day of racing in Muscat, but will take the positives from their first ever competitive outing in Oman.
Racing together in only their second ever Extreme Sailing Series Act, the crew, led by skipper Seve Jarvin, finished the day in 11th place overall, but showed fighting spirit, particularly in Race 4 where they climbed from last position to 6th on the final stretch of water, to post their best finish of the day.
The team also notched 7th and 8th placed finishes during the day, and GAC Pindar skipper, Seve Jarvin, is confident of improvement: "Muscat was always going to be another big learning curve for this young team, but we showed real spirit in the middle races, and will look to build on that for tomorrow's racing."
The fleet set out for the first day of competitive sailing under blue skies and 6-8 knots of breeze at the exciting new venue, the Almouj Golf Club at The Wave, Muscat. With five different race winners in seven races, the battle for overall victory in Oman is wide open.
GAC Pindar ended the day 11th in the standings with 16 points. SAP Extreme Sailing Team sits on the top of the leader-board with 48 points.
Racing resumes tomorrow at 14.00pm local time.