Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 5, Cardiff, Wales - Day 2
by Extreme Sailing Series 24 Aug 2014 09:06 BST
22-25 August 2014
Big breeze and an epic 11 races in Cardiff reshuffle
The grudge match on Cardiff Bay continued today, where there was no quarter given and no margin for error as a colossal 10 races were sailed, plus a knock out round at Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ presented by Land Rover. With an average of 10 knots of breeze and gusts up to 18 knots rolling across the course, the fleet tore around the tight track travelling at up to 24 knots, and Morgan Larson and Alinghi kept it cool under the pressure, with two race wins enough to elevate themselves to the top of the leaderboard – despite missing out on the gold final in the knock out round. The team's Olympic champion tactician Anna Tunnicliffe explained the Swiss teams approach: "We have figured out a good strategy that works for us, which means keeping it clean and consistent, staying out of trouble and doing what we want to do. Today it was crazy and we had to be full on with the boat handling. Personally, Cardiff is one of my favourite venues for sailing. It keeps us on our toes all the time."
With races lasting just six minutes, manouvres had to be executed quickly and with precision, with rapid deploys of the gennakers, before gybing and furling all in less than 20 seconds. As the breeze built throughout the day, Leigh McMillan and the team on The Wave, Muscat looked relaxed and in control, slowly chipping away at the leaderboard throughout the day, with two race wins enough to upgrade their overnight position from fourth to second. McMillan commented: "I like pacing myself and it takes time to get everything clicking. For us it's about getting details right. It's largely down to the starts still but towards the end of the day we were getting it right. We are on the up and hopefully that gave other people something to worry about."
It was a mixed day for both J.P. Morgan BAR and SAP Extreme Sailing team, who were first and second respectively coming into today. Neither could quite follow up on their storming first day, the Brits now in third and the Danish in fourth – but still very much in contact with the lead. Paul Campbell-James, who is sailing with Ben Ainslie for the first time this week, commented: "It was a tricky day today, we were really punching off the start line. Yesterday we were controlling things from the front but today was pretty different, we weren't really performing as well on the starts which means that you are fighting your way within the pack but the mood is still pretty good on the boat. We are still moving forwards in the fleet whether we are at the front or the back; it is all pretty encouraging."
The Wave, Muscat's stablemates on Oman Air were also impressive today, as were Realteam, both slowly clocking up the points, and making this a real six horse race halfway through the Act. Oman Air's skipper Rob Greenhalgh remarked: "We had a bunch of good races and had some good starts. We are finally getting some time in the boat with the same people and its really making a difference. The communication and split second decisions are critical. It's very competitive out on the start and everyone is fighting for every inch. The decision you make two minutes from the start has a big impact on the whole race. It's about fighting boat on boat."
With the boats hitting top speeds of 24 knots, and with a racecourse just 300 metres wide in places, the fleet went shoulder-to-shoulder on the congested startline and even closer during the mark roundings. Emirates Team New Zealand found out just how tight the course is in the fifth race of the day, when SAP Extreme Sailing team careered into the back of them, knocking out their rudders, leaving the Kiwis without steering, headed for the beach and out of the following two races while on water repairs were made. The jury will decide tomorrow if a redress is applicable.
Red Bull Sailing Team showed a marked improvement today, with two much needed race wins giving the team a boost up the leaderboard to seventh place, as well as morale. Their double Olympic gold medal-winning skipper Roman Hagara was pleased with his team's performance: "We had some good starts, and tried not to make any mistakes around the racetrack. If you can get ahead of the fleet then you're in a good position. It's really important to get good starts, and today we managed a few, but we still have to work on them. It's always good racing here in Cardiff with lots of spectators to watch the racing."
Gazprom Team Russia also had a better day today with a string of results in the top half of the fleet – despite being a little trigger happy off the start, as helmsman Phil Robertson elaborated: "We had a really good day off the line today. We kept it as consistent as we could to keep the routine going and it worked, so we stuck with it and it paid off most of the time. I pulled the trigger a little early in some races and we had three races over the line. We were possibly pushing the starts really hard and that's the result: you either get in front and get a great start or you are over the line and you have to drop back. The start is everything."
Groupama sailing team were unable to make the overnight repairs needed following yesterday's collision with GAC Pindar, but will be back on the water for tomorrow and will be awarded average points for the races they have missed, making it a full fleet of 11 boats for the penultimate day's racing at the Cardiff Harbour Festival.
Standings after Day 2: (20 races)
1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 141pts
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 139pts
3rd J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Campbell-James, Bleddyn Mon, Matt Cornwell 131pts
4th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Jonas Hviid-Nielsen, Brad Farrand, Nicolai Sehested 120pts
5th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wassem 113pts
6th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Ted Hackney, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 106pts
7th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Shaun Mason, Stewart Dodson 91pts
8th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Matt Adams, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 87pts
9th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Ray Davies, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 75pts
10th GAC Pindar (AUS) Nathan Wilmot, Hugh Styles, Ed Smyth, Seve Jarvin, James Wierzbowski 67pts
11th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Romain Motteau, Tanguy Cariou, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 33pts
www.extremesailingseries.com
Tough and Testing Day on Cardiff Bay (from J.P. Morgan BAR)
The second day of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 in Cardiff Bay tested everyone's stamina and commitment. After a record nine races yesterday, the teams sailed ten today, making for another record day and – given the breezy conditions – some of the toughest competition yet seen on the circuit.
The J.P. Morgan BAR team brought home a mixed bag of results that included a second and a last, to end the day third overall behind Alinghi and The Wave, Muscat, and just ten points off the lead.
Matt Cornwell, the team's bowman commented, "Another long day but the conditions have been good. They have been keen to get a lot of races in. It is good really, because we like the long days, it shows our fitness and that we are up there with the others."
The racing was all about the starts, and Cornwell admitted that they hadn't quite been up to yesterday's standards. "Today was all about the starts, today we weren't quite firing, we tried a couple of different things and they didn't work every time – but we were really happy with our fight around the course."
J.P. Morgan BAR's new tactician, Paul Campbell-James agreed, "Yes it was a tricky day today... Yesterday we were controlling things from the front but today was pretty different. We weren't really performing as well on the starts which means you are fighting your way forward from within the pack, but we are still moving forwards in the fleet whether we are at the front or the back; it is all pretty encouraging."
It's Campbell-James' first event since joining Ben Ainslie Racing and he was very happy with the way it was going. "It is great to be a part of the team, they are really professional. Having never sailed with Ben before it is pretty good for the future and I am learning a lot." It's been an added bonus to be sailing his debut on home waters. "It is awesome to be the home team, it is an amazing feeling to hear the support from the shore," concluded Campbell-James.
The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air on the up after another strong performance in Cardiff (from Oman Sail)
The Wave, Muscat jumped a couple of places up the Extreme Sailing Series leaderboard in Cardiff to sit just two points off the top after an eventful but rewarding day that also saw Oman Air in contention after one of their best days of the series so far.
Two-time champion Leigh McMillan and his crew have become known for taking their time – normally the first few hours of an event - before turning on The Wave, Muscat's turbo chargers and Cardiff is no exception.
After pacing themselves on Friday, the customary The Wave, Muscat thrust was finally unleashed half way through racing on Saturday and they moved from fourth to second by virtue of two back to back wins on top of a string of mid fleet successes.
"It took us four or five races to get our starts sorted which was really frustrating but when we did, we got a couple of wins," McMillan explained.
"We then had a few mess ups where we were getting to the windward mark in a better position than at the finish and that was quite unusual. I don't normally make those kind of mistakes but a knock to the head in one of the earlier races set me back a bit and I was a bit out of it.
"It is difficult to get the first day right – we tend to be a bit rusty having not been on the boat for a few weeks. And I like to pace myself at the start of an event so it takes a while to get all the details right.
"Winning here is largely down to the starts – by the end of the day we were getting it right and things were starting to click and go well. It was a tough day but the team put in an awesome performance so we are headed in the right direction and on the up."
A runners-up place in the last race left the crew on a high, and within two points of leaders Alinghi but knowing they have a mountain to climb to overhaul their long-time rivals in the remaining two days of racing.
"It was a very good day for us," said Nasser Al Mashari.
"There were strong winds again with gusts up to around 20 knots. We had a slow start but by the end we were leading and that was what we were aiming for. So far so good – two good days for us."
Rob Greenhalgh's new look crew on Oman Air also enjoyed another successful day with a second outright win plus three seconds to retain their sixth place overall and bring Oman Sail's podium place tally for the day to nine.
"Every Extreme day is a day of highs and lows but today we had a bunch of good races," said Greenhalgh.
"Communication is so important in these boats because you are having to make split second decisions so getting time together in the boat is starting to pay dividends."
"The starts are very competitive, everyone is fighting for every inch and any decision you make two minutes from the start is going to have a massive impact."
As well as keeping on top of the conditions in Cardiff Bay, McMillan and his crew of Sarah Ayton, Nasser Al Mashari, Pete Greenhalgh and Kinley Fowler also played host to special VIP guest Jessica Fellowes, author of "A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey" and niece of Downton Abbey Creator and Writer Julian Fellowes. It reminded her of being on the set of Downton Abbey, she said afterwards.
"It was amazing! I always cry at people doing things so brilliantly, so I'm afraid this did bring a tear to my eye – they are so absolutely impressive – I didn't have a clue what was going on and was completely afraid of messing things up for them and not being in the right place at the right time, but the team was very nice to me and showed me where to be and when and we came third!
"There was some tension, you are sitting in your little corner on your own and you can see all this action going on around you – they are making snap decisions the whole time and you want to be helpful, but there is no way and you do your best to crawl along the netting the best you can!
"Racing on The Wave, Muscat today reminded me so much of being on the set of Downton Abbey because everybody knows how to do their job, it is very complicated, with a lot of people, and yet they all get it done with focus and calm."
Cardiff Bay, where the Extreme 40 fleet action is staged close to shore, provides a superb viewing platform for "Stadium Racing". In addition, there is live music, street and open-air theatre, children's entertainment and sporting and food events since Act 5 is one of the highlights of the 2014 Cardiff Harbour Festival.
GAC Pindar move up the leader board on Day 2 in Cardiff (from GAC Pindar)
Following a tough first day on the water, GAC Pindar was much improved on Day 2, moving off the bottom of the leader board after some very strong results.
It was clear that the hard work and perseverance of GAC Pindar skipper Nathan Wilmot and his crew was paying off, with GAC claiming their first podium finish of Act 5, finishing in third place in race 15.
The team also claimed two 4th placed finishes in races 12 and 14 and a 6th place finish in the first race of the day, holding off a late attack from Sir Ben Ainslie and his JP Morgan BAR team on the finish line.
GAC Pindar skipper Nathan Wilmot is confident that the improvements will continue throughout the weekend, "We've worked very hard and today has shown that we're more than a match for the other teams out there. The boys were great on the water and we will be looking for more of the same tomorrow."
The fleet set out for the second day of competitive sailing under blue skies and strong winds. A heavy downpour during the first race threatened to dampen the spirits of the buoyant Cardiff Bay crowd, but quickly subsided to leave the spectators to enjoy the racing and sunshine over the bank holiday weekend.
GAC Pindar moved up the leader board to 10th in the standings with 67 points. Alinghi currently sit on top of the leader board with 141 points.