Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 6, Istanbul, Turkey - Day 3
by Extreme Sailing Series 14 Sep 2014 10:36 BST
11-14 September 2014
From the Bosphorus Strait to the Stadium: A remarkable penultimate day's racing for the Extreme 40s in Istanbul
The tankers and cargo ships on one of the world's busiest shipping channels, the Bosphorus Strait, were replaced this morning with the magnificent sight of a fleet of Extreme 40s, as traffic was shut down for a spectacular passage race right through the heart of Istanbul. If navigating the channel and racing past some of Istanbul's most spectacular Ottoman architecture wasn't remarkable enough to open the penultimate day's racing at Act 6 of the Extreme Sailing Series™, eight full on, adrenaline-fuelled races were sailed and as always, it is tight at the top between the leading pack heading into tomorrow's final showdown.
Race Director Phil Lawrence summed up an extraordinary day's racing: "The Bosphorus is one of my favourite races. You're sailing around this fantastic waterway and it's very rare that they'll stop all the ships and the scenery is just absolutely fantastic." Going on to talk about this afternoon's racing, "Full-on would sum it up. It was pretty breezy, we had full mainsails – we didn't go to a reef, so it was right on the limit for that. The sailors did a great job."
The defending champions of the Series, The Wave, Muscat have held onto the advantage they had coming into the day, despite picking up no points in race six for not completing a starting penalty for which the team are hoping for a redress. Breathing down their necks after two race wins is Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand, but Barker hinted they would like to go one better: "It was a great experience to do the Bosphorus race this morning and to take a look around there, then we moved into the stadium. We had a good day, and if we'd have said at the beginning of the week that we would be two-points behind the leaders going into the last day, we would have taken that. So we're happy with the way it's going, but you'll always love to do better."
Oman Air are continuing to ride on their season high, holding onto third place, but giving them a run for their money is a revitalised Alinghi, who had fire in their bellies and mistakes to be remedied today. The team, helmed by Morgan Larson, made every point count, as tactician Stuart Pollard explained: "Yesterday it wasn't so good for us in the starts, but today we sorted that out. We sailed consistently around the race track and ended up getting us some points on the board which is good because we needed it after yesterday. Tomorrow we will need more of today, sailing consistently, sailing clean and sailing fast."
The fleet couldn't have asked for better conditions for this afternoon's racing, with 20 knots on the course that saw the crews muscle their overpowered Extreme 40s around the track – at times on the edge of control. Keeping it clean, staying out of the scraps at the marks and timing the starts perfectly was key, and a team who had that sussed today was Groupama sailing team. The French started the day in twelfth place, but two race wins and being the fastest average boat on the water – matched only by J.P. Morgan BAR at 13.77 knots according to the SAP analytics – saw the French begin to make their march, to put themselves in a solid fifth place at close of play. The team are now tied on points with Red Bull Sailing Team, leading the mid leaderboard battle, and after racing skipper Tanguy Cariou commented: "We really had a great day. François Morvan (helm in Istanbul) has done a wonderful job on the starts, he has really analysed the different race configurations and his understanding of the specificities of the Stadium Racing is improving day by day. Today's results are really rewarding both for François and the entire team and it is really gratifying to know that we are back on track."
J.P. Morgan BAR also had a better day today, relishing the bigger breeze and the chance to really stretch their legs. The team, who between them has five Olympic gold medals, took maximum points in two races, to finish the day in seventh place and on 110 points. The Brits most experienced Extreme 40 sailor is former Series winner Nick Hutton, who commented: "We are really enjoying the racing here in Istanbul. Everyday we have had good conditions with a nice breeze. It is a bit gusty at times, but we are starting to read it now, paired with the flat water and open racetrack it makes for some of the best sailing we have had. We are pleased with our boat handling and form today and it's all to play for tomorrow."
After yesterday's impressive showing, the young Australian team on GAC Pindar struggled to get out of the scrum and into the top half of the pack under the intensity of the day's racing. Their day went from bad too worse, when their final race was cut short following a collision with Gazprom Team Russia, which knocked the Aussies out of racing, leaving them with a night of repairs. Skipper Nathan Wilmot talked through what happened: "We were coming down to the bottom mark and Team Russia were behind with no over-lap. We went to go around the mark, they got a gust and hit us. They went through our port bow, and we're not quite sure how bad it all is yet so we will wait and see, but it has been draining water out for the last 15 minutes. We were our own worst enemy out there today, and we were a little out of sync. We just missed a few things, battled hard and it didn't go our way. Unfortunately it was probably our best race when the crash happened, so it was just one of those days."
The battles at the top and mid leaderboard are raging, with three hours of racing left in Istanbul, and a final double points shoot out still to come, there will be no quarter given. Tune into the final day's racing from 1530 local time (GMT+3) to watch the final races, and the winners be crowned.
Standings after Day 3: (24 races)
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 149pts
2nd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Dean Barker, Glenn Ashby, James Dagg, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 147pts
3rd Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Ted Hackney, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 133pts
4th Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 130pts
5th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Tanguy Cariou, François Morvan, Romain Motteau, Thierry Fouchier, Devan Le Bihan 112pts
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Nick Blackman, Mark Bulkeley, Shaun Mason, Stewart Dodson 112pts
7th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Goodison, Bleddyn Mon, Matt Cornwell 110pts
8th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Christian Kamp, Brad Farrand 105pts
9th GAC Pindar (AUS) Nathan Wilmot, Jack Macartney, Ed Smyth, Seve Jarvin, Tyson Lamond 101pts
10th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Cédric Schmidt, Thierry Wasem 100pts
11th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Matt Adams, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 89pts
12th TeamTurx (TUR) Mitch Booth, Edhem Dirvana, Selim Kakış, Ateş Çinar, Anıl Berk Baki 72pts
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The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air maintain podium spots after an athletic big breeze day in Istanbul (from Oman Sail)
The Wave, Muscat maintained their narrow lead in the Extreme Sailing Series in Istanbul after a jittery day of big gains and exasperating losses while Oman Air also stood firm on the podium vowing to keep the pressure on to the finish.
Day three of Act 6 turned into a frenzied affair for the Extreme 40 fleet due to a lively 20 knot breeze on the Marmara Sea, which produced a spectacular show of high octane speeds and flying hulls as well as six different winners in eight races, a sure sign of how close and competitive Extreme racing has become this season.
Between them, the two Oman Sail boats landed five podium places keeping Leigh McMillan's The Wave, Muscat at the top of the leaderboard by two points over Emirates Team New Zealand and their hopes of victory in Istanbul very much alive.
A decision by the race committee that The Wave, Muscat was over the line at the start of Race 22 proved distracting and frustrating. The team went on to win the race and it was only when they crossed the line that they discovered they had earned zero points rather than ten. The decision is being appealed.
"It was a bit frustrating really. We were having an awesome day but then were called OCS after the first mark. No transmission came through throughout the whole of the reach, which they are supposed to do.
"We went on to win the race and to find out at the end that we had been over the line was difficult and it set us back a bit for a while. We had been on a roll and everything was going well. The performance onboard was fantastic and everyone was pushing hard and sailing really well.
"Hopefully we will get it resolved so we can come out tomorrow and concentrate on the racing," McMillan said.
"You just have to forget about that race and move on. We are neck and neck with Emirates Team New Zealand so it is a big day tomorrow and should be exciting. We will be going out and giving it our all."
The bigger breeze took its toll on all the crews with fatigue levels rising as the day wore on.
"It was very breezy, very athletic out there," said Oman Air skipper Rob Greenhalgh who once again was very happy with his team's performance.
"The last few races were a war of attrition but our speed was great and our boat handling was good. There were some good starts, some not so good, but overall we were happy with our day. We could always have done a bit better.
"Tomorrow is going to be close. We are in third place which is good but there are guys right on our heels so it will be close racing."
Sitting three points behind Oman Air are Alinghi, the Swiss team who are customarily locking horns with The Wave, Muscat but according to Hashim Al Rashdi, self-belief on Oman Air is riding high.
"The conditions in Istanbul have helped us to put in a good performance so far. Over the last days, our motivation has been growing and confidence in our ability is good – we are hopeful of maintaining third position."
J.P. Morgan BAR on the march in the best sailing conditions of the Series so far (from J.P. Morgan BAR)
Day three and J.P. Morgan BAR enjoyed some of the best sailing conditions the 2014 Series has delivered so far, at an Act where some of the hardest work has been forced upon them.
The long day on the water started with the 12 strong fleet blasting down the Bosphorus strait, one of the busiest shipping channels in the world and famed for its spectacular backdrop, made even more impressive with the elite Extreme 40 teams.
Unfortunately, the Bosphorus spirit was not with the team, wind traps tricked the unlucky and J.P. MorganBAR struggled to pick up the breeze. However, the afternoon presented another story and the Brits went on to score some good points across the eight races, securing two race wins – finishing the day with a victory – to elevate them up the overall leaderboard into 7th, with 110 points.
Team Trimmer, Nick Hutton, commented on the racing, "We are really enjoying the racing here in Istanbul. Everyday we have had good conditions with a nice breeze, a bit gusty at times, but we are starting to read it now, paired with the flat water and open racetrack it makes for some of the best sailing we have had."
A consistent 16 knots offered an eclectic mix of demands, requiring an outstanding level of boat control, and the team used the conditions to take advantage of the overtaking openings.
Hutton continued, "These conditions also suit the boats more, it means they can really get going and we can stretch the legs of it instead of just accelerate, tack, gybe then doing it all again. We are pleased with our boat handling and form today and it's all to play for tomorrow."
J.P. Morgan BAR's 5th man, Bleddyn Mon, summarised the days racing, "It was a long day, but we felt that we raced well this afternoon and there's no doubt that we are pleased with our two wins. To finish with such a strong lead and a race win was a real high.
"It wasn't a faultless day, we had a few incidents that slowed us down a little bit but, on the whole we were sailing well and up there in most races."
The team now head into the final day with a European battle on their hands, just two points separate them from Austria's Red Bull Sailing Team and France's Groupama sailing team.
Collision puts a premature end to racing for GAC Pindar (from GAC Pindar)
Nathan Wilmot's GAC Pindar crew started the third day of the Extreme Sailing Series in Istanbul, Turkey, in fourth position, but the day ended prematurely for the crew following a collision with Gazprom Team Russia.
GAC Pindar got off to a promising start, finishing runners up in the first race of the day and fourth in round 20, but a collision with Gazprom Team Russia in round 24 halted their promising rise up the table.
GAC Pindar Principal Andrew Pindar said: "Sadly it was a far less fortunate day for us compared to yesterday, but everybody was fine on board after the collision and we'll hopefully get some form of redress for the incident."
"It happens to everyone in Extreme Sailing and after some overnight repairs; we should be back on the water tomorrow and aim to return to our form from earlier in the week."
GAC Pindar currently sit in ninth place with 101 points ahead of the final round of Act 6 tomorrow afternoon.