Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 1, Singapore - Overall
by Extreme Sailing Series 9 Feb 2015 07:51 GMT
5-8 February 2015
Rivalries dominate the start of the 2015 season as Red Bull Sailing Team narrowly deny SAP Extreme Sailing Team victory
Double Olympic gold medallists Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher and their team on Red Bull Sailing Team have won the opening Act of the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series™, soaking up the pressure of expectation in front of the crowds in Singapore to become kings of Marina Bay after 32 hard fought races. The team from Austria had the points advantage heading into the final day and held their nerve, despite the onslaught from SAP Extreme Sailing Team in a cut and thrust battle that went down to the last few metres of the final race that eventually denied SAP Extreme Sailing Team the Singapore trophy by just five points. With The Wave, Muscat rounding out the podium positions, the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series is well and truly up and running!
"We are all thrilled, it's great. The young guys did a great job and I think all of our experience was very helpful; together as a team we kept everything together and it was perfect for us," commented Hagara, who together with tactician Hans Peter Steinacher selected Red Bull Youth America's Cup sailors Jason Waterhouse, Shaun Mason and Stewart Dodson to join them this season. "This win showed us that we can do it. We didn't have as much luck in the last season but here everything went well for us. I think we now are making good decisions on the racecourse."
SAP Extreme Sailing Team were on a mission, nailing confidence boosting early races that made the Austrians earn every point, to take a deserved second place – their best ever finish. "It's such a great job by the team and we are so happy with the second place, its been a long time since the podium and this one feels so good," commented co-skipper Rasmus Køstner. "This regatta has been a long event under very shifty conditions; we have tried to improve throughout and have managed to get the most out of the challenging conditions. We definitely feel like we are doing a lot of things right at the moment and hope to be able to continue that."
Leigh McMillan and his team from Oman are famous for their final day comebacks, but the Danes and Austrians were not going to be muscled out, leaving the twice-Series champions in third place. McMillan commented: "We went out fighting, but went into the last race with a bit too much to do, and didn't get the strategy right from the start. We're a little disappointed to finish third but we can't take anything away from Red Bull Sailing Team and SAP Extreme Sailing Team. It goes to show there's a lot of talent out there. We're still going to fight all the way through the season, and we know we're going to have our turn
Skyscrapers of steel and glass dominated the compact Marina Bay track and the huge crowds got up close and personal to the action from the public Race Village that saw thousands of people pass through its gates over the weekend. The final day's racing saw the nine top international teams battle it out in superb conditions of 15 knots with gusts up to 21, that gave the spectators on shore the spectacle they came for.
Gazprom Team Russia, this season with three Russian sailors onboard including skipper Igor Lisovenko, showed they are a real contender, sailing consistently to finish the Act in fourth place, just seven points behind The Wave, Muscat. The second team from the Omani stable, Oman Air, took the final race, to finish their debut regatta under skipper Stevie Morrison in fifth place, with the Australian crew on GAC Pindar who have been making quiet progress all week, finishing in sixth, despite sitting out four races on day two with a damaged bowsprit.
Beko Team Turx and Lino Sonego Team Italia may be the new teams on the block but they showed no intention of being bullied out on the track, with both taking their share of race wins over the regatta, as did the local entry Team Aberdeen, supported by Host Venue Partner Aberdeen Asset Management. The last word went to Team Aberdeen skipper Nick Moloney, a man who knows the Series better than most. "It's always a pleasure to compete in this fleet – it is an elite group. Stevie (Morrison) was fantastic this weekend, and there's a lot of new additions to the fleet which is really exciting. The Extreme Sailing Series is always the place to be. There's a whole lot going on in the sailing world across the board but they don't compare. It's an absolute pleasure to be here."
Next stop – Muscat Oman, 11-14 March.
Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 1 Singapore Overall: (32 races)
1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Jason Waterhouse, Shaun Mason, Stewart Dodson 232pts
2nd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Mads Emil Stephensen, Brad Farrand 227pts
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 220pts
4th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Alexander Bozhko, Aleksey Kulakov 213pts
5th Oman Air (OMA) Stevie Morrison, Nic Asher, Ted Hackney, Ed Powys, Ali Al Balashi 198pts
6th GAC Pindar (GBR) Seve Jarvin, Jack Macartney, Marcus Ashley-Jones, Tyson Lamond, James Wierzbowski 182pts
7th Lino Sonego Team Italia (ITA) Lorenzo Bressani, Enrico Zennaro, Gabriele Olivo, Tom Buggy, Adam Kay 180pts
8th Beko Team Turx (TUR) Edhem Dirvana, Mitch Booth, Selim Kakış, Diogo Cayolla, Anıl Berk Baki 166pts
9th Team Aberdeen (SIN) Nick Moloney, Adam Beashel, Tom Dawson, Freddie White, Justin Wong 156pts
Extreme Sailing Series™ 2015 overall standings:
1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 10pts
2nd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 9pts
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 8pts
4th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 7pts
5th Oman Air (OMA) 6pts
6th GAC Pindar (GBR) 5pts
7th Lino Songeo Team Italia (ITA) 4pts
8th Beko Team Turx (TUR) 3pts
www.extremesailingseries.com
The Wave, Muscat open 2015 season with a podium place with Oman Air hot on their heels as they look ahead to Act 2 in Muscat (from Oman Sail)
The Wave, Muscat opened their 2015 Extreme Sailing Series with a podium place on the overall leaderboard in Singapore while Stevie Morrison's Oman Air saved their best until last with a superb double points win in the final race.
Two-time series champion Leigh McMillan had victory in sight when Act 1 in Singapore started on Thursday even though the venue had not proved happy hunting ground in previous years.
But he settled for third place after an intense battle with SAP Extreme Sailing Team and eventual winners Red Bull Sailing Team who took their first win in four years on the Extreme circuit. With a whole year's racing ahead, the 2015 contest looks set to be close, fast and fascinating, McMillan said.
"It's not a great result for us but hats off to Red Bull and SAP who were solid all weekend," he said.
"We thought we might be able to reel them in today and at times we got some points back but it was hard when they are performing at that level, race in race out without any easing off.
"We will tweak a few things and come back fighting in Oman which is our favourite venue because it is the home of our sponsor The Wave, Muscat. We have won twice there and we really enjoy having all our sponsors and fans watching so for us Muscat is really where we will kick off our season."
Omani bowman Nasser Al Mashari was also looking forward to racing in front of his friends and family in Oman.
"We are very happy to be heading off to our home waters and raising the national flag. Hopefully we can do better there as we have done before," he said.
There were four podium places today for The Wave, Muscat including their 7th out-and-out win of the event from 32 races. Oman Air added another three podium places to the Oman Sail tally including the final double pointer win which was their second of the event, marking an impressive 5th place debut for this new look line up.
"When I was growing up, my Dad used to say you are only as good as your last race and we won our last race today so we are going home happy," said skipper Morrison, the British Olympic 49er sailor.
"The word easy definitely does not come to mind, but I think it is quite open and we have some work to do but we will be looking to put some pressure on the teams above us as the season evolves.
"There are three very polished teams on this circuit but it is tight and the margins are tiny. Small differences make a big difference. I think the top three over the course of the year is a realistic aim for us though it will be a big ask.
"It's been great fun in Singapore though I think I have a few more grey hairs than when I came. I'm sailing with a great bunch of guys – we are all friends – and we're trying to be the best in the world at something we love doing so what's not to enjoy.
"Already we are really looking forward to the next event in Oman our home venue which is really exciting. The whole Oman Sail programme is about inspiring kids to get out on the water so the idea of having thousands of people come and watch us is really exciting."
Since it started hosting the Extreme Sailing Series in 2009, Muscat has emerged as one of the sailor's favourite venues due to the hot sun, consistent breeze and open seas offering a superb arena for Extreme 40 racing just metres from the beach. It all kicks off in less than five weeks time on Wednesday March 11 with the final race set for Saturday March 14.
Successful debut for Australian Sailing's Jason Waterhouse at 2015 Extreme Sailing Series™ winning opening act with Red Bull Sailing Team (from Cora Zillich, Australian Sailing)
Jason Waterhouse awarded Land Rover "Above and Beyond Award"
Austria's Red Bull Sailing Team secured overall victory on the final day of the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 1 in Singapore yesterday (Sunday 8 February). Reinforced with young talent from the Red Bull Youth America´s Cup, including Australian Sailing Team's Jason Waterhouse (NSW), double Olympic champions from Austria Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher came out on top on the last of the 32 races to edge past SAP Sailing (Denmark) and favourites The Wave Muscat, who finished third.
With six race wins and ten further podium spots, Red Bull Sailing mastered the difficult wind conditions to beat the competition over four days with skipper Roman Hagara, tactician Hans Peter Steinacher, helmsman Jason Waterhouse (AUS), trimmer Stewart Dodson (NZL) and bowman Shaun Mason (GBR) grabbing their maiden win in the Extreme 40 sailing series.
"It is the combined force of our experience and the youthful exuberance of the three guys. We did not expect for this constellation to bear fruit that quickly. So we are even happier," a beaming tactician Steinacher said in Singapore in front of thousands of fans.
Together with skipper Hagara, Steinacher helped launch the Red Bull Youth America´s Cup in 2013 to develop new sailing talent. "Now we have them on our Extreme 40 project. The regatta was extremely hard and exhausting for all of us. With the shifting conditions, the extremely humid heat between these skyscrapers, it was the best tactics coupled with teamwork that made the difference."
Australian Sailing Team's Jason Waterhouse, World #3 in the Olympic Nacra 17 class together with cousin Lisa Darmanin, is one of this up and coming sailing talent. The 23-year old was part of the 2013 Red Bull Youth America's Cup Team and was thrilled to get the opportunity to join the Extreme Sailing Team:
"I feel really fortunate that Red Bull with Roman and Hans gave me the opportunity to come to Singapore and race", he said. "It is a real testament to what the Red Bull Youth Americas Cup has done for myself and my two team mates Shaun and Stu, who also competed in the Cup. It helped us all to transition to more high performance and more professional racing."
"It's been amazing experience here in Singapore. The X40 racing is so intense and the venue is so small and tricky with the surrounding high rises here."
Waterhouse who is also aiming for Rio 2016 believes his Olympic sailing will benefit from this type of racing:
"I think that this type of racing, although unique, brings a lot of benefits to my Olympic sailing. The intensity and high amount of races in such a congested format really pushes my mental strength and builds my boat-on-boat skills. It's always good practice for your nerves when your flying these $500K boats around the course missing each other by inches."
About the plans for the Olympic campaign in the Nacra 17, the mixed-gender multihull class which will be new on the program in Rio 2016, he added: "From here I'm heading back to Australia get some time in with Lisa on the Nacra and to tick some final training goals before we head to Europe in March."
"This year is our Olympic selection and I'm looking forward to improving our racing against the worlds best. We were happy with the bronze in Santander and now we only have eyes for the Gold in Rio."
In Singapore, Waterhouse not only took home the win with his Red Bull Sailing team, but was also awarded the Land Rover "Above and Beyond Award" in recognition for his stunning debut performance.
The "Land Rover Above and Beyond Award" recognises sportsmanship, strength of mind and team spirit and Waterhouse received the award from Land Rover Asia Pacific Managing Director, Russell Anderson.
Waterhouse is the second Australian in a row to be presented with this award after former Australian Sailing Team athlete and London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Tom Slingsby received it at the Extreme Sailing Series event in Sydney in December.
Race Director, Phil Lawrence explained the Committee's decision. "Rarely do we see a new helm explode out of the starting blocks as Jason Waterhouse has demonstrated in Singapore. He's one of the youngest sailors on the circuit, and the consistent performance he has put in here, posting a podium finish in half of the races over the four days of combat, is impressive. The other teams are going to be keeping a close eye on him over the coming season."
Red Bull Sailing were dominant in Singapore, recording the highest average speed, the highest downwind speed and the fewest manoeuvres.
Australian Sailing Squad's James Wierzbowski (VIC) finished overall sixth with the all Australian GAC Pindar Team.