Bigger racecourse and spectacular racing as the Extreme Sailing Series™ returns to Cardiff

Extreme Sailing Series racing in Cardiff © Lloyd Images

The Extreme Sailing Series™ will bring its unique high-octane stadium-style sailing to Cardiff Bay for the sixth consecutive year from 25 – 28 August, for the sixth Act of the 2017 season.

The international fleet of seven GC32s will include British-flagged wildcard entry Team Extreme Wales, skippered by two-time British Olympian Stevie Morrison.

The ultimate Stadium Racing championship will headline the Cardiff Harbour Festival over the August Bank Holiday, with the free-entry Fan Zone, located next to the Norwegian Church, offering the perfect place to catch a glimpse of the thrilling racing.

The racecourse will be set metres from the shore and Race Director John Craig predicts plenty of foiling action from the world-class crews, with a forecast offering good winds through the weekend.

"We have increased the size of the race area to allow us to give the boats more room to stretch their legs. Cardiff is known for its sea breeze so we're expecting some great sailing and foiling," explained Craig.

Current season leader Oman Air, who won at the UK venue last season, will return to the Welsh capital spurred on by its recent victories in the two previous Acts in Barcelona and Hamburg. But skipper Phil Robertson, whose team includes Series veteran Brit Pete Greenhalgh, is taking nothing for granted.

"We've got to turn up and work hard again. Cardiff is a very unique venue, probably with a lot of reaching and potentially a lot of breeze, so you have to set the boat up for that," Robertson said.

Hot on the heels of the Omani syndicate, and tied on points, is SAP Extreme Sailing Team, helmed by former World Match Racing Tour champion and America's Cup sailor Adam Minoprio.

"It's another day, another puff, another wind shift and Cardiff will deliver what it delivers. We've just got to go there and sail well as a team. If we can do that, then none of the other teams can beat us," said Minoprio, who has helmed the Danish squad to two Act victories to match Robertson's.

For Swiss team Alinghi, that lost its early grip on the leaderboard after a fourth in Act 4 and a disappointing sixth in Act 5, Cardiff offers an opportunity for redemption.

"I think Cardiff will bring some really good racing and we will try to improve on our mistakes in Hamburg. We need to go out and take every race as a single race, see how it goes and try to improve," said the co-skipper of the 2016 winning team, Arnaud Psarofaghis.

Two podium finishes in the previous two Acts has kept Red Bull Sailing Team strongly in contention for a podium finish to the season, while NZ Extreme Sailing Team and Land Rover BAR Academy have their work cut out if they are to close the gap on the rest of the pack.

British-flagged Land Rover BAR Academy, who currently sit at the bottom of the leaderboard, will be hoping for home-field advantage.

"It will be great to have the support of our home crowd, with the racing so close to the shore that we can hear them cheer. This really drives us on to work even harder to put on a good performance," said skipper and bowman Rob Bunce.

Fifth place NZ Extreme Sailing Team will try out a new crew line-up for the Act, with America's Cup winning Emirates Team New Zealand sailor Josh Junior promoted to helm.

Stevie Morrison's British wildcard squad, Team Extreme Wales, will include fellow Olympian Alain Sign, who placed sixth in the 49er in Rio, and James French, who is also a talented downhill skier. The 22-year-old Welshman Michael Beckett, a member of the British Sailing Team, and Martin Evans, 2015 national Laser champion, complete the roster.

Act 6, Cardiff, marks the fourth and final stage for the 2017 Flying Phantom Series, where the champion will be crowned. The international fleet of 13 will race from 10:00 to 14:00 daily, providing a festival of foiling for fans throughout the day. The first three Acts have seen a whitewash by Red Bull Sailing Team.

"It feels good going into Cardiff because I know I just have to continue what I've been doing up until now to finish on top. I've never been to Cardiff but everyone who has sailed there has told me I will love it so I'm really looking forward to it," said helm Thomas Zajac, bronze-medallist in the Rio Olympics, who sails alongside fellow Rio Olympic sailor Australian Will Ryan.

The free-entry public Fan Zone will be open from 10:00 – 21:00 on Saturday 26 and from 10:00 – 19:00 on Sunday 27 and Monday 28 August, offering plenty of on-shore entertainment for the whole family, with live music and a dedicated children's entertainment zone. Get more information about the full entertainment schedule on the official event page.

For those looking for a more unique experience, the Extreme Sailing Series offers a range of VIP packages, which include the opportunity to race on board a GC32 catamaran. More information can be found on the VIP tickets page.

Fans can follow the racing remotely via the live blog from 14:00 – 17:00 UTC+1 on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 August, and watch live on the official Facebook & YouTube channels and on the YachtsandYachting.com homepage from 15:00 – 18:00 UTC+1 on Sunday 27 and 14:00 – 17:00 UTC+1 on Monday 28 August.

Crew line-up for 2017 Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6, Cardiff, UK:

Alinghi (SUI)
Co-skipper/helm: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI)
Tactician/mainsail trimmer: Nicolas Charbonnier (FRA)
Headsail trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI)
Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI)
Floater/foil trimmer: Timothé Lapauw (FRA)

Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR)
Skipper/bowman: Rob Bunce (GBR)
Helm: Owen Bowerman (GBR)
Mainsail trimmer: Oli Greber (GBR)
Headsail trimmer: Adam Kay (GBR)
Floater: Matt Brushwood (GBR)
Reserve: Mark Spearman (GBR)

NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) Skipper/mainsail trimmer: Graeme Sutherland (NZL)
Helm: Josh Junior (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Harry Hull (NZL)
Foil trimmer: Josh Salthouse (NZL)
Bowman: Shane Diviney (IRL)
Reserve: Ned Dalbeth-Hudson (NZL)

Oman Air (OMA)
Skipper/helm: Phil Robertson (NZL)
Mainsail trimmer: Pete Greenhalgh (GBR)
Headsail trimmer: Ed Smyth (NZL/AUS)
Bowman: James Wierzbowski (AUS)
Bowman: Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)

Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT)
Skipper/helm: Roman Hagara (AUT)
Tactician: Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT)
Mainsail trimmer: Stewart Dodson (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Adam Piggott (GBR)
Bowman: Will Tiller (NZL)

SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN)
Co-skipper/coach: Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN)
Co-skipper/tactician/mainsail trimmer: Rasmus Køstner (DEN)
Helm: Adam Minoprio (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Pierluigi de Felice (ITA)
Bowman: Richard Mason (GBR)
Trim assist/grinder: Mads Emil Stephensen (DEN)

Team Extreme Wales (GBR)
Skipper/helm: Stevie Morrison (GBR)
Crew: Alain Sign (GBR)
Crew: James French (GBR)
Crew: Mickey Beckett (GBR)
Crew: Martin Evans (GBR)

2017 Extreme Sailing Series™ Standings:

1st Oman Air (OMA) 54 pts
2nd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 54 pts
3rd Alinghi (SUI) 50 pts
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 47 pts
5th NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) 40 pts
6th Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) 40 pts

Crew line-up for 2017 Flying Phantom Series Cardiff:

Back to Basics (FRA)
Bruno Marais (FRA)/Eric Le Bouedec (FRA)

Culture Foil (FRA)
Eric Peron (FRA)/Théo Constance (FRA)

EVO Visian ICL (GER)
Raphael Neuhann (GER)/Elias Neuhann (GER)

Flying Frogs (FRA)
Gwénolé Gahinet (FRA)/Arnaud Vasseur (FRA)

Lupe Tortilla (USA)
John Tomko (USA)/Jonathan Atwood (USA)

Masterlan (CZE)
David Krizek (CZE)/Milan Harmacek (CZE)

Oman Sail (OMA)
Thomas Normand (FRA)/Antoine Joubert (FRA)/Ahmed Al Hasani (OMA)

Red Bill II (FRA)
Dominique Pichon (FRA)/David Mirabel (FRA)

Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT)
Thomas Zajac (AUT)/Will Ryan (AUS)

Solidaires en Peloton (FRA)
Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (FRA)/Benjamin Lamotte (FRA)

Team Razzle-Dazzle (SUI)
Florian Trüb (SUI)/Ian Andrewes (USA/NZL)

UON (POR)
Helder Basilio (POR)/João Sousa (POR)

ZEPHYR by Idreva (FRA)
Charles Hainneville (FRA)/Antoine Rucard (FRA)

Flying Phantom Series 2017 Standings:

1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 60 pts
2nd Culture Foil (FRA) 55 pts
3rd Solidaires en Peloton (FRA) 48 pts
4th Lupe Tortilla (USA) 47 pts
5th Oman Sail (OMA) 46 pts
6th UON (POR) 41 pts
7th EVO Visian ICL (GER) 38 pts
8th ZEPHYR by Idreva (FRA) 36 pts
9th Cup Legend (FRA) 36 pts
10th Back to Basics (FRA) 34 pts
11th Masterlan (CZE) 32 pts
12th Red Bill II (FRA) 27 pts
13th Black Flag (FRA) 11 pts
14th Flying Frogs (FRA) 11 pts

www.extremesailingseries.com