Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Series at Rio de Janeiro - Day 1

Team Basilica had a flying start after day one of the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Series at Rio de Janeiro © Volvo Extreme 40 class

Team Basilica had a flying start after day one of the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Series at Rio de Janeiro © Volvo Extreme 40 class

Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix gets off to flying start

The Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Series got off to a flying start in Rio. After four races Team Basilica, helmed by British 49er sailor Alister Richardson, established an early lead over the fleet.

Team Basilica was quick off the starting blocks and the new addition of Jonathan Taylor to the experienced team of Richardson, Peter Greenhalgh and James Grant proved a winning formula on day one.

The British team was unbeatable in the first three races but eventually in the fourth race of the day Motorola-CHR, helmed by British Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan managed to gain the upper hand. Motorola-CHR crewed by IMOCA single handed round the world sailor Conrad Humphreys, McMillan’s Tornado crew Will Howden and Global challenge competitor Hamish Oliphant, managed to pass Basilica, when they decided to gybe early for the finish, to score their first victory in the series.

James Grant commented: “Today we worked really well as a team on Basilica with good communication, helped along by the fact that Peter and Alister have the experience of sailing together for six years in 49ers. Our ten days winter training also seems to have paid off and Boycey (Jonathan Taylor) has proved a great addition to the team.”

The Volvo Ocean Race boat skippered by Diogo Cyolla from Portugal had mixed results on their first day out racing in the boat. With the added pressure of taking over the second placed boat in the series, Cyolla and his crew of Gregg Homann, newly crowned J24 world champion Mauricio Santa Cruz and Eduardo Perido put in a consistent performance to finish third overall after the first day of racing.

Throughout the week Cyolla will have a number of guests sailing onboard and tomorrow will see the addition of Australian Chris Nicholson. Nicholson, a helmsman onboard the Volvo Open 70 movistar, will be a useful addition to the team with his wealth of dinghy experience and a previous holder of both the world and European championship titles in the Olympic 49er class.

Overall series leader Tommy Hilfiger, helmed by two times Olympic silver medallist Randy Smyth, ended day one in fourth place just one point in front of Team Holmatro, helmed by class creator and Olympic medallist Mitch Booth.

Booth commented: “This breeze is exactly what these boats have been created for. It has been a great days sailing with 10-15 knots, which is the perfect range for these boats. We didn’t have a great day on Holmatro but it is the first day our team has sailed together and you learn something new about these boats every day that you sail them.”

He continued: “It is really satisfying to see the fleet together again and in these conditions you get to see the boats full potential.”

Racing continues tomorrow at 14 00 (local) and the series continues through until Sunday 26 March.

Results after day one: (four races, 10pts for 1st, 8pts for 2nd etc.)

1. Basilica (1,1,1,2) 38 pts
Alister Richardson (GBR), James Grant (GBR), Pete Greenhalgh (GBR), Jonathan Taylor (GBR)
2. Motorola – CHR (2,3,2,1) 32 pts
Leigh McMillan (GBR), Conrad Humphries (GBR), Will Howden (GBR), Hamish Oliphant (GBR)
3. Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,3,5) 23 pts
Diogo Cyolla (POR), Gregg Homann (AUS), Mauricio Santa Cruz (BRA), Eduardo Perido (BRA)
4. Tommy Hilfiger (3,5,4,4) 20 pts
Randy Smyth (USA), Jonathan Farrar (USA), Stan Schreyer (USA), Juliano Viana (BRA)
5. Holmatro (5,4,5,3) 19 pts
Mitch Booth (AUS), Taylor Booth (AUS), Daan Koene (NED), Herbert Dercksen (NED)

Team Basilica makes winning start to Rio stage of VX40 series

Team Basilica, the only British owned, sponsored and crewed boat taking part in either the Volvo Ocean Race or the Volvo Extreme 40 catamaran series made its mark in Rio de Janeiro today, winning the first three of the four inaugural races in the Volvo Extreme 40’s and finishing a close runner-up in the fourth.

Team Basilica led its competitors around the first mark in all four races and maintained a clear lead to the finish line in races one, two and three. However, Basilica’s gennaker sheets tangled around the furler in race four allowing rivals Motorola to claim a tight victory.

Team Basilica’s first-day success might well be attributed to a recent crew change and new line up that sees James Grant as skipper and trimmer, Alister Richardson as helm, Peter Greenhalgh as mainsheet and new recruit Jonathan ‘Boycey’ Taylor as rigger and bowman.

James Grant commented on the success of his crew’s first day in Rio, “Before coming out to Rio we all trained together in Hamble in the UK, and that experience has proved invaluable. We’ve got Alister and Peter together at the back of the boat doing what they’ve always done best, with years of experience sailing together, and we’re working as a team better than ever. Today we were better and faster than everyone else, we were consistent apart from one race, and we need to race with the same consistency tomorrow.”

Recently appointed Team Director for Team Basilica, Robin Gray, remarked, “The conditions were perfect for our boat today, calm with a consistent breeze of twelve to fourteen knots. Our boat preparations paid off and we were able to point the boat higher than our competitors. We had a brilliant day of racing, and the new team set-up has proved itself, everyone understands each other’s roles perfectly. We are very aware however that there are four more days to go so we need to keep a level head.”

The Rio stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race marks the second leg of the brand new VX40 class, which features some of the most exciting and adrenalin-filled yacht racing in the world, on specially constructed catamarans capable of reaching up to 40 knots.

Team Basilica’s VX40 will race up to 4 heats daily at 14:00 hours in Rio de Janeiro until Sunday, the last day of racing.