Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 8, Florianópolis, Brazil - Day 2
by Extreme Sailing Series 16 Nov 2013 06:31 GMT
14-17 November 2013
On the edge, then over it as biggest breeze of the year pushes Extreme 40 fleet to its limits
Florianópolis stadium tests the nerves of the Extreme 40 fleet, with 26 knots and gusts of 35 delivering the most extreme racing of the year
Big breeze and blistering speeds called for nerves of steel from the eight Extreme 40s on the first public day in Brazil, as they hurtled round the Florianópolis stadium racecourse in the biggest winds the fleet has raced in all season, which peaked at 35 knot gusts. There was plenty of hull flying action at the final Act of the year presented by Land Rover, as the fleet expertly navigated their missiles around the course, with water spraying off their bows as they used all their physical strength to keep their racing machines upright. The Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team were the undisputed stars of the day, the fastest boat on the water according to the SAP analytics, who relished the conditions and stormed their way to two race wins. Others found the conditions right on the edge, including the local boat Team Brazil Mapfre who were forced to retire from racing after breaking their bowsprit during a difficult bear away and the Swiss Realteam who lost a man overboard in the final race of the day.
Three full on races were sailed, before gusts of 35 knots and a turning tide quashed proceedings, as Race Director Phil Lawrence elaborated: "The conditions today were right at the top limit for racing. It's a testament to the skill of the sailors that they were able to get around the course in one piece! They had a few frightening moments but they did a fantastic job. I have never run racing in as much wind as that for the Extreme 40s. I stopped racing when the winds got to 35 knots, and then the tides started to change and the seas were going to become unmanageable."
Still buzzing from the exhilarating racing, Red Bull Sailing Team's double Olympic champion Roman Hagara enthused about his team's performance. "It was a really fun day for us, we pushed it really hard and it seemed to be enough! We had good breeze, good teamwork and it just came together. We've still got a long way to go, there's still two days of racing left but we're very confident." Hagara's team are now just five points behind second placed Alinghi, and have put a little light between them and SAP Extreme Sailing Team, three points ahead of the fourth placed Danes.
The defending champions The Wave, Muscat maintain pole position heading into tomorrow's penultimate day, secured by a win in the first race of the day. Their skipper Leigh McMillan, one of the most experienced on the circuit who has sailed in the Series since 2009, said: "Today was definitely up there with some of the biggest days on the circuit. It was full on but enjoyable! The conditions were very extreme, it was windy but we were just happy we were doing the right thing during racing. We were getting around the course and still pushing hard."
In the final race of the day, as the breeze continued to build before reaching the cut off point, the Swiss multihull champions on Realteam lost their headsail trimmer Cédric Schmidt overboard. The team made a quick recovery, but was forced to retire from the race as skipper Arnaud Psarofaghis elaborated: "He went over as we deployed the gennaker. We were hit by a wave and it just threw him off the boat. He is fine, his hand is slightly sore, but I'm sure he'll be ready to race again tomorrow. We tried to sail a safe game today, we had some bad luck at times but we were happy with our speed and with our boat handling. In these conditions you need to sail the boat by keeping everything simple, avoid any crashes and make sure everyone is safe."
The young Kiwi team on GAC Pindar came out on guns blazing today, hitting the accelerator and giving the more experienced crews a run for their money, including a third and second place – a real confidence boost for the youngest skipper in the fleet Will Tiller. "It was tough out there, we had to make sure that we had good communication onboard to get us round the course but it was a great experience for us to race in those conditions. Our aim is to keep pushing the boat to its limits and we managed to pull off some good results, which we're really happy with. There's still a long way to go but our aim is to keep chipping away at the points and trying to edge up the leaderboard as much as we can." The Kiwi-flagged team is currently seventh with 58 points, two points behind Realteam.
It was a tough day for the local entry on Team Brazil Mapfre who, after missing the first race start while they reefed the boat, snapped their bowsprit during a difficult bear away in race two, putting them out of the running for the day. Skipper Clínio de Freitas, an Olympic bronze medallist, was optimistic about the rest of the Act. "We're trying to fix this problem tonight so that we can come back tomorrow and compete again. It's a fantastic opportunity for us to compete here on our home waters, and we are sure we can be back tomorrow to put on a show for our local fans."
The action at Act 8 Florianópolis presented by Land Rover continues on Saturday with the penultimate day's racing kicking off at 1400 BRST, and online fans can join the action live online from 1600BRST/1800GMT on the YachtsandYachting.com homepage.
Standings after Day 2: (eleven races)
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Musab Al Hadi, Hashim Al Rashdi 95pts
2nd Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Stuart Pollard, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 86pts
3rd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Simon Cooke, Kinley Fowler 81pts
4th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Pete Cumming, Mikkel Røssberg, Nicolai Sehested 78pts
5th ChinaSpirit (CHN) Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Brad Hooker, Louis Viat, Nick Catley 70pts
6th Realteam (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Nils Palmieri, Cedric Schmidt, Thierry Wassem 60pts
7th GAC Pindar (NZL) Will Tiller, Matt Steven, Stewart Dodson, Tom Bentham, Shaun Mason 58pts
8th Team Brazil Mapfre (BRA) Clínio de Freitas, André Mirsky, Daniel Santiago, André Chang, Bruno di Bernardi 28pts
www.extremesailingseries.com
Oman's The Wave, Muscat extends lead in wild and windy day two of Extreme Sailing Series Act 8 (from Oman Sail)
It was an exhilarating day two of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 8 Florianopolis in Brasil yesterday for Oman's champions The Wave, Muscat who extended their overall lead a further four points in increasingly wild and windy conditions that ultimately forced an end to sailing after just three races.
Musab Al Hadi (OMA), who joined the crew as headsail trimmer this season and is no stranger to adrenalin fueled sailing coming from the F18, was exhilerated by the team's successful day: "It was very scary at the start of racing today but when you get out there it is just so much fun. We had a good consistent day and we are very happy with the way we sailed. Now we are going to rest up and get our energy back. Tomorrow is a big day."
The Wave, Muscat holds top spot overall after two days and 11 races with 95 points against rival Alinghi who is on 86. Red Bull Sailing Team who pulled off two dramatic bullets in today's (Friday) races has 81 points and SAP Extreme Sailing Team, 78.
"It was full on, masses of spray and right on the edge in 30 knot winds gusting up to 35. We were hitting speeds of 24 to 25 knots," said The Wave, Muscat skipper Leigh McMillan who bagged a win in the first race, a 2nd in the second race and a 4th in the third.
"It was pretty nerve wracking but once we were out there blasting along in race mode it was great. It was definitely the windiest day of racing we've had this year but with the Florianopolis course being shallow and the waves quite small we managed to keep the boat upright and in one piece and get everyone safely back to shore.
"Only then do you realise you 'survived' the day. The nerves recede and you think, wow, what a great day sailing," said McMillan who is defending his 2012 Extreme Sailing Series championship title.
A total of eight elite level Extreme 40 teams are racing in the Extreme Sailing Series Act 8 Florianopolis presented by Land Rover and the same top four are leading so far in Brazil and on the Series leader board for the 2013 season.
Today's big wind conditions meant it was touch and go as to whether Brazil's public holiday crowds would even get to see any racing but after a slight delay race director Phil Lawrence finally gave the go ahead for a start in 30 knot winds.
Preparation is McMillan's mantra for success and he again credited his crack shore crew and sailing team for making sure the boat was thoroughly prepared for the strong wind conditions.
"We were the best prepared boat and ready to go immediately the call was given to release the boats from the moorings. It gave us a little time to practice out on the course before racing started."
McMillan is already planning ahead for Saturday's third and penultimate day of both the Extreme Sailing Series Act 8 Florianopolis and 2013 Series.
"It will be a very different day of racing with the wind lighter and changing direction to the south. We expect race management to try for eight or more races so it is a very important day with a lot of points up for grabs," said McMillan.
"We will be pushing hard for the points as the more cushion we have going into the final day of racing on Sunday the greater our advantage," added Al Hadi, who has his sights focussed on winning the championship title for The Wave, Muscat and Oman.
Breeze on in Florianopolis for day two (from Sarah Branson, SAP Extreme Sailing Team)
SAP Extreme Sailing Team co-skipper Jes Gram-Hansen described yesterday as the "best racing of the year!" with rolling seas and overall testing conditions. Today in Florianopolis the breeze cranked up yet another notch, and Race Director Phil Lawrence described it as 'right on the edge' in this mornings skipper briefing.
Having put significant points on the board yesterday the SAP Extreme Sailing Team were keen to get back down to business today and optimize the conditions further however the biggest breeze ever seen during an Act drew an early finish with just three races being completed today. The SAP Extreme Sailing Team scored a 2nd, 4th & 5th leaving them in 4th position on 78 points just 4 points off Red Bull.
"Tomorrow promises to be action packed.' commented co-skipper Rasmus Kostner. "At this stage we all have our eyes on the prize and we are all eager to get as many races in as possible. Tactics and good calls will be fundamental tomorrow. Today was literally 'extreme'!"