Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Act 7, Nice, France - Overall
by Extreme Sailing Series 6 Oct 2014 08:30 BST
3-5 October 2014
Morgan Larson has one hand on the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series™ trophy after Alinghi snatch victory in Nice
Morgan Larson and the Swiss team Alinghi snatched victory from the hands of their fellow countrymen Realteam in the final race at the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Nice, to take victory on French waters in front of thousands of spectators – and with that they now have one hand firmly placed on the 2014 Series trophy. With only one Act to go this year, Alinghi have extended their lead at the top of the Series leaderboard to eight points over The Wave, Muscat, but with 20 points up for the taking in Sydney, and five teams capable of a podium position, it's not over until it's over, and as Larson commented, it is just getting harder and harder to win races. "We were confident at the start of the year that we had a little bit of an edge, but now the rest of the field are showing some real force. I think now you are seeing the future. More than half the fleet have the ability to win an event, and that's exactly what we're going to see going into Sydney. That event is going to be worth double points, and if we go out with a bad performance and The Wave, Muscat or Emirates Team New Zealand come in with a strong one – we're going to lose. So we've got to go out and try and get back on the podium."
Alinghi's biggest Series rivals The Wave, Muscat needed to pull something special out of the bag today after starting in eleventh. The team showed early signs of recovery, winning two of the first four races, but Leigh McMillan and the teams hopes were dashed when a penalty took him from third to last in race five, from which they never recovered, to finish the regatta in eighth. "We said we would push hard, we did and we won some races. We've really learnt from these lessons", commented a pragmatic McMillan. "We've had a pretty good run for the last two and a half years and it's only a matter of time before you slip up and make mistakes. You learn from those, and we'll be going into Sydney very much looking to win."
Realteam, who led for the first two days in Nice, have been impressive on the French Riviera but couldn't quite hold off the more experienced Alinghi. The Swiss team, who has improved Act by Act this year, took second overall, matching their season best from Act 3, Qingdao, which skipper Jerome Clerc was satisfied with. "We are really happy to finish second on this Act. We sailed very well today but unfortunately we did very badly on the last race which counts double and is key to win. But this is part of the game; we are a young team compared to Alinghi which has a strong experience on this kind of Stadium Racing. Everything remains open for the last Act of Sydney where points count for double, so I am sure it will be a fierce battle."
J.P. Morgan BAR had their strategy sussed today, using the same tactics in every race start to come off the pin end of the line, and their persistence paid dividends. The Brits, led by four-times Olympic champion Ben Ainslie, scored two race wins and fifth place in the final race of the day was enough to finish in third overall – their second podium position of the year. "It was another really tough day here, as they all have been, with the winds changing a lot and the tough competition. But we seemed to find our feet a little bit more and get a good solid set of results together and finish on the podium so we are really happy with that", said Ainslie. "It's been challenging for all the teams but for us it's been really good in a number of ways, we have worked on a different areas and we are happy with how we developed through the week."
Seven races were sailed on the final day, with 29 in total over four days, and the threatening thunderstorm played havoc with the breeze, causing big shifts that meant mistakes were punished hard. The Austrians on Red Bull Sailing Team were unphased, and had great upwind speed today, which propelled them up the leaderboard from eighth at the start of the day to fourth overall, just missing out on their first podium position of the year by one point. Summing up the team's week, the teams skipper Roman Hagara commented: "It's very good for the team. We were improving over the last couple of days so I think it's good motivation for the last event, and we know we can do it, which is really good. It was a tough start for us, we had our heads down on the first and second day and we just thought: this is not how we want to perform here. On the first day we struggled in the light winds, so we changed tactics each day and it just got better and better and in the end it worked out really well for us. It's just little improvements but it really helps."
Emirates Team New Zealand came home a respectable fifth place, which has secured them third on the overall Series rankings place heading to Sydney, while GAC Pindar secured their best result of the year, finishing in sixth place.
In seventh was SAP Extreme Sailing Team, who have steadily improved as the week has progressed to finish in seventh, with the home favourite Groupama sailing team finishing in ninth, and tied with The Wave, Muscat. Rob Greenhalgh's Oman Air finished in tenth, with Phil Robertson and Gazprom Team Russia bringing up the rear, who struggled to replicate their early regatta form.
Only four days of racing are left this year with mathematically five teams: Alinghi, The Wave, Muscat, Emirates Team New Zealand, Realteam and J.P. Morgan BAR, capable of a podium position as the fleet head Down Under to Sydney, Australia for the final Act of the year. The fleet will race on one of the world's most famous waterfronts in the heart of Sydney, with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge providing the iconic backdrop. Over 30 races are left to decide the 2014 Series champion and only one thing is for sure; it is going to go down to the wire!
Overall Results: (29 races)
1st Alinghi (SUI) Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 183pts
2nd Realteam by Realstone (SUI) Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wasem 171pts
3rd J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Campbell-James, Bleddyn Mon, Matt Cornwell 161pts
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Thomas Cjakgak, Stewart Dodson 160pts
5th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Peter Burling, Glenn Ashby, Blair Tuke, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat 156pts
6th GAC Pindar (AUS) Nathan Wilmot, Seve Jarvin, Hugh Styles, Tyson Lamond, James Wierzbowski 146pts
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Christian Kamp, Brad Farrand 145pts
8th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari 143pts
9th Groupama sailing team (FRA) Franck Cammas, Tanguy Cariou, Valentin Bellet, Arnaud Jarlegan, Devan Le Bihan 143pts
10th Oman Air (OMA) Rob Greenhalgh, Ted Hackney, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi 138pts
11th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov 133pts
Extreme Sailing Series™ 2014 Overall Standings:
1st Alinghi (SUI) 65pts
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 57pts
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 49pts
4th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 45pts
5th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 37pts
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 30pts
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 28pts
8th Oman Air (OMA) 24pts
9th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 24pts
10th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 22pts
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) 11pts
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Superb second place for Realteam at Extreme Sailing Series Nice (from Realteam)
The Swiss sailing team Realteam finished a formidable second of Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice after dominating the fleet during most of the week.
Nice, France, 6 October 2014 - The Swiss crew on Realteam dominated the 10-strong fleet racing on the Baie des Anges throughout Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice to finish the weekend second overall behind fellow Swiss team, Alinghi. "It is an exceptional result for us," said delighted skipper Jerome Clerc. "It's true that there was a lot of pressure and it was really important that we stay calm despite the high stakes. I am very proud of what we have accomplished."
Watching the racing from the water, coach Etienne David, did not hold back with his praise for the team: "They were very consistent throughout the week. They avoided taking too many risks and managed to post good results in a majority of the races.
"On the final day, there was a lot of pressure on them to do well and they were absolutely brilliant. In short, they have shown themselves to be true professionals this week – they have managed to put everything else aside and to focus 100% on the racing."
This latest show of strength places Realteam firmly at the heart of the world's elite sailors on the circuit as they go into the final event of the season in Sydney from 11-14 December. Act 8 of the Extreme Sailing Series will take place in front of Sydney's iconic Opera House on the same waters that hosted the 2000 Olympic Games – a perfect setting for the final showdown!
J.P. Morgan BAR claim a podium finish in France (from J.P. Morgan BAR)
Day four – the finale of Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice – saw J.P. Morgan BAR give it everything to claim a third place finish overall, their second podium position of the 2014 series.
All seven races were exhilarating and edgy but ultimately, it all came down to the wire in the final and 29th race of the event – the double pointer. It could have gone either way for the British team and every position across the fleet was to play for.
Eventually, in one of the tightest scoreboards of the circuit, the British team clinched the third place spot from Red Bull Sailing Team by just one point.
J.P. Morgan BAR Skipper, Ben Ainslie, summed up the racing and teamwork that brought it all together, "It was another really tough day here, as they have all been, with the winds changing a lot and the tough competition. But we seemed to find our feet a little bit more and get a good solid set of results together to finish on the podium, so we are really happy with that.
"It's been challenging for all the teams but for us it's been really good in a number of ways, we have worked on different areas and we are happy with how we developed through the week."
The team were consistent in securing a race win in each of the first three days, and today boat and crew were in perfect harmony to claim two more victories. Sailing Team Manager, Jono Macbeth, continued,
"In this regatta a lot of things came together for us, the team were starting really well and their crew and boat work was probably some of the best in the fleet.
"Speed on all points of sail was good and I just think they sailed really smartly. I think the breeze was really unstable, and they kept on fighting when they weren't up there with the top boats, and in the end that probably helped them secure their third place."
Bowman, Matt Cornwell concluded, "We had a good day today, it was tricky again though – shifty – but we stuck to our game plan and generally started off the pin, which gave us good starts.
"We still had a couple of really bad races, but by sticking to our strategy we got a good routine going and moved up places to the podium. It's been a really fun event, lighter than the others but still great conditions and considering the weather we still got in 30-odd races."
The Extreme Sailing Series continues with the season's showdown in Sydney from 11th – 14th December and the success in Nice leaves the team in fifth place, with 37 points, on the overall 2014 leaderboard. Skipper, Ainslie looks ahead, "Obviously we are all really looking forward to Sydney, it's a great backdrop to race against – I really enjoy sailing there, and what a way to end the series."
GAC Pindar finish sixth at the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice (from GAC Pindar)
Nathan Wilmot and his GAC Pindar crew found the light winds in Nice challenging, but they finished on the podium eight times in the penultimate Act of the Extreme Sailing Series (2-5 October) to finish in sixth place – in their best overall finish in this year's series.
Despite the tame 4 knot winds, GAC Pindar started the week strongly, finishing in second twice and in third, to end Day 1 in fourth position on the leader board. Consistency was hard to come by in Nice, with all teams enduring mixed fortunes at the hands of the placid conditions.
Summoning the experience of British Olympian Hugh Styles, GAC Pindar put themselves in contention for an overall medal position on Day 3 with two second place finishes in succession, followed by a third place finish in a fine run of form on the French coast.
GAC Pindar ended Act 7 with a second place finish on Day 4, showing signs of promise ahead of the final Act that will see Nathan Wilmot's crew race in Sydney (11—14 December) as the Extreme Sailing Series reaches its conclusion in the iconic Sydney Harbour.
Skipper Nathan Wilmot said: "It's been a tough week without much wind, but we still managed to produce some great results. We're excited about racing in Sydney in December for the final act of the Extreme Sailing Series and we hope to perform well there and win a few races at our home regatta."
Oman Air and The Wave, Muscat turn their attentions to Sydney for 2014 Extreme Sailing Series decider (from Oman Sail)
A return to form on the last day of racing in Nice gave Leigh McMillan and his crew on The Wave, Muscat a welcome boost ahead of the climax to the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series in Sydney in December while Oman Air also came away with vital knowledge and confidence.
Racing on the last day in Baie des Anges started in a now familiar four-knot breeze which proved especially shifty but McMillan and his crew of Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler and Nasser Al Mashari brought their tactical skills to the fore with an outright victory in the opening race.
This form continued in the early races with a second place and another win which put smiles on the defending champion's faces and by the end of the day, they had risen two places on the leaderboard to finish the event in 8th place.
This keeps them second overall in the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series, eight points behind leaders Alinghi with the final act in Sydney set to prove the ultimate series decider.
"It was an improvement on what we have had this week but not enough to get us back in the mix," McMillan said.
"And we had a difficult last race so we didn't climb up the rankings as much as we would have liked but the mood on the boat is very good and you always learn from these mistakes. After such a frustrating event we will be very keen to come out in Sydney and prove ourselves. We are still very determined to win."
After one of their best days of the series on Saturday which lifted them to fourth place, Oman Air moved down to 10th at the close which while frustrating proved to be massively useful in building their knowledge base in their first season on the circuit.
"We had a good three days, but a hard day today with a couple of penalties - a bit of a shocker really," said Hashim Al Rashdi, Oman Air's bowman racing alongside Rob Greenhalgh, Ted Hackney, Kyle Langford and Musab Al Hadi.
"We have improved every race and are getting it right on the start line. We are looking forward to Sydney now and will really be fighting for a top five position - we have a great team, really good communication and we hope to continue to improve."
Unrewarded (from Groupama sailing team)
Ninth on the overall leaderboard topped by the Swiss team on Alinghi and compatriot Realstone, Franck Cammas and his crew have nothing to be ashamed of from this result. Indeed, ultimately there were very few points separating what is a top-flight competition comprising the world's elite. Never before in the six events disputed in Singapore, Oman, Qingdao, Saint Petersburg, Cardiff and Istanbul, have the races been so hotly contested and the deficits as small as they have been in Nice.
The author of a solid final day of racing in Nice, Groupama 40 lost any chance of finishing on the podium during the final double-point scoring race, where they secured an eighth place which bore little resemblance of the progress made by the crew. That's just how things can pan out though on this type of circuit, no matter whether or not the Race Committee launches a start with a wind veering 50 degrees in the start procedure: there is a timing to be respected and it's down to the sailors to adapt to it.
Sadly for Groupama 40, blocked in at the start, this final decider proved to be a sour note on which to conclude the past four days of often well negotiated racing: "It's frustrating to end like that on a twisted race. However, what I will take away from this is that we're constantly improving and we're capable of winning races. We are also more consistent, even if that's not evident in the ranking. I'd also like to congratulate my crew as the guys put up a great performance. We manoeuvred very well and often sailed some solid legs. The atmosphere on-board was both relaxed and focused," comments the skipper of Groupama.
At ease in terms of pure speed, particularly when sailing downwind, Groupama 40 often managed to move back up through the fleet, picking off their opponents during the race despite the small course: "We are more opportunistic than before and that paid off" Franck Cammas explains.
A single regret: "Since the start of the season, the majority of the races have been run in light airs, whilst we're naturally more at ease in breezy conditions. With a bit of luck, there will be more breeze in Sydney in December with which to round off the championship. That would enable us to move up a few places in the overall ranking," adds the skipper, who remains confident of the abilities of Groupama sailing team: "We knew that this season in the Extreme 40 would be tough against such top-flight teams who essentially devote themselves to these types of races, contrary to us. However, I'm happy as we're progressing well, we're learning a lot and that was one of our objectives".
See you in Australia then in two months' time for the final race of the 2014 championship. In the meantime, the skipper of Groupama will be competing in the Groupama Race in New Caledonia, the St Barth Cata Cup in the Nacra and lastly the final of the World Nacra 17 Cup in Abu Dhabi. A busy schedule, fleshed out by a weekend in Saint Malo to go and cheer on certain competitors hoping to take over his Route du Rhum champion title.
Biggest sporting call-up nails Land Rover Above and Beyond Award in Nice, France
The concept of the Above and Beyond Award at the Extreme Sailing Series™ was conceived by Series Main Partner, Land Rover to reward the very best examples of skill, sportsmanship and strength of mind in the global sailing circuit. And at the penultimate Act in the French Riviera city of Nice, the Committee was unanimous that there was one outstanding example in the true spirit of Land Rover's Above and Beyond ethos.
On the penultimate day of racing, and sitting Second on the Act leaderboard, the youngest sailor in the fleet, Emirates Team New Zealand's Edwin Delaat, was struck down by a virus rendering him unable to race. With the clock ticking down to the start of the action, the Kiwi team was desperate to find a solution as all teams must race with five crew members onboard.
Step up to the plate, Suleiman Al Manji, from the Kiwi team's arch-rival, The Wave, Muscat. Boat Builder, Al Manji, who has never raced onboard an Extreme 40, was plucked from the technical area and asked to swap his Oman Sail kit for the Kiwi shirt and become an integral part of the pro race team.
Thanks to Suleiman's last minute call-up, the Emirates Team New Zealand crew kept their grip on the podium, finishing in third after an exhausting seven races in the Mediterranean heat.
The Emirates Team New Zealand crew was delighted with their protégé's performance.
"Tactically he was bloody awesome!" said 14 times multihull World Champion, Glenn Ashby. 49er World Champion and Emirates Team New Zealand Mainsail Trimmer Blair Tuke agreed. "It was great to have Suleiman on board, he was thrown in the deep-end and he did a really great job and I think he enjoyed himself. He should be exceptionally proud of his performance and it was great to have him as part of the team."
Land Rover Above and Beyond Award committee member and America's Cup sailor, Dave Carr, explained the decision. "Suleiman has just had one of the biggest sporting call-ups of his career, and possibly in sailing. He's an exceptionally talented Boat Builder, and to receive the nod, to join some of the world's greatest and most talented sailors there are, to step onboard Emirates Team New Zealand, and to have to race at their level, without any prior training, makes him an outstanding winner. This demonstrates to the full, the true spirit of the Extreme Sailing Series™ family: the ability to not only be prepared to swap team colours in the hour of need, but to then perform at such a high, tactically advanced level. It's definitely helped the Kiwi team to keep their hold on the podium and has won respect from everyone in the boat park. Suleiman is without doubt a worthy winner."
Suleiman Al Manji has previously won the Above and Beyond Award. In Qingdao, China, Al Manji was part of the team which won the first Award as an 'unsung hero' of the Oman Sail shore crew, working throughout the night to make a major repair to Oman Air following an on-water crash.
A beaming Suleiman Al Maji commented, "I was a little bit nervous as it was the first time I had sailed on an Extreme 40, but I was happy and very excited to go and sail with Emirates Team New Zealand. Next year, I'd love to race more - I'd love to do both, sailing and boat building!"
Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series™ was won by Alinghi, who currently top the leaderboard, with The Wave, Muscat in second and Emirates Team New Zealand in third, heading into the final Act which will take place in Sydney, Australia, from 11-14 December.