Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 5, Hamburg - Day 3
by Extreme Sailing Series 25 Jul 2015 22:58 BST
23-26 July 2015
Day three of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 5, Hamburg presented by Land Rover saw five dramatic races squeezed in between thunderstorms blowing over the River Elbe off the HafenCity waterfront.
Pushing the boats to their limits, the final race of the day showed just how testing the conditions were, as Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team were caught out by a huge gust midway through a gybe on the final downwind leg, resulting in a dramatic capsize in front of the crowds.
The safety team was immediately on site to provide assistance for co-skippers Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner and with all of the crew uninjured, quickly set to work to right the boat, sustaining only minor damage in the form of a broken jib baton, an easy fix before tomorrow's final.
"It was a scary moment. We were trying to de-power for the massive gust on the downwind to the finish line but we didn't manage to; the bow went down, the rudder came out of the water and I lost control of the boat and we flipped over", said skipper Jes Gram-Hansen.
Despite the drama, the Danish team are top of the leaderboard ahead of tomorrow's final day of racing, overhauling overnight leaders Gazprom Team Russia who struggled with boat handling today in the stronger breeze. A series of mid-fleet finishes dropped the Russian crew back in the overall standings to third, with The Wave, Muscat in second, just one point off SAP Extreme Sailing Team.
With ominous black clouds on the horizon and the rumble of thunder in the background the theme of snakes and ladders continued for most of the fleet.
"Today was life at the extreme, it was what the Series is all about; it was lively, hectic and kept me on my toes," explained Oman Air's helm Stevie Morrison.
Taking two race wins each, Oman Air and Red Bull Sailing Team were the most consistent crews of the day, but both have some work to do to reach the podium on the final day tomorrow.
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Standings after Day 3, 19 races:
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Hervé Cunningham, Mads Emil Stephensen, Nicolai Sehested 137 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 136 points.
3rd Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Alexander Bozhko, Aleksey Kulakov 131 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Hans-Peter Steinacher, Jason Waterhouse, Jérémy Bachelin, Shaun Mason, Stewart Dodson 130 points.
5th Team Turx powered by Kaya Ropes (TUR) Edhem Dirvana, Mitch Booth, Selim Kakýþ, Diogo Cayolla, Pedro Andrade/Can Bayülken 118 points.
6th Oman Air (OMA) Stevie Morrison, Nic Asher, Ted Hackney, Ed Powys, Ali Al Balashi 117 points.
7th Lino Sonego Team Italia (ITA) Lorenzo Bressani, Enrico Zennaro, Stefano Ciampalini, Stefano Rizzi, Manuel Modena 108 points.
8th GAC Pindar (GBR) Seve Jarvin, Adam Minoprio, Marcus Ashley-Jones, James Corrie, James Wierzbowski 95 points.
9th Team Extreme Germany (GER) Paul Kohlhoff, Philip Kasueske, Johann Kohlhoff, Peter Kohlhoff, Max Kohlhoff 50 points
Update from Oman Sail
Morrison was delighted to have posted two wins and although Oman Air remains in sixth place, the pressure within the top six is starting to build with just 20 points separating them and a full day's racing remaining culminating in a double points finale.
"It was a better day for us though we didn't get the starts we wanted," added Morrison.
"There were more decisions we were surprised about but morale in the team remains high. We fought very hard and felt it was one of our better days."
The wins came as a confidence booster, said bowman Ali Al Balushi, who admitted to feeling happier with their performances.
"To win two races was great and made it exciting. We feel like we are sailing well but we haven't seen it in the results. We still need to improve, especially our starts.
"The wind was strong but we are strong on board - we have to be focussed so hopefully we can do the same again tomorrow and end up on the podium. We put together a couple of solid scores so we are much happier and very proud."
Leigh McMillan, skipper of The Wave, Muscat was less happy even though his team moved up one place on the leaderboard to second, just one point behind SAP Extreme.
"We are very pleased to have climbed up to second and a bit surprised because we had a lot of frustrating moments," he said.
"But it means that tomorrow we can go out and fight for the lead and we have a good chance."
The weather posed problems for the entire fleet, McMillan said and at times, it was touch and go.
"When the gust came through, we realised we needed to get the boat back to the dock. I caught a glimpse of SAP going over – it was a massive gust and it could have happened to any of us," he said.
Double Olympic gold medallist and The Wave, Muscat crewmember, Sarah Ayton, was confident in the team. "When the breeze pipes up you go into survival mode so the priority is getting round the course. Capsizes happen but the boys on The Wave, Muscat are brilliant at sailing this boat and know when to change gear and back off."