Leigh McMillan, skippering The Wave Muscat for Oman Sail has won the second round of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series in Qingdao, China. The win puts the team on top of the overall leaderboard.

McMillan won with a race to spare saying:

“We are thrilled to have won here in Qingdao and to have a second and a first place for the first two events is very good stuff for us. We weren’t necessarily expecting to win here. It’s been a tight competition and Red Bull Sailing Team have been performing very well this week and always getting closer and closer, and pushing us harder and harder.”

The Red Bull Extreme sailing team skippered by Roman Hagara were in contention, but came away with second. Hagara said:

“The whole team is really happy especially as we were leading the first two days then we had a really bad third day. The last day the beginning was really hard for us and we made some really bad decisions on the racecourse so ending up in 2nd place on the podium is great for us and the whole team really deserved it because we pushed really hard.”

The last place on the podium went to Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Ramus Kostner, co-skipper SAP Extreme Sailing Team who announced SAP as a sponsor earlier in the week said:

“We are still improving all the time and some of our starts were good, and we were able to hold on to our positions so that was really good. When we get in front it looks like we can stay there… All in all we’re pretty happy with our result not to finish last or second last in our second event here in Qingdao.”

Phil Robertson, who hasn’t really done his time yet in top level sailing competition except for a couple of Alpari World Match Racing Tour events was totally outclassed representing China Team. In a competition where Loick Peyron came  6th, it might have been arrogant for the young Kiwis to jump straight into an extreme 40 and expect to come anything but last. Robertson admitted that he might have underestimated the talent in the series:

“It’s been very good competition here in Qingdao and probably higher than we expected. We are very impressed with the whole organisation and the very short courses. This is definitely a new step for us and a different challenge. We are very happy about how it all went and are keen to come back.”

The event showed the intensity of the competition not just between sailors but between Chinese cities to become recognised sailing venues. Co-organised by the Qingdao Yachting Association, Qingdao is using the Extreme Sailing Series to promote the slogan – China’s ‘City of Sailing’  which builds on their delivery of the Olympics.

Extreme Sailing Series 2012, Series standings after 2 Acts

Position / Team / Points

• 1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 19 points
• 2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 16 points
• 3rd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 16 points
• 4th Oman Air (OMA) 16 points
• 5th GAC Pindar (GBR) 13 points
• 6th ZouLou (FRA) 10 points
• 7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 7 points
• 8th Alinghi (SUI), 7 points

The one design nature of the America’s Cup World Circus should not be used as a form-guide for the real event, but the most recent event in Naples shows that the newly announced Luna Rossa Challenge have the talent to give defenders ORACLE Racing a run.

Chris Draper, who surprised many last year when he was competitive skippering the underfunded newcomers Team Korea,  led his Luna Rossa crew to a win in the final fleet race in Naples, Italy. Draper said:

“We’re very pleased with the event, with the team effort. We didn’t have huge expectations, but to come away with a first (in the fleet racing) and a second (in the match racing) is awesome.”

“We sailed along the shore after the finish and it’s insane to see how many people are here. As a sailor you’d never imagine having so many people watching. It’s great for the sport, and great to be part of an Italian team in front of all these people. We’re very proud.”

Australian James Spithill, helming one of the American ORACLE Racing boats said

“The key thing was hanging in there and looking for the opportunities, and there were plenty out there. JK (tactician John Kostecki) and the guys did a very nice job… In those sorts of conditions you can go from hero to zero in a matter of seconds. We knew we just had to hang tough and wait for the opportunities. The guys found some good ways back and got us up there.”

Artemis Racing, the Challenger of Record didn’t live up to expectations in 2011, but they pulled back some pride in Naples, winning the Match Racing element of the regatta.

Terry Hutchinson said:

“I can’t say enough about the effort from the guys on the boat and on the shore. After Wednesday, we’d have taken today’s result, that’s for sure. Our team trainer says it’s not how you fall down, but how you get up. Now we have to come back in a few weeks in Venice and work on our consistency.”

The next round is in Venice.

The Volvo Ocean Race Leg from Auckland to Itajai, Brazil was one of the most dramatic yet, with boats being pushed to, and in some cases beyond, their limits by the formidable Southern Ocean conditions.

PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG held off two challengers in a tactical match race to win Leg 5 of the Volvo Ocean Race.  The 11-member crew onboard PUMA’s Mar Mostro crossed the line at 16:09.51 local/19:09.51 UTC on Friday, April 6, finishing the leg in 19 days, 18 hours, 9 minutes and 50 seconds. It marked the first leg win of this year’s race for the PUMA team.

Skipper Ken Read said:

“Unbelievable! Nobody quit and the atmosphere on the boat today was really cool – laid back and everybody was ready to tackle the task at hand. I’m very proud of this team. It’s a great feeling.

The shore team – along with the boat builders and design team – they’re the unsung heroes here. They deserve equal billing, especially in a leg like this,” Read continued. “Before the leg started, we had a goal and a strategy as to how we were going to approach it and what our priorities were. We stayed true to that, and I’m very proud of that fact. And, my heart goes out to all of the teams with problems this leg – we know exactly how they feel.”

With the win, PUMA added 30 points to bring the team’s overall race total to 113. Team Telefónica crossed the line a close second to PUMA in Leg 5, finishing just 12 minutes behind and boosting their overall race total to 147. Two teams remain poised to complete the leg after suffering damage during the leg – the Groupama Sailing Team and CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand. The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and Team Sanya both retired from the leg after also suffering damage.

The team traveled approximately 7,500 nautical miles from Auckland to Itajaí. Following the relentless Southern Ocean stretch of more than 12 days, PUMA rounded Cape Horn at 13:52 UTC on March 30. With most of the fleet suspended from racing due to damage, PUMA and Groupama began the northerly journey to Brazil in a match race, sailing head-to-head until Groupama suffered an unfortunate dismasting. Telefónica soon resumed racing and caught up to within a mile of PUMA by the final day.

Navigator Tom Addis said:

“The leg went on and on. It was an all-around leg. There was the Southern Ocean, which of course is full-on preservation mode. Then, once you round the corner there was a lot of tactical racing, a lot of light air. We’ve got great experience on this boat – guys like Brad [Jackson] and Tony [Mutter] just knowing when to push and when not to push. Sometimes you’re not racing at anywhere near 100 percent, but that’s fine because you’re not very fast when you’re broken. It was a good leg to win.”

Racing resumes in Itajaí with the Pro Am Race on Friday, April 20, followed by the In-Port Race on Saturday, April 21, and the start of Leg 6 to the lone U.S. stop of Miami, Florida, on Sunday, April 22.

More quotes from Ken Read:

“You have to get a little lucky. It’s easy to sit here and toot your horn as to how you sailed the boat. But, that one wave that we were almost airborne on, could have been 2 seconds later, and maybe we would have been airborne. We had a great dogfight going with Groupama and they were sailing really well. We felt horrible for them because we knew exactly how they felt.”

“Our intentions always have been to go out there and win. It’s been great that we’ve been on the podium quite often, but it’s been disappointing that we haven’t won a leg so far. We think we deserve this leg win, and we’re proud of it. We’re going to celebrate it for a bit, then get right back to work because there’s a lot more sailing to be done.”

Perhaps one of the reasons that sailors don’t have more fans is their mercenary nature when it comes to competing for the highest bidder. Russell Coutts (NZ) wont’ be on the Oracle Racing (USA) AC45 in Naples. Instead the two black boats will be driven by James Spithill (AUS) and Darren Bundock (AUS). This leaves the CEO of Oracle Racing to sail on Katusha (RUS) in Cascais (POR).

The Cascais round of the RC44 event didn’t disappoint though – showing once again that the number of hulls a boat has can be irrelevant if all the other factors are present.

Katusha (RUS) went into the final day of racing with a strong 13-point lead and the Russian team came away victorious, thanks in part to Russell Coutts calling tactics and providing assistance to the amateur helm. Coutts said:

“It’s been a great event here in Cascais. Today wasn’t our prettiest a few mistakes but we did enough to win, so that feels good.”

If the America’s Cup World Series is the place where young guns are earning their stripes, the RC44 championship is one place where old America’s Cup sailors are still welcomed – especially by teams funded by Russian money. Ed Baird, Tactician on Synergy said after picking up 3rd place overall:

“We had a great day today, it was very exciting and I think we probably had the best day, which was a surprise for us as much as anyone. In the second race we had the question of what jib do we use as the storm came through, the wind got a little stronger so we changed for our smaller one but then the wind died as we started to race so we really struggled, the guys did a great job changing sails downwind and then we gained a boat place on each leg after that which was a really great job by the crew.”

The next stop on the 2012 RC44 Championship Tour is the RC44 Austria Cup on Lake Traunsee from 30th May – 2nd June.

Official RC44 Cascais Cup Ranking

1. Katusha – 42

2. Team Aqua – 49

3. Synergy – 72

Williams won 12 matches in a row on his way to the final saying:

I don’t think we’ve ever won 12 in a row.

Williams thus was privileged to pick Taylor Canfield of the U.S. Virgin Islands (10-8) as his opponent in the best-of-three semifinals, leaving Brady to meet third-place Simone Ferrarese of Italy (11-7), who won all four of his races Friday.

Though the press tried to make the final sound dramatic, Williams was in a class of his own during this event. In the final against Gavin Brady, the defending champions extended his winning streak to 15 matches, before losing the next race by just 8 seconds.

Brady, who sails as a hired skipper these days, said later,

“It’s good to compete with the best match racers in the world. I think we competed well. I love doing the Congressional Cup. It’s been the backbone of my career. He would like to make a career of match racing, “but we need a sponsor.”

Williams received $15,000 of the total purse of $60,000.

Asked what he would do with a second Crimson Blazer, he said

“It’s good to win two in row. To be able to do it against someone like Gavin really means something. I’m still a couple behind him.”

In the fleet race for non-sailoff qualifiers, Will Tiller of New Zealand finished far ahead but was disqualified for crossing the start line early, leaving countryman Laurie Jury to collect the $1,000 prize.

Congressional Cup teams sail Catalina 37s built by Catalina Yachts primarily for match racing, rotating boats daily. They are owned and maintained by the Long Beach Sailing Foundation – the unique volunteer force of some 300 club members and their families.

This week we will be visiting the International Rolex Regatta in St Thomas.

But we are not the only ones travelling from afar with entries from the USA, Russia, Sweden, The Netherlands, Monaco and beyond.

The three-day event, scheduled for March 23-25, is hosted by St. Thomas Yacht Club, which for 39 years has devoted itself to producing this regatta’s famed offerings: three days of high-quality racing and serious fun in an inspiringly scenic island atmosphere.

Some of the notable entrants this year include: Lord Irvine Laidlaw of Monaco and his new 52-foot Reichel/Pugh designed Highland Fling. Sailing with him will be America’s Cup notables Peter Holmberg, who is serving as tactician and also is renowned as St. Thomas’s homegrown Olympic medalist, and the USA’s Matt Wachowicz and Mike Toppa, serving as navigator and trimmer, respectively.

Peter Holmberg says:

“We are a brand new boat, and a good result would be a bonus. The other 52s are more refined and sorted, so I expect them to have the advantage. That being said, some smart ideas were put into our design, and hopefully they will start showing their merit.”

Also racing under IRC will be International Rolex Regatta veteran Bill Alcott, who will be sailing his newly acquired Farr 65 Equation (formerly Rosebud, the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart winner).

Alcott said:

“We are still basically an amateur-sailed boat, but necessarily, there are a few more professionals onboard to supplement the same gang I’ve been sailing with for years. Racing the world’s best 52 footers is going to be tough, but it’s hard to call; more than likely, the game is going to go to who makes fewer mistakes.”

Also in IRC, an international team from Russia will be led by Alexander Markarov aboard the chartered X-65 Karuba 5.

“We have some very experienced sailors, but we have intermediate and beginners, too. We’re looking forward to joining the permanent crew on Karuba 5 and hope she will perform well in competition with the other very serious crews and great boats.”

One of Karuba 5’s main competitors will be Bob Erixon’s (SWE) 81-foot Maxi Rothmans. Originally built to compete in the 89-90 Whitbread Round the World race, the legendary yacht has been restored to its original form and will be skippered by Sweden’s Klabbe Nylöf, with navigator Torsten Ulfeld and tactician Patrik Salén joining Erixon in the afterguard.

Oman Sail hosted the Extreme Sailing Series at their home base – The Wave, Muscat and achieved a one-two. Oman Air and The Wave were on the top two steps of the podium after beating the French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Going into the first Act of the Extreme Sailing Series 2012, the all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild led by Pierre Pennec were favourites on paper and few would have predicted the final outcome that saw Morgan Larson’s team on Oman Air triumph in their debut here in Muscat, Oman.

Four teams were in contention for the podium going into the final double-points race – the new Danish entry, Team Trifork, won the race, but Oman Air did enough to secure victory after an intense battle with the favorites. Leigh McMillan’s team on The Wave, Muscat muscled their way into the two-way fight and raced brilliantly on the final day to finish 2nd overall ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with Austria’s Roman Hagara (Red Bull) in fourth, having been just one point behind the French going into the final race.

Morgan Larson, Skipper of Oman Air said:

“It’s an amazing feeling! It was a challenging week and obviously our learning curve was quite steep. But this was really hard racing and any team could have won going into those last couple of races and we were just lucky they went well for us.”

Morgan Larson’s team includes four-time Olympian Charlie Ogletree and Max Bulger from the States, Britain’s Will Howden and Omani Nasser Al Mashari competing in his second Extreme 40 season.

Pierre Pennec, skipper, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild said:

“Surely I feel disappointed about not having sailed well today. But this is the nature of the sport and even if this sounds strange, I feel very happy about this week’s competition. I really enjoyed being on the water and despite the fact that this is my fourth year in the Extreme Sailing Series, we have learned a lot in these last few days. My new crew sailed here for the first time and they have shown great human, mental and technical potential. I think it’s fantastic that the two top crews here in Muscat are the local teams. They are going to be seriously competitive this season.”

Ian Williams, skipper, GAC Pindar:

“We’re a bit disappointed with the overall result of 5th as I think maybe we deserve better. We were way off the pace on day two and those were the 20 points we gave away to pretty much everybody and after that it was very tough to get back.”

Ernesto Bertarelli, skipper, Alinghi:

“It was fantastic, fantastic. For me it’s great, a different format but I learnt so much every day, every race, it’s what I’m here for. I’m here to experience something different, something the excitement of this format and I really enjoyed myself. It’s close, it’s not very different from a normal regatta, it’s just that everything happens so much faster. In a normal regatta you have close contact or tactical situation with a boat maybe every 10 minutes, here it is every 15 seconds!”

Act 1, Muscat, Oman – Final Standings

Position / Team / Points

• 1st Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson / Will Howden / Charlie Ogletree, Nasser Al Mashari, Max Bulger 165 points
• 2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Hashim Al Rashdi, Rachel Williamson 159 points
• 3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec / Jean-Christophe Mourniac / Hervé Cunningham / Bernard Labro / Adeline Chatenet 155 points
• 4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 148 points
• 5th GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams / Mark Ivey / Mark Bulkeley, Adam Piggot / Andrew Walsh 138 points
• 6th ZouLou (FRA) Loick Peyron, Philippe Mourniac, Jean-Sébastien Ponce, Bruno Jeanjean, Antoine Joubert 111 points
• 7th Alinghi (SUI), Ernesto Bertarelli, Tanguy Cariou, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, Pierre-Yves Jorand 109 points
• 8th Team Trifork (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Simon Hiscocks, Jonas Hviid 95 points

After 15 days, 1,408 kilometers, and seven ports, the nine competing teams in Sailing Arabia – the Tour reached their final destination in Muscat, Oman today (February 27), where the French on Courrier Dunkerque were crowned Sailing Arabia – the Tour Champions, 2012.

After a delayed start while the fleet motored along the coastline waiting for the breeze to fill in, the line was finally laid, leaving just a 10-mile race-course for the teams to make their final assault on the leaderboard. It was a short upwind burst to start off and a quick mark-rounding before the fleet headed downwind for the sprint to the finish line, spinnakers set, in 7-knots of breeze.

The professional French team Courrier Dunkerque had an untouchable lead going into the final leg this morning, and rounded up what has been a perfect scoreboard for them with another leg win. Daniel Souben, the team’s skipper commented:

“Sailing Arabia has been a great event for us. The competition has been good and there have been lots of different conditions to contend with. This has been a great event and the Gulf is a fantastic sailing venue.”

The all women’s team Al Thuraya BankMuscat and Team Renaissance were in a similar battle for fourth and fifth, as their skipper Dee Caffari explained:

“We knew going into today is was all on between us and the Omani boys as just one point separated us, so beating them was our priority. We did that but I have really mixed emotions as we missed the podium on that leg by a hairs breadth, and I really wanted the girls to get on the podium. I was pretty upset but seeing the girls celebrate the fourth place overall made it all worth while, they were so happy.

“I am immensely proud of the whole team, particularly the Omani girls who have just grown and development during the event. The girls have genuinely developed a love for sailing, they love being on the boat and they are keen to carry on.”

Dee Caffari Interview – Sailing Arabia the Tour

In it’s second edition, Sailing Arabia – the Tour has seen a 50% increase in the number of teams competing, and a significant growth in the number of teams from the GCC, with five of the six GCC nations represented. Significantly, the teams representing, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have all sailed with a national from their region onboard, a sure sign of the development of sailing within the region, as Oman Sail’s CEO David Graham said:

“This race is going to play a crucial part in the development of local and regional sailing talent, who are already interacting with and sailing against some of the best sailors in the world through this event. Watching Team Muscat 2012 come in second on that final leg today is a clear indication that sailing in the region is on the up-rise.”

The achievements of the regional teams can best be put into perspective by the level of competition they have faced over the last two weeks, which includes a line-up of world champions, America’s Cup sailors and veterans of the Tour du France Al Voile, the event on which SATT is based.

Telefónica had a last minute change of rigging, but a smart decision to drive hard right off the start line took them clear of the fleet saw them get more points. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing took the third podium place.

Iker Martínez and his team have won all three offshore legs of the Volvo Ocean Race. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, fought their way back up from sixth to fourth but it was a disappointing day for Chris Nicholson’s team, who lost another three points to the leaders.

Telefónica skipper Iker Martínez said:

“Today the tactics were what made the difference. We were really in the right place for the upwind legs and the first downwind too. Even if we weren’t great at manoeuvres, we were in the right place and that’s what mattered.”

PUMA skipper Ken Read was also satisfied with a performance that meant Telefónica could never quite be comfortable:

“We are pleased. I think we did a really good job of it today. In a fleet like this we’ll take second every day of the week.”

Flat waters and winds gusting up to 20 knots provided perfect conditions for the fourth in-port race of the 2011-12 edition, allowing the teams to put on a spectacular show for the thousands of spectators who turned out to watch the action over a fast 10.8 nautical mile course. Telefónica took the lead early, rounding the first mark with a 28-second lead over their rivals before a slow rounding at the second mark saw Ken Read’s PUMA close the gap to just three seconds.

For a while it was neck and neck and PUMA appeared set to pounce but Telefónica’s superior speed saw them pull away and such was their dominance they were able to sail conservatively over the closing stages to ensure the win by a margin of 41 seconds. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing were four minutes and 20 seconds behind the leaders with CAMPER trailing by five minutes and 35 seconds.

The overall rankings remain unchanged. Telefónica now lead with 101 points, followed by CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand on 83 and Groupama sailing team on 73. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG have 53, followed by Abu Dhabi on 43 and Team Sanya on 17.

Sanya Haitang Bay In-Port Race results:

• 1. Team Telefónica 58 minutes 37 seconds
• 2. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG +0:41 seconds
• 3. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing +4 minutes 20 seconds
• 4. CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand +5:35
• 5. Groupama sailing team +6:51
• 6. Team Sanya: +7:13

The team rosters include world-renowned sailors from a multitude of backgrounds representing 9 different nationalities, but it’s hard to see which will emerge as the Rock-Stars with only a couple of weeks until the first round in Muscat Oman.

The early rounds will benefit from the presence of French sailing superstar Loick Peyron. Britain’s three-times ISAF World Match Racing Champion Ian Williams will also return to the series.

New faces include American double-Olympic Gold medalist Charlie Ogletree who briefly helmed the Chinese America’s Cup challenger, and five-times America’s Cup sailor, Bernard Labro from France.

Team ZouLou will have the current superstar of sailing, Loick Peyron at the helm for Acts 1–3 prior to team owner Erik Maris taking over. Peyron is one of France’s most well-known sports stars and a legendary multihull expert who recently shaved almost 3 days off the non-stop round the world Jules Verne record.

Peyron:

“I can’t wait to go back to the Extreme Sailing Series with ZouLou crew, and especially to Muscat where I already spent a few weeks with the local team in 2009 and 2010. After two round the world tours in one year [Barcelona World Race and Jules Verne] I am really looking forward to going back to this intense racing amongst these top level crews.“

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild has retained their core team of Pierre Pennec on helm and Hervé Cunningham introducing two new faces on bow in the form of Bernard Labro and Jean-Christophe Mourniac who raced for another team in Singapore last December.

The Swiss team Alinghi will be helmed by Ernesto Bertarelli supported by the regular Extreme 40 Alinghi crew including Tanguy Cariou, Nils Frei and Yves Detrey.

Meanwhile, the renowned Austrian duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher on the Red Bull Sailing Team have confirmed that Matthew Adams will be part of the regular racing crew and introduce ‘newbie’ Graeme Spence on bow. Spence is a regular member of Torvar Mirsky’s Match Racing Team and has also recently been on the bow of the China Team AC45.

GAC Pindar skipper Ian Williams says:

“We have assembled a really strong team this year with a great mix of different skill sets. The only real opportunities to practice will be before the first event in Oman and before Act 5 in Cardiff so having a consistent team will be crucial to improving from event to event.”

Buried at the bottom of the press release is perhaps the most interesting piece of information about the 2012 format. It says:

In a test aimed at keeping opportunities open for new talent, the teams will race Act 1 with five sailors rather than four, plus a VIP guest or media person when appropriate. This additional 5th sailor must be either female or under 23, or be classified as an amateur by ISAF. Both The Wave and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild will sail with female sailors as a result – Rachel Williamson and Adeline Chatelet respectively – the first girls to race since Olympic gold medalist Shirley Robertson skippered ‘iShares’ in 2009.