Stormy start at Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff

Cardiff, UK (August 24, 2018) – Despite the heavy rain and grey skies, SAP Extreme Sailing Team shone on the water today at the Extreme Sailing Series™ Cardiff, winning five of the day’s eight races.

Initial postponement due to rain squalls evolved into high octane racing on Welsh waters, as the seven international teams went full throttle around the racecourse, determined to take the top spot in the only UK Act of the 2018 Series.

Visibility may not have been the best, but this was no problem for the Danes who always had the first place finish firmly within their sights.

“It’s great to be leading the fleet,” said skipper Rasmus Køstner with a smile. “It was a challenging day with a lot of breeze. We really needed to keep it tight around the racecourse, but we had good starts so well done to the team. It’s a short course here but it makes the sailing very entertaining to watch.”

Despite their consistent podium finishes, the Danish squad requested a number of damage delays throughout the Cardiff opener.

“We had a few breakdowns with winches and locks which hold the sail at the top of the rig,” explained their helm Adam Minoprio. “We managed to survive though, so it was a really good day for us overall.”

It was no surprise that INEOS Rebels UK also performed well in today’s conditions, the team evidently accustomed to the typical UK weather. Putting in a repeat performance of their podium success in Cascais, Portugal, the Brits bagged two bullets with a total of six podium finishes clocked over the course of the day.

“Today saw some solid boat work from the team,” said the team’s pleased skipper, Will Alloway. “There were a couple of small errors which we can definitely sort out tomorrow but I’ve got great confidence in the crew heading into the end of the season.”

Having suffered a number of challenging setbacks so far this year, Red Bull Sailing Team hit the racecourse with all guns blazing, ending the day with a place on the podium in third.

However, the Austrians fine form appeared to tail off in the final two races, in which the team fell towards the back of the fleet.

“We knew Cardiff would be tricky,” admitted the team’s double Olympic gold medallist skipper, Roman Hagara. “You can gain a lot when you assess all the options you have, and that’s what the team did during racing. We had a few bad races but we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

Being fast learners and always improving, the tenacious crew on Team México were also seen breaking into the top positions today. Taking two consecutive third place finishes in races five and six, the Mexicans gave the Cardiff crowds a glimpse of the sheer talent they’re sure to showcase on home waters in Los Cabos at the end of the 2018 season.

“We had two thirds back to back, which was great for us,” enthused the team’s skipper, Erik Brockmann. “The start of the day was pretty hard as we finished last in two races, but that’s the good thing about having eight races a day – we were able to fight back and the team did amazingly.”

Despite their string of Act wins, the Series frontrunners – Swiss team Alinghi – today suffered an array of setbacks on the water.

“We had some issues because Nils Frei, our headsail trimmer, had a minor injury in the first race,” explained co-skipper and helm, Arnaud Psarofaghis. “We tried to compete in the second race but he couldn’t continue. Gillies Monroe, the reserve sailor from INEOS Rebels was able to come on board, so thanks to the team.”

Racing is planned for August 24-27.

GC32 racing will run daily from 14:00 until 17:00 BST/UTC+1.
For live online streaming broadcast … click here.

Standings after Day 1, 8 races
1st, SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Julius Hallström, Hervé Cunningham, Richard Mason: 87 pts
2nd, INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) Will Alloway, Leigh McMillan, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Mark Spearman: 82 pts
3rd, Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Chris Taylor, Ed Powys, Neil Hunter, Dan Morris, Rhys Mara: 73 pts
4th, Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, Gillies Monroe: 72 points
5th, Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Stewart Dodson, Nasser Al Mashari: 69 pts
6th, Team México (MEX) Erik Brockmann, Tom Buggy, Alex Higby, Tom Phipps, Danel Belausteguigoitia Fierro: 62 pts
7th, Team Wales (GBR) Adam Piggott, Alain Sign, Martin Evans, Gareth Fowler, Peter McCoy: 56 pts

Series details – Event information – Scoreboard – Facebook

2018 Extreme Sailing Series™ overall standings (after 4 events):
1st, Alinghi (SUI) 45 points
2nd, SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 44 pts
3rd, Oman Air (OMA) 41 pts
4th, INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) 37 pts
5th, Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 33 pts
6th, Team México (MEX) 27 pts
7th, NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) 7 pts

2018 Extreme Sailing Series™ calendar
March 14-17 – Act 1 – Muscat, Oman
May 24-27 – GC32 World Championship, Lake Garda, Italy
June 14-17 – Act 3 – Barcelona, Spain
July 5-8 – Act 4 – Cascais, Portugal
August 24-27 – Act 5 – Cardiff, UK
October 18-21 – Act 6 – San Diego, USA
November 29-December 2 – Act 7, Los Cabos, Mexico

Background: The Extreme Sailing Series is in its twelfth season, with this year’s eight event tour travelling through Middle East, Europe and the Americas. The platform used is the one design foiling GC32 catamaran, with the format highlighting ‘stadium’ short-course racing in front of the public.

Source: ESS