Robertson dominant at Extreme Sailing Series Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany (August 11, 2017) – In tough conditions on the River Elbe, Oman Air out-sailed its rivals to gain a six-point lead, with the rest of the fleet separated by a narrow two-point margin, after the first day of scoring racing at the Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 5, Hamburg, presented by Land Rover.

After light winds and strong tide prevented racing yesterday, today was only marginally better to permit just two races were completed while three others were abandoned. For the two keepers, Phil Robertson’s Oman Air, who won in Hamburg last season, was victorious in both.

“We managed to sneak in two wins, which is quite nice,” said Robertson, who comes to Hamburg fresh from wins in both Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series three weeks ago and in the World Match Racing Tour Match Cup Russia last week.

“We had a rough idea of what we wanted to do and we were able to execute it, which is quite hard with seven boats on a tight racecourse. Thankfully, everyone gave us what we wanted and away we went,” added Robertson, who took advantage of the shifty conditions to climb from the back of the pack to the front in race two.

The two younger squads, Land Rover BAR Academy and NZ Extreme Sailing Team, took a third and a fifth each to finish tied on points. The British squad occupy second place by virtue of finishing ahead of the Kiwis in the last race.

“It was hard to stay focussed because the breeze was so up and down and we had tide changing during the day and a lot of shipping,” said Land Rover BAR Academy skipper Rob Bunce. “But I thought the lads did a good job of working out all the big game features, and it came good for us.”

NZ Extreme Sailing Team co-skipper Chris Steele, also found the going hard on the Elbe in the rain. “It was pretty rough on the guys; we won the start in both races and were leading at the bottom mark but it was a minefield,” Steele said. “We probably lost about three boats in the last quarter of race two after we ended up stuck on the reach mark and then the finish mark. It feels like the competition hasn’t really started yet. I’m sure we’ll get another 15 races or so over the next two days and it’ll be game on.”

For SAP Extreme Sailing Team and Alinghi it was a day of two halves. Both managed one runner-up spot. However, the Swiss paired theirs with a last place, while the Danes went from leading the pack in the opening race, to being unable to finish after they drifted too close to the racecourse boundary and ran aground.

“We didn’t start well in race two, we were at the back of the fleet. We tried to catch up but the wind died at the top mark so we got stuck,” explained Alinghi’s co-skipper and helm, Arnaud Psarofaghis. “After the abandonment on day one, we’ve only had two races and there’s only been one bad race for us today. So there are still many races to come and we’ll come back fighting tomorrow. It’s terrible weather, but it’s the same for everyone, so it’s fine.”

The two teams, who currently sit first and second on the season leaderboard, have 17 points a-piece and finished the day in fourth and fifth.

The wildcard entry, Team Extreme, and Red Bull Sailing Team also hold matching scorecards, with a fourth and a sixth each, leaving them tied on points at the bottom of the pack. But, much stronger winds predicted for the remainder of the Act mean it is still all to play for.

Racing resumes tomorrow at 13:30 (UTC+2) with streamed live broadcast. To watch, click here.

Event details – Scoreboard – Facebook – YouTube

Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 5, Day 2 (2 races)
1st Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 24 points.
2nd Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) Rob Bunce, Chris Taylor, Oli Greber, Sam Batten, Adam Kay 18 points.
3rd NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) Chris Steele, Josh Junior, Harry Hull, Shane Diviney, Josh Salthouse 18 points.
4th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Mads Emil Stephensen, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason 17 points.
5th Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 17 points.
6th Team Extreme (GBR) Stevie Morrison, Luís Brito, Frederico Melo, Tom Buggy, Linov Scheel 16 points.
7th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Stewart Dodson, Adam Piggott, Will Tiller 16 points.

Crew line-up for 2017 Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 5, Hamburg presented by Land Rover

Alinghi (SUI)
Co-skipper/helm: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI)
Tactician/mainsail trimmer: Nicolas Charbonnier (FRA)
Headsail trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI)
Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI)
Floater/foil trimmer: Timothé Lapauw (FRA)

Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR)
Skipper/bowman: Rob Bunce (GBR)
Helm: Chris Taylor (GBR)
Mainsail trimmer: Sam Batten (GBR)
Headsail trimmer: Oli Greber (GBR)
Floater: Adam Kay (GBR)
Reserve: Matt Brushwood (GBR)

NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL)
Co-skipper/helm: Chris Steele (NZL)
Mainsail trimmer: Josh Junior (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Harry Hull (NZL)
Foil trimmer: Josh Salthouse (NZL)
Bowman: Shane Diviney (IRL)

Oman Air (OMA)
Skipper/helm: Phil Robertson (NZL)
Mainsail trimmer: Pete Greenhalgh (GBR)
Headsail trimmer: Ed Smyth (NZL/AUS)
Bowman: James Wierzbowski (AUS)
Bowman: Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)

Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT)
Skipper/helm: Roman Hagara (AUT)
Tactician: Hans Peter Steinacher (AUT)
Mainsail trimmer: Stewart Dodson (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Adam Piggott (GBR)
Bowman: Will Tiller (NZL)

SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN)
Co-skipper/coach: Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN)
Co-skipper/tactician/mainsail trimmer: Rasmus Køstner (DEN)
Helm: Adam Minoprio (NZL)
Headsail trimmer: Pierluigi de Felice (ITA)
Bowman: Richard Mason (GBR)
Trim assist/grinder: Mads Emil Stephensen (DEN)

Team Extreme (GBR)
Skipper/helm: Stevie Morrison (GBR)
Mainsail trimmer: Frederico Melo (POR)
Headsail trimmer: Tom Buggy (GBR/IRL)
Foil trimmer/bowman: Luís Brito (POR)
Bowman/floater: Linov Scheel (GER)

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2017 overall standings (After 4 of 8 Acts
Position / Team / Points
1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 43 points.
2nd Alinghi (SUI) 43 points.
3rd Oman Air (OMA) 42 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 37 points.
5th Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR) 32 points.
6th NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL) 31 points.

2017 Extreme Sailing Series™ calendar
March 8-11 – Muscat, Oman
April 28-May 1 – Qingdao, China
June 29-July 2 – Madeira Islands, Portugal
July 20-23 – Barcelona, Spain
August 10-13 – Hamburg, Germany
August 25-28 – Cardiff, UK
October 19-22 – San Diego, USA
Nov 30-Dec 3 – Los Cabos, Mexico

Background: The Extreme Sailing Series is in its eleventh season, with this year’s eight event tour travelling through Middle East, Asia, 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