Alinghi leads Extreme Sailing Cascais

Cascais, Portugal (July 5, 2018) – Big breeze of up to 16 knots paired with flat water offered up perfect foiling conditions for the first day of the Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 4, Cascais.

It was no surprise that it was the Swiss who took the top spot in the Cascais opener, having demonstrated masterful sailing throughout the Series so far. Arnaud Psarofaghis and his crew sailed Alinghi to victory as they foiled into first place in four races, with podium finishes in all but one of the eight races.

“It was a very good day,” said Yves Detrey, bowman for the team. “I think it’s going to be important to be focused for the next few days. We need to make sure we don’t overdo it, and if we ever fall behind, we know we can always come back”

Alinghi hit the top speed of the day, flying downwind at 30.2kts, an insight provided by SAP.

Following form from Act 3 in Barcelona, Team Oman Air follows Alinghi in second. Act. “Shifty, puffy, flat water, glamour,” said skipper Phil Robertson of the conditions. “It was pretty cool really, great conditions for this type of racing.”

Taking an impressive five podium finishes in the day’s eight races, INEOS Rebels UK shot around the racecourse at speed, closing the day on the podium in third.

Having taken some time to reflect on their performance in Act 3, Barcelona, the British squad made a few changes to their set up ahead of Cascais, and they certainly saw results.

“We made some good choices today,” said a pleased Will Alloway, the team’s skipper. “The breeze built throughout the afternoon, so crew fitness was really key to keeping these boats moving fast. Our boat handling was good and we made some decent gains.”

With challenging, shifty breeze that saw big gusts propel the boats around the bay, it was a baptism of fire for Team Portugal. The grassroots team of predominantly youth sailors from Lisbon and the Algarve had never before sailed their GC32 competitively. Mentored by Portuguese professional sailor, Luís Brito, and bolstered by experienced Series regular, Adam Piggott, the team tackled the tricky course with determination, finishing the day with 51 points.

“It was a hard day,” admitted Brito. “The team is young and new to the circuit. We have a lot of work and a lot of learning to do out there.”

It wasn’t such a good day at the office for SAP Extreme Sailing Team. Despite entering Act 4, Cascais, tied on points with Alinghi, the Danish squad disappointingly found themselves towards the back of the fleet on two separate occasions, costing them dearly in the overall Act rankings. They finished the day in fourth place.

For live online streaming broadcast … click here.

Standings after Day 1, 8 races
1st, Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey: 87 points
2nd, Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Stewart Dodson, Nasser Al Mashari: 81 pts
3rd, INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) Will Alloway, Leigh McMillan, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Mark Spearman: 79 pts
4th, SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Julius Hallström, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason: 77 pts
5th, Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Ed Powys, Neil Hunter, Dan Morris, Rhys Mara: 66 pts
6th, Team México (MEX) Erik Brockmann, Tom Buggy, Alex Higby, Tom Phipps, Danel Belausteguigoitia Fierro: 63 pts
7th, Team Portugal (POR) Luís Brito, Henrique Brites, Adam Piggott, Martin Evans, Bernardo Loureiro, João Assoreira: 51 pts

Series details – Event information – Scoreboard – Facebook

2018 Extreme Sailing Series™ overall standings (after 3 events):
1. Alinghi (SUI), Ernesto Bertarelli, 33 points
2. SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN), Rasmus Køstner, 33 pts.
3. Oman Air (OMA), Phil Robertson, 32 pts.
4. INEOS Rebels UK (GBR), Will Alloway, 27 pts.
5. Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT), Roman Hagara, 25 pts.
6. Team México (MEX), Erik Brockmann, 20 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