Max conditions for Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff

Cardiff, UK (August 26, 2018) – Cardiff Bay was alive with action today, as two boats capsized within moments of each other on day three of Extreme Sailing Series™ Cardiff.

Charging downwind on the third race of the day (race 19), Oman Air and Team Wales were both caught by strong 20 knot gusts that caused their bows to submerge and a cartwheel capsize to ensue.

All crewmembers on Team Wales were accounted for and there were no injuries to anyone onboard. Although the boat was righted quickly, foil damage unfortunately prevented the local wildcard team from competing for the rest of the day.

Just metres away, safety teams tended to the capsized Omani boat. The crew’s mainsail trimmer, Pete Greenhalgh, was taken to shore to receive medical attention for an injury, whilst the Extreme Sailing Series safety teams swiftly righted the boat.

“Well, we went for a little swim!” said Phil Robertson, the team’s skipper, on the dock. “It wasn’t the most ideal situation. We went round the top mark and you have to go straight into a gybe. With two sails up, you’re going pretty fast and we obviously made a few mistakes. We were hit by a gust that flipped us over pretty quickly.”

With no further injuries or boat damage sustained, the undaunted Omani team radioed for a reserve sailor to join their crew, in the hope that they could continue to race. Being a boat down but not done fighting, Team Wales skipper Adam Piggott answered their call, jumping on board the Omani boat to end the day on a high.

“I wanted to help them out,” explained Piggott. “Once we got going, we scored a third and a first. They were keen to clock some points so hopefully not too bad a day for them!”

“The boys were stoked to win the last race of the day,” added Robertson. “It was a great way to finish and to cheer us all up.”

Team Oman Air closed the day on the podium in third.

Racing in Cardiff had been hindered throughout the day by strong winds and torrential rain with GC32 racing postponed until 15:15 local time.

In challenging conditions, some teams fared better than others. Whilst Act leaders SAP Extreme Sailing Team extended their lead on the fleet and hit the fastest speed of the Act so far – an impressive 34.3kts achieved in race 18 – British INEOS Rebels fell through the ranks, giving up their spot on the Act podium.

“It was a really hard day for us,” admitted the team’s skipper, Will Alloway. “We just couldn’t seem to pick the right spots on the course. On the plus side, our boat handling was a lot better but we’ve still got a way to go until we’re at the level we need to be. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”

The final day of racing is due to get underway tomorrow, and with the last race of the day worth double points, the Extreme Sailing Series is still anyone’s game.

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 3, 21 races
1st, SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Julius Hallström, Hervé Cunningham, Richard Mason: 220 points
2nd, Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Bryan Mettraux, Yves Detrey: 213 pts
3rd, Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Stewart Dodson, Nasser Al Mashari: 205 pts
4th, INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) Will Alloway, Leigh McMillan, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Bleddyn Mon: 204 pts
5th, Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Chris Taylor, Ed Powys, Neil Hunter, Dan Morris, Rhys Mara: 187 pts
6th, Team México (MEX) Erik Brockmann, Tom Buggy, Alex Higby, Tom Phipps, Danel Belausteguigoitia Fierro: 155 pts
7th, Team Wales (GBR) Adam Piggott, Alain Sign, Martin Evans, Gareth Fowler, Peter McCoy: 140 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