Austrian double Olympic gold medal winning duo, Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, are heading east to represent the Red Bull team in the forthcoming Extreme Sailing Series Asia contest.
The duo, who are the most successful summer sportsmen in Austrian history, will debut in Hong Kong against six other teams from November 20–24 before competing in a further two races in Asia during the remainder of the year and finally switching to Europe in 2010.
Hagara and Steinacher will take to the water in an oversized 40-foot catamaran, which is capable of speeds up to 75km/h and is 20 metres high and 13 metres long, with 200 square metres of sail.
The legendary duo will be joined by two professional international class sailors for the opener, before the crew is boosted by one further guest per race to in order to make up a five man team.
“The aim of the three races [in Asia] is to prepare for Europe and select a regular crew,” Steinacher said. “We are keeping a close eye on the athletes competing in the Olympic Games, the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race.”
'We are aiming for a top-three finish' – Hans Peter Steinacher
And Steinacher has no intention of traveling to Asia purely to make up the numbers having already selected the two initial crew members.
“We are aiming for a top-three finish,” he said. “Australia’s Andrew Macpherson and Gerd Habermüller will be there and after that we will be testing sailors from France, Italy and Spain.”
However, skipper Hagara adopts a more circumspect approach when it comes to evaluating their chances of success. “A crew of four professional sailors is actually a little small for a boat that is extremely hard to handle and five times as fast as a RC44,” Hagara said.
But teammate Steinacher simply sees that as an obstacle to overcome. “The biggest challenge will be the boat’s huge dimensions,” he said. “After all, we aren’t competing in long-distance regattas, but instead coming into towns and sailing in very tight spaces near to the banks in front of the spectators.”
Extreme Sailing Series Asia 2009/10
Hong Kong: November 20–24, 2009
Singapore: December 10–15, 2009
Oman: January 31–February 5, 2010
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