Sailing
All you need to know about the teams, sailors and venues of the upcoming Extreme Sailing Series.
The buzz
The eighth year of the Extreme Sailing Series sees the competition embark on its most eagerly anticipated tour yet. Nine teams of elite sailors will do battle at eight iconic venues around the globe, starting with Act 1 in Singapore on February 20. The Stadium Racing format of the tournament gives fans the chance to get an up-close and personal look at the world’s best sailors in action. Star names signed up to race include Sir Ben Ainslie (pictured above left, winner of the America’s Cup with Oracle Team USA), Franck Cammas (winning skipper of the Volvo Ocean Race) plus Roman Hagara (pictured) and Hans-Peter Steinacher (racing their fifth edition of the Series). It’s not just the boys having all the fun though with top female sailors including Anna Tunnicliffe (two-time ISAF World Sailor of the Year), Sophie de Turckheim (former Laser Radial World Champion) and Sarah Ayton (two-time Yngling World Champion) also chasing glory in 2014.
The back story
The Extreme Sailing Series has become a benchmark of international competition for the sport since its inception in 2007. Combining sailing’s biggest names, cutting edge multihull technology and stunning locations has proven to be a winning recipe for sailing fans around the world. Every venue features spectator-friendly galleries that ensure every heart-stopping close encounter between the crews happens in full view of the crowd. There are even “hot seats” available onboard that allow a lucky guest to join a race crew for a firsthand experience of competing on the tour.
The future
With more race crews and venues than ever before the Extreme Sailing Series continues to broaden its horizons. Tour stops in Saint Petersburg and Sydney have been added to this year’s race calendar to satisfy the demands of competitors and a global fanbase. Joining the two new venues on the tour will be Acts in Singapore, Muscat, Qingdao, Cardiff, Istanbul and the Mediterranean. Although Brazil misses out this year, the competition is scheduled to return to South America in 2015.
This is most definitely the circuit with the highest level of competition in the world this year.
- Franck Cammas looks ahead to the action
If you only do one thing…
The vessel used by all race crews at the Extreme Sailing Series is the Extreme 40 and this thing has to be seen to be believed. Capable of clocking the kind of knots usually associated with motorboats, the Extreme 40 is a 12m long carbon speed machine. Skippers must have a keen eye for coordination as well as plenty of physical power to keep their crew on course during the 15-20 minutes races. Tricky wind conditions combined with top-level competition inevitably lead to some spectacular crashes, capsizes and other hair-raising near misses as previous seasons have demonstrated.
Check back soon for a gallery of all the best images from the season opener in Singapore.
