Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff 2014 Catamaran Racing

Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff 2014 Catamaran Racing

Extreme Sailing Series Cardiff 2014 Catamaran Racing

The two big sailing events in British waters this summer are undoubtedly the Extreme sailing Series with the Extreme 40 Catamarans and the Panerai British Classic Week, part of the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge.
Both very different races but with many things in common, they engender great passion from the participants and, unusual for sailing events, are exhilarating, exciting and fun for all to enjoy.
“The concept of Extreme 40 is to bring the sailing to the public and not the other way round,” explains Herbert Dercksen, CEO of TornadoSport, which developed the 40ft catamaran in 2005 and build the boats
The Extreme sailing Series takes place in glamorous locations all over the world, Act 1 in Singapore, Act 2 in Muscat, Oman, Act 3 in Qingdao, China, Act 4 in St Petersburg, Russia, Act 5 in Cardiff, Act 6 in Istanbul, Turkey, Act 7 in the Mediterranean (to be confirmed) and Act 8 in Sydney, Australia. This is the Formula One of sailing with Catamarans and pulls in the top Olympic sailors from all over the world.
French sailing superstar Loick Peyron, Britain’s three-times ISAF World Match Racing Champion Ian Williams, Austria’s double-Olympic Gold medalist Roman Hagara, five-times America’s Cup sailor, Bernard Labro from France are just a few of the faces who have graced the event. Look out for British Olympian Leigh McMillan who won the last two seasons overall and is our favourite again for this year. Also keep an eye on the Alinghi who are constantly threatening to topple the Wave, Muscat from it’s pole position.
The Extreme 40 Catamaran was designed by Olympic champions Yves Loday and Mitch Booth with the intention of taking the Tornado, the fastest boat in the Olympics, and making it twice as big and even faster. The boat is essentially a twin hull with a rope platform sprung between them with a giant sail that can easily be fitted into a 40ft shipping container. This means that it is easy to transport to the races all over the globe and is tremendously exciting and manoeuvrable to sail. These boats really do turn on a dime, which is essential as they travel at over 30 knots and you often get three or four careering towards each other to get the best line.
The Olympic athletes who compete in these races are both master sailors but also expert tacticians as the course is short and the slightest mistake will lose you the race. International eXcellence magazine has been attending these races for four years now and it gets more exciting every year. We will be there again this summer in Cardiff and heartily recommend it to everyone as a great day out.
Previous winners:
2013 season results
1. The Wave, Muscat
2. Alinghi
3. Red Bull sailing Team
2012 season results
1. The Wave, Muscat
2. Oman Air
3. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
2011 season results
1. Luna Rossa
2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
3. Emirates Team New Zealand
For the more daring you can even join the race and sail with top Olympic athletes, now this is the experience of a lifetime and something you can really dine out on. Each Catamaran takes on a fifth man who is not a professional and they can enjoy the race from the pilots seat, so to speak. It is like sitting next to Louis Hamilton in the Formula One, just make sure you listen and move when they tell you.
To find out more and to get involved go here:www.extremesailingseries.com/guestexperience