Italians on the rise

But Alinghi remains ahead at the Extreme Sailing Series Trapani

The second day of the Extreme Sailing Series in Trapani delivered fantastic sailing conditions – sunshine and a breeze that built to over 20 knots. The racing was fast and furious as Alinghi managed to hold on at the top of the leaderboard. Italian TV viewers will get a taste of the Extreme 40 action as it goes live on Italy’s national broadcaster, RAI, this weekend and there will be a WEBcam stream for fans that want to follow online.

Max Siren’s team on Luna Rossa pushed hard today scoring two first places and three seconds to climb from fifth place to second overall ahead of the ‘stadium’ format racing that begins tomorrow: “At the end of the day we were all pretty tired, but we are happy as we sailed much better today and we were much quicker after some adjustments this morning to the set up. Its our best day,” said Sirena. “We always know that we will do a lot of races during the day, and with short gaps between races it is better as you stay focused throughout. We are really happy with our position now the game is starting to get tough.” Alberto Barovier and his crew on Niceforyou showed their progress in this class is gaining momentum scoring a second place and two thirds. The public of Trapani will have much to cheer for as the 10 teams race inside the harbour over the next three days.

The racing started in around 10 knots that steadily built through the afternoon to 25+ – a near capsize by The Wave, Muscat in the sixth and final race of the day indicated that the Extreme 40s were on the edge. The 1.5 mile multi-lap ‘open water’ courses allowed the teams to really unleash their 40ft catamarans, charging downwind at speeds in excess of 20-22 knots, the spray hosing the crew in the bear aways. The all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild skippered by Pierre Pennec also had a good day, winning the last ‘open water’ race and climbing into fourth overall: “Today was much better than yesterday,” said bowman Hervé Cunningham. “It was a great day to sail – flat sea, good breeze and sunshine, it was perfect! We had more consistent results today, although we were still one step behind the top guys.”

The Emirates Team New Zealand team led by Adam Beashel, struggled to get to grips with their Extreme 40 in the demanding conditions at Cowes but a fourth and a fifth today will provide some encouragement to the Kiwi team.

British World Champion Match Racer Ian Williams, skipper of Team GAC Pindar, also struggled and a main halyard problem in the penultimate race forced a retirement: “Today the wind was tracking right and building as the day went on, it was very exciting at the end,” commented Williams. “We haven’t had much time to practice and two of the team are new so we were happy we picked up a third place in the final race. I think the ‘stadium racing’ will suit us more as we struggle with boat speed, so coming into the stadium will give us a few more opportunities to use our strengths.”

Tomorrow the game changes… The next three days are open to the public who came to the Race Village in their droves last night for the official opening ceremony and fireworks. The 10 Extreme 40s will be racing inside Trapani harbour from 1500 CET.

Results after 11 races: Extreme Sailing Series Act 6 at Trapani supported by Telecom Italia

Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 98 points
2nd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 94 points
3rd The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 86 points
4th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 81 points
5th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 69.5 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 66 points
7th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Richard Meacham / Rob Waddell 65.5 points
8th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Lorenzo Mazza / Simone de Mari 59 points
9th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Pierluigi De Felice / Andrew Walsh / Ed Smyth 52 points
10th Team Extreme ‘Sailing Seacily’ (EUR), Sebbe Godefroid / Patrick Demesmaeker / Jan Coppens / Vince Thery 40 points