Extreme 40s gear up for Qingdao

2012 favourite Pierre Pennec says he will be faster out of the blocks

The Chinese stopover of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series is approaching, with less than one week until Qingdao plays host to the nine competing teams. Racing will run over 17-20 April held off in the 2008 Olympic venue for the second consecutive year, a venue that lends itself perfectly to the stadium style racing.

The Omani-flagged teams Oman Air and The Wave, Muscat have the advantage as they head to China, having scored a one-two respectively on their home waters during the opening round of the series in March. In Muscat Morgan Larson and his Oman Air crew snatched the win from Pierre Pennec’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild during the final race of the final day, and for pre-season favourite Pennec, the gloves are well and truly off. “Last year I entered into Act 2 in Qingdao too conservatively. This year, it will be different. To be ahead of the game we will need to take some risks. The level of the fleet will be surely higher than what we saw in Muscat a few weeks ago.” Pennec continued, “Qingdao is a very interesting playing field that demands that every opportunity is seized and to be versatile.”

Qingdao holds some very vivid memories for many of the sailors, many of who represented their nations on these waters at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Among them is Red Bull Sailing Team skipper and double Olympic gold medallist Roman Hagara, who has fond memories of sailing in Qingdao. “I am looking forward to the race in Qingdao. It is like a second hometown for me. We spent a month in China before the Olympic Games training on the Tornado, and it was great to participate at the Olympics of course.”

Red Bull Sailing Team was one of four teams to capsize in Qingdao last year, during an unprecedented day that has become one of the most memorable in the history of the Series. Ian Williams and the British GAC Pindar were also among those to fall victim to the extraordinary conditions in Fushan Bay, as Williams remembers: “Qingdao threw everything at us last year and consequently was a huge learning experience for the whole team. This year we will be much better prepared for whatever comes our way.” Williams and the team put in a solid performance in Muscat, finishing in fifth place, and is optimistic they have more to give: “Last year Luna Rossa won the Qingdao Act after finishing fifth in Oman which shows that things can turn around fast and certainly we’ll be looking for an improvement from our Oman finishing position.”

The public is expected to be out in force during the public days (18-20 April) supporting Chinese sailors Kit Cheng and Xiaqun Song onboard local boat China Team. A 2008 Olympian in the Yngling class, Xiaqun is one of only two women competing – the other is Britain’s Rachel Williamson on The Wave, Muscat – and as a Qingdao resident, Xiaqun had some local insight to share with the fleet. “Last year a few boats had problems during one windy day, but I would say mostly it will be light and tricky weather again this time. I was on the Race Committee boat last year and everybody gets a chance to lead the fleet because the conditions vary so they can favour different teams at different times. The racing takes place close to shore which gives an excellent view for the public.”

There will be a few new faces on the start line in Qingdao as four of the teams announce crew changes. Regular Alinghi crew Pierre-Yves Jorand from Switzerland will be taking over as skipper from Ernesto Bertarelli, paving the way for 2011 Team TILT crew Charles Favre to jump onboard as helm. 2010 Danish sailor of the year and World Match Racing Tour champion from the same year, Christian Kamp, will take over from Britain’s Simon Hiscocks on the Danish entry. Making their Extreme 40 debuts in Qingdao are both Patrick Aucour, who will join Loick Peyron’s ZouLou in place of Antoine Joubert, and Romain Petit who will replace Adeline Chatenet on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Extreme Sailing Series 2012 overall standings
Position / Team / Points
1st Oman Air (OMA) 10 points
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 9 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 8 points
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 7 points
5th GAC Pindar (GBR) 6 points
6th ZouLou (FRA) 5 points
7th Alinghi (SUI), 4 points
8th Team Trifork (DEN) 3 points