Extreme Sailing Series Act 6 Fast Approaching

Trapani in Sicily, Italy will play host to Act 6 of the Extreme Sailing Series, supported by Telecom Italia, for the second consecutive year and expectations are high after an action packed edition in 2010.

“The beautiful thing about Trapani is the spectacular scenery and is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever sailed in. And above all the people are very welcoming and warm and we expect a good reception there,” said Luna Rossa skipper, Max Sirena. “I think it will be a very windy event, having seen how it was last year and that is what we expect this year. We hope to arrive there in good shape to sail well.”

And the Italian team will be eager to pull off a second Act win of the season. At the halfway stage, each Act has been won by a different team, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild came out on top at Act 1 in Muscat, Sirena’s Luna Rossa claimed the Act 2 honours in Qingdao, at Act 3 in Istanbul Artemis Racing walked away victors, Emirates Team New Zealand won Act 4 in Boston and at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week in Great Britain The Wave, Muscat were victorious.

The Italian public will have not one but two Italian teams to cheer for. Alberto Barovier, skipper of team Niceforyou said, “First of all we are at home because we are in Italy. I have America’s Cup experience, and Trapani is a place that gives you a tremendous welcome and the crowd is always close to the action. We as Italians can’t wait to get to Trapani.”

The Extreme 40 fleet will start racing at 15:00 CET every day from the 14-18 September, with the fleet racing inside the harbour in ‘stadium racing’ mode from the 16. Team Extreme will be racing under the colours of ‘Sailing Seacily’ during Act 6 and will skippered by Sebbe Godefroid in place of Roland Gaebler.

Joining the Extreme 40 fleet for the next three Acts is Britain’s most successful Olympic sailor, Ben Ainslie, as he takes over as skipper of Oman Air and the British public and media will be watching closely to see how he takes to two hulls.

To date the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series has delivered plenty of adrenalin-fuelled action to the spectators lining the ‘stadium’ foreshore. The Chinese round witnessed four capsizes in one day in difficult, gusty conditions; in Istanbul similar conditions resulted in Alinghi crashing into Team Extreme causing race-ending damage; and in Cowes, wild-card entry Aberdeen Asset Management took a nose-dive, after more than demonstrating their competitiveness on the race course, whilst Groupe Edmond de Rothschild smashed into Artemis Racing, ending their event. What can happen in Trapani, nobody knows but in 2010 the conditions were testing and the spectators can expect another spectacular showcase of stadium racing this year.

Extreme Sailing Series 2011
Overall standings after 5 Acts
Position / Team / Points
1. Emirates Team New Zealand 44 points
2. Luna Rossa 43 points
3. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 40 points
4. Artemis Racing 38 points
5. The Wave, Muscat 38 points
6. Red Bull Extreme Sailing 36 points
7. Alinghi 33 points
8. Oman Air 22 points
9. Team GAC Pindar 13 points
10. Niceforyou 12 points
11. Team Extreme 11 points

Highlights from the practice races at the 2011 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Zadar, Croatia.

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