Extreme Sailing Series - Fast, fun and chaotic day for JP Morgan BAR
by Sarah Alexander on 4 May 2014
Ben Ainslie steered his all-British crew to victory in race 20 on the Qingdao racecourse in China. Lloyd Images/Extreme Sailing Series
On the penultimate day of Act 3 of the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series, fast, fun and chaotic where three words J.P. Morgan BAR skipper, Ben Ainslie, used to describe the Series and today delivered them all. The full 12 strong Extreme 40 fleet were back racing together after yesterday’s split, completing in eight short, compact, stadium races, inside Fushan Bay's harbour.
Although it was a difficult day for the British entry, there were still some highs. The tide was choppy, the wind puffy and both sides of the racecourse were tricky to predict. However, the team delivered, winning their first race of the event in race 20.
Tactician Paul Goodison reflected on the day 'Great to win our first race today. We also had a couple of middle place finishes and a few at the back of the fleet, so a mixture of results for us. At the times when you are at the front, you are happy with how you perform. But, obviously when things aren’t going quite so well and you find yourself at the back it’s a struggle.
All in all a bit of a frustrating day but, it was good to win a race so we were able to claw back some points. The series is a big challenge for us as a team, but every day we are learning new skills and taking things in.'
Trimmer, Nick Hutton continued 'It was a fairly up and down day for us on the water. As the day went on we got used to the conditions and it came together more. It could be quite breezy tomorrow so we will have to see what that brings but hopefully we will have more of the same conditions. We will just keep working on the things that will help us improve.'
For all the latest J.P. Morgan BAR news and updates from Act 3 in China follow
JP Morgan BAR blog or on Twitter @JPMorganBAR.
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/121776