Extreme Sailing Series - SAP Extreme Sailing Team holds 4th overall

by Sarah Branson on 29 Jul 2013 In Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series, as the public descended on the banks of the river Douro to watch the final day of the Extreme 40s in action, the podium was wide-open for the final showdown. The SAP Extreme Sailing Team battled winds zig-zagging across the river and gusts up to 20 knots at times. That, coupled with a strong current made an extremely challenging racecourse to navigate. But the team were hungry for the podium in Porto, and already too close for comfort in a points dual with Red Bull Sailing, the final showdown was set to go down to the wire.

The SAP Extreme Sailing Team worked hard mid fleet to rack up points to close out Red Bull Sailing Team and hold strong in fourth from the oncoming attacks of Real Team and Red Bull Sailing Team, with one race win and a second place proving enough to put 10 points between them and maintain fourth overall. The SAP Extreme Sailing Team secured a third place in the final race where the Austrians couldn’t do better then eighth, leaving the Danish led team in fourth overall, as Jes Gram Hansen, the team’s co-skipper and helm explained: 'We have been more or less tied up with Red Bull Sailing Team all week. It’s tough to be consistent on this racecourse so we are happy that we can battle with Red Bull who are very experienced on this circuit and that we can beat them. It has been a really challenging week - you can have a game plan here in Porto but you need to be able to make some quick changes to it! We really like this racecourse.'

The SAP Extreme Sailing Team are now ahead of the Austrians in fourth place. With today’s final double points race third place win, the SAP Extreme Sailing Team retained their position but are now looking Cardiff to dominate and move them into a top three position. Extreme Sailing Series