Extreme Sailing Series - SAP Extreme Sailing Team fourth overall

by Gillian Clarke on 25 Mar 2014 At Act 2 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Muscat, the final showdown on day four couldn’t have been any closer in the epic battle for the Act title. But how close exactly? And what are the conditions that determine whether you win or lose? To answer these questions, the SAP Extreme Sailing Team reviewed racing stats using the tools provided by SAP to help sailors analyze performance and optimize strategy.

The Danish SAP Extreme Sailing Team along with three other top competing teams The Wave Muscat, Emirates Team New Zealand, and Alinghi were in the running to take the overall Act win heading into the final race on the last day with no room for error and just four points between them. SAP’s analytics overview from Oman highlighted that these leading teams stood out in terms of speed and tactical decisions.

All four teams had an average speed of about nine knots while none of the other teams came over 8.9 knots. Also the four top teams took significantly less time to complete the 29 races in under 400 minutes whilst their competitors took between 406 and 427 minutes to sail the same number of races.

However, what is even more remarkable is that SAP Extreme Sailing Team actually sailed the third longest distance of all the teams. Co-skipper and tactician Rasmus Køstner explains: 'We were one of the teams to sail the longest distance, which was partly a strategic decision. Often we started on starboard tack and went all the way to layline, and even past layline depending on traffic and tacking ability. This meant that we could keep the number of maneuvers to a minimum compared to the other teams starting on port tack and having to tack twice on the first up wind leg.'

SAP Sailing Analytics also showed that SAP Extreme Sailing Team were one of the teams that were in the best position at first top mark rounding and also sailing the most through the mid field in the races.

Rasmus Køstner said: 'At the first top mark we are among the best teams and together with The Wave Muscat, we were one of the teams advancing the most throughout the races. Generally we make just as many race podium finishes as the best teams even though we could not match Alinghi’s impressive eight race wins in this event.'

With Oman repositioning the SAP Extreme Saiing Team back up the leader board, the crew look forward to the next Act of the Extreme Sailing Series in China, racing from the 1st-4th May.

Rasmus Køstner concludes: 'Oman was a really great event for us where we challenged the best teams until the last race. We have shown we are competitive, had good boat speed and the ability to take us forward through the front of the pack. The dynamics of our team are really good and we are confident that we are on the right track and in the position to perform well and consistently for future SAP Extreme website