Volvo Extreme 40 catamaran Rotterdam showdown

by Volvo/Sacha Oswald on 9 Jun 2006 Rotterdam will host the final showdown in the Volvo Extreme 40 grand prix series, which gets underway Friday.

The spectacular catamarans provide the in-port entertainment to the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 and will wow the crowds when they sail on the confined waters of the Maas in front of Volvo Ocean Race Village in the Veerhaven.

After completing four grand prix events in Spain, Brazil, America, and England, the five teams have arrived in Rotterdam for their final series and are looking forward to some close racing. Conditions will be testing for the teams and similar to those experienced in Baltimore, America – confined space, gusty winds, tide and commercial shipping.

Racing will be tough at the top as two boats in particular fight it out for the inaugural Volvo Extreme 40 overall series winner trophy. Randy Smyth’s Tommy Hilfiger is just two points in front of the all British Team Basilica and with a minimum of 15 races to be sailed in Rotterdam there is all to play for.

Basilica's James Grant is confident that they can pull off a memorable result:

'We come into this final regatta on a high after the win in Portsmouth. Our job now is to maintain the momentum that we generated last week and make sure that it continues throughout the racing here in Rotterdam. Our boat speed in Portsmouth was fantastic and the longer we all sail together, the better our understanding of the VX40 becomes.'

'Randy Smythe and the Hilfiger boat are obviously our biggest threat now but we will focus on our own performance and not worry too much about them. We are confident that if we sail as well as we have so far we can beat anyone and that is very much our aim this week.'

Tommy Hilfiger excelled in the Baltimore grand prix event but lost out to Team Basilica in Portsmouth, who managed to close the overall series events points. Both teams have played a game of cat and mouse around the world and now it will be time to see who will excel to take the overall winners trophy.

To add to the excitement, Saturday 10 June will see the fleet heading out of the Maas to the North Sea where they will race on the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 in-port race course, providing an exciting show for the spectator boat fleet that go out to greet the Volvo Open 70’s after their 1,500 nautical mile trip around Great Britain and Ireland.

Dutch sailing fans will be able to support Team Holmatro crewed by Mitch Booth and Herbert Dercksen who represented The Netherlands at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Team Holmatro are currently placed fourth overall but are just two points away from a podium finish.

Conrad Humphreys’ Team Motorola-CHR helmed by British Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan hold third place overall, four points behind Team Basilica, and they will be keen to maintain their position on the podium.

VX40 Programme in Rotterdam:

Racing commences at 15:30 (local) on Friday 9 June and continues through to Wednesday 14 June.

On Saturday racing will start at the earlier time of 12:30 and the boats will race off Hoek van Holland.

Sunday will see a lay day for the fleet, whilst the Volvo Open 70’s compete in their in-port race.

VX40 racing will recommence from Monday through to Wednesday.

Overall Series Rankings (after four events)

1st Tommy Hilfiger 32 pts
2nd Basilica 30 pts
3rd Motorola-CHR 26 pts
4th Holmatro 24 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race 20 pts