Extreme Sailing Series - Action-packed opener in Istanbul

by Sarah Alexander on 12 Sep 2014 Day one, Act 6 of the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series – and tensions were understandably high. J.P. Morgan BAR and the 11 other Extreme teams pushed hard and delivered an action packed opener.

Despite the perfect racing conditions in open water, the course was still tough to manage and in true Extreme-style, the racing close and tight. Seven races were completed in a steady north-easterly breeze, around 15 knots with gusts up to 20 and, in a dramatic twist, two teams were dismasted; Alinghi and Groupama.

Tactician, Paul Goodison, gave his thoughts on the first day, 'The conditions were really nice out there today, a bit of a breeze and at times a bit shifty.

'We started the day OK, but it felt like we always ended up in clusters at marks and never seemed to come out of them in good shape, so a little frustrating at times but, we will move forward tomorrow.

'It’s great to be back sailing with the guys again, it’s the first time I’ve sailed with Bleddyn [Mon], who’s a real asset to the team, and the boat work seemed really nice but we just need to avoid some of the action at the marks.'

The racing was inconsistent, leaving results changeable throughout the day. Across the board, the elite teams were left questioning what was working, and what they needed to nail, to claim the points.

J.P. Morgan BAR fifth man, Bleddyn Mon continued, 'Generally, it was a pretty good day for us, you couldn’t ask for better conditions and it was great racing, but we didn’t have the best of days.

'Our starts were solid but we were a little unlucky at times and a few incidents happened in front of us which meant we lost a couple of places. But, we still have the rig in the sky, unlike some of the other teams, so we will come back fighting tomorrow.'

The racing will be streamed live, with commentary, on JP Morgan BAR blog from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th.

Full J.P. Morgan BAR Act 6, Istanbul, Team list:

Skipper – Ben Ainslie
Tactician – Paul Goodison
Bowman – Matt Cornwell
Trimmer – Nick Hutton
Fifth Man – Bleddyn Mon
Shore Team
Jono Macbeth
Johnny Mourdant
Ian Mccabe
Ian Barker
Alex Hopson

Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6 Istanbul standings after Day One, Seven races (11.09.14)

Position / Team / Points

1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 46 points.
2nd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 46 points.
3rd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 45 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 40 points.
5th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 38 points.
6th GAC Pindar (AUS) 37 points.
7th Oman Air (OMA) 30 points.
8th Alinghi (SUI) 28 points.
9th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 24 points.
10th TeamTurx (TUR) 21 points.
11th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 20 points.
12th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 19 points.