Extreme Sailing Series- Physically demanding racing for BAR on Day 2

by Sarah Alexander on 13 Sep 2014 At Act 6 of the Extreme Sailing Series it was another series of physically demanding and challenging races for J.P. Morgan BAR, after a gusty breeze developed on a hot day two in Istanbul. The early, light conditions delayed the start, but the wind picked up quickly when it came, and the team went on to claim the first race win of the day, their first of the event.

Eight solid races were completed, taking it to a tally of 15 so far. J.P. Morgan BAR Skipper, Ben Ainslie, summarized the day’s racing 'It was a slightly better day for us today and we started off really well. We had a few issues in the middle races with a couple of collisions, so that didn’t go our way, but I guess that’s the nature of this racing.

'We have just got to try and eliminate some of those small mistakes and if we can do that, then I’m confident we can get ourselves up the leaderboard.'

The gusts building off the shoreline, along with the big shifts, forced the teams to work hard upwind as well as down. It was essential to keep good boat speed at all times to maintain a solid position within the fleet. The geographically confusing racecourse caught a few Extreme 40 teams out, and the boats that delivered consistently were those who executed the start.

Although not the day they were hoping for overall, the British entry pulled out some punchy moves and when there was opportunity to take places, they did. Bowman, Matt Cornwell continued, 'We definitely thought it was an improved day. In terms of results, we are still struggling a little bit but the things we were trying to work on, like our position around the course, were a lot better.

'Unfortunately we had two penalties but I think that without those we would have had a pretty stella day, so overall we are pretty upbeat about the racing.'

Half-way through the event the team sit in ninth overall, but positions remain close in the middle and a podium finish is still in reach Cornwell concluded, 'The leaderboard is pretty tight right now; it’s all bunched together so there are a lot of opportunities to make some gains. Tomorrow we will come back fighting.'

The team started the day inspiring local youth sailors, joining the Extreme Sailing Series ‘Chat with Champions’ followed by the J.P. Morgan ‘Art of Success’.

Tomorrow's racing will be streamed live, with commentary, on JP Morgan BAR blog.

Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 6 Istanbul standings after Day Two, 15 races (12.09.14)

Position / Team / Points

1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 95 points.
2nd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 92 points.
3rd Oman Air (OMA) 87 points.
4th GAC Pindar (AUS) 75 points.
5th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 74 points.
6th Alinghi (SUI) 70 points.
7th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 68 points.
8th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 66 points.
9th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 65 points.
10th TeamTurx (TUR) 56 points.
11th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 54 points.
12th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 48 points.