Extreme Sailing Series – Team Turx announce exciting new partnership

by Extreme Sailing Series on 20 Aug 2015 The sole Turkish entry in the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series™ today announced an exciting new partnership with the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism to promote the Ministry’s “Turkey Home” tourism campaign.

The new sponsorship was unveiled in Saint Petersburg where Act six of the Extreme Sailing Series, presented by SAP, gets underway tomorrow. Edhem Dirvana, co-skipper of Team Turx was joined by Alper Ozkan, Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy in Moscow, to formally launch the partnership.

The team’s Extreme 40 catamaran now proudly bears the “Turkey Home” logo promoting Turkey as a tourist destination, an aim that perfectly fits Team Turx’s own campaign of supporting and developing Turkish sailing culture.

Speaking on behalf of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Director General for Promotion, Irfan Önal emphasised the importance of events like the Extreme Sailing Series and the sponsorship of Team Turx in raising awareness of Turkey as a sailing destination. “We place great value in interacting with our audience in both national and international arenas and events like this provide a unique opportunity for the promotion of our country,” he said.

Team Turx is a brand new syndicate for 2015 and this is the first time Turkey has been represented in the Extreme 40 fleet as a full Series entry. Steadily climbing up the leaderboard this season, Dirvana is joined on board by Australian sailing legend Mitch Booth and a crew of experienced sailors including Turkish Olympian Selim Kakis and Can Bayulken.

Speaking on the dock a thrilled Dirvana said: “It’s a great step and an honour for our team to receive this support. We believe wholeheartedly in the slogan of ‘Turkey: Home of Sailing’. Since the beginning of this project we’ve wanted to announce to the world, and to our own citizens, just how perfect the country is for sailing.'

The Extreme Sailing Series will return to Istanbul this year for the fourth time from 1 – 4 October, where the four-day regatta will include a unique race down the Bosphorus.