Extreme Sailing Series Act 6 day 2 fast and furious as Alinghi hold on

by Extreme Sailing Series on 16 Sep 2011 Extreme Sailing Series Act 6 has now completed the second day of competition in Trapani and on this day, fantastic sailing conditions for the Extreme 40 fleet were delivered. The fleet took to the water amid sunshine and a breeze that built to over 20 knots.

The racing was fast and furious as Alinghi managed to hold on at the top of the leaderboard. Italian TV viewers will get a taste of the Extreme 40 action as it goes live on Italy’s national broadcaster, RAI, this weekend and there will be a WEBcam stream for fans that want to follow online – see more information below. Plus Oman Air come onboard as ‘Official Airline Partner’…

Max Siren’s team on Luna Rossa pushed hard today scoring two first places and three second places to climb from fifth place to second overall ahead of the ‘stadium’ format racing that starts tomorrow: 'At the end of the day we were all pretty tired but we are happy as we sailed much better today and we were much quicker after some adjustments this morning to the set up, it’s our best day,' said Sirena.

'We always know that we will do a lot of races during the day, and with short gaps between races it is better as you stay focused throughout. We are really happy with our position now the game is starting to get tough.'Alberto Barovier and his crew on Niceforyou showed their progress in this class is gaining momentum scoring a second place and two third places. The public of Trapani will have much to cheer for as the ten teams race inside the harbour over the next three days.

The racing started in around ten knots that steadily built through the afternoon to 25+ – a near capsize by The Wave, Muscat in the sixth and final race of the day indicated that the Extreme 40s were racing on the edge of control. The 1.5 mile multi-lap ‘open water’ courses allowed the teams to really unleash these 40ft multihull racing machines, charging downwind at speeds in excess of 20-22 knots, the spray hosing the crew in the bear aways. The all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild skippered by Pierre Pennec also had a good day, winning the last ‘open water’ race and climbing into fourth place overall:

'Today was much better than yesterday,' said bowman Hervé Cunningham. 'It was a great day to sail – flat sea, good breeze and sunshine, it was perfect! We had more consistent results today, although we were still one step behind the top guys.'

The Emirates Team New Zealand team led by Adam Beashel, struggled to get to grips with the Extreme 40 machine in the demanding conditions at Cowes but a fourth and fifth place today will provide some encouragement to the Kiwis. British World Champion Match Racer Ian Williams, skipper of Team GAC Pindar, also struggled and a main halyard problem in the penultimate race forced a retirement: 'Today the wind was tracking right and building as the day went on, it was very exciting at the end,' commented Williams. 'We haven’t had much time to practice and two of the team are new so we were happy we picked up a third place in the final race. I think the ‘stadium racing’ will suit us more as we struggle with boat speed, so coming into the stadium will give us a few more opportunities to use our strengths.'

Tomorrow the game changes… the next three days are open to the public who came to the Race Village in their droves last night for the official opening ceremony and fireworks. The ten Extreme 40s will be racing inside the harbour of Trapani from 1500 CET. Before they take centre stage, 50 kids will be competing in the Optimist Challenge and 49ers teams from Italy and Malta will be racing in front of the public.

Extreme Sailing Series website