Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 - Excellent performance by Artemis Racing

by Artemis Racing on 4 Oct 2011 Extreme Sailing Series™ 2011 Act 7 was held in Nice, France from Wednesday 28th September until Sunday 2nd October. Racing wrapped up yesterday afternoon in what proved to be one of the most tactically challenging regattas in the Series to date.

With 29 races held over five days of competition, there was plenty of action for the 11 international Extreme 40 teams taking part in the light air racing just off Nice’s Promenade des Anglais.

Artemis Racing’s Skipper Terry Hutchinson couldn’t have been more positive about the team’s performance, finishing second place overall just one point behind Group Edmond de Rothschild.

With double points on the table for the final race on Sunday, Artemis Racing needed to beat the French team to win the event. Despite being over early at the start of this critical race, Artemis Racing fought back to move into the lead. But the French team was persistent, overcame a foul at the bottom mark and managed to creep past Artemis Racing to secure the one point that would win them the regatta.

Disappointed not to have won, Skipper Terry Hutchinson still exclaimed, 'It was the best Extreme 40 regatta we’ve had. We won heaps of races and when we weren’t winning a race, we were always fighting. We consistently started well and sailed really well. There were a number of penalties during the event that didn’t go our way and in the end, you could say that cost us the regatta.'

Artemis Racing is a newcomer to the Extreme Sailing Series and has been steadily climbing the leader board, despite the massive setback after a collision during the event in Cowes in August.

'Julien (Cressant), Sean (Clarkson) and Morgan (Trubovich) did a great job. Our boat handling was excellent. I also can’t say enough about our shore support’s dedication to the team. Nick (Moloney) and Harry (McGougan) found some problems with the boat during the event and worked all through the night to make the necessary repairs.'

Terry and the crew have returned to Valencia where training continues in preparation for the 34th America’ Cup.

Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, Nice, France standings after 29 races (2.10.11)
Position / Team / Points
1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 229 points
2nd Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson / Sean Clarkson / Morgan Trubovich / Julien Cressant, 228 points
3rd Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 215.5 points
?4th Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 209 points
?5th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 185 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Will Howden / Craig Monk 179.5 points
7th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker / Adam Beashel / Jeremy Lomas / Chris McAsey 163 points
8th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brian MacInnes 160 points
9th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 156 points
10th Team Extreme Nice Côte d’Azur (FRA), Jean-Pierre Dick / Jérémie Beyou / Billy Besson / Arnaud Jarlegant 119 points
11th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 118 Artemis Racing Extreme Sailing Series website