Extreme Sailing Series, Act 4 - Good speed for J.P. Morgan BAR

by Sarah Alexander on 29 Jun 2014 The penultimate day of the Extreme Sailing Series, Act 4, delivered strong and stable, racing conditions and a day of exciting, engaging stadium racing in Russia’s sailing capital.

Ten races were completed, each one a highly competitive battle throughout. Thankfully, the wind played ball for the 12 strong Extreme 40 fleet, coming in against the strong Neva current, making it easier for the boats to gain pace.

The British team had good speed, communication, and clean starts, staying close to the shore to sail out of the ripping tide. Using their knowledge of the Saint Petersburg venue, they took the best from the racetrack, consistently sailing stronger as the day progressed.

The highlight came in race nine, when they showed their strength to claim a race win, their second of the event. J.P. Morgan BAR Skipper, Ben Ainslie, was positive on the team’s performance;

'It was a great day on the water today, we performed well and enjoyed the fantastic race conditions.'

He continued 'With the improved conditions on day three, Phil Lawrence and the [Extreme Sailing Series] Race Management Team did a great job to get as many races in as they could.'

'It was solid racing and it was still a real challenge for everybody to compete on such a tight course with so much current. For us, we had a really good day, like everybody else we had a few ups and downs, but in general it was a positive day for us.'

J.P. Morgan BAR now sit in fourth place overall, with 85 points, to head into the final day of racing as strong contenders for a podium finish.

Ainslie concluded, 'I think we’ve improved a lot this season and we felt good about the way we were sailing today.'

'Tomorrow we need to try and win some more races. If we can do that and continue to improve as a team, the results will come from there.'

Racing continues tomorrow from 14:30 – 17:30 with the final race of the Act counting as double points.

Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 4, Saint Petersburg presented by Land Rover standings after day three, 16 races (28.06.14)

1st Alinghi (SUI) 117 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 105 points.
?3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 93 points.
4th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 85 points.
5th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 83 points.
?6th Oman Air (OMA) 76 points.
7th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 75 points.
8th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 72 points.
9th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 69 points.
10th GAC Pindar (AUS) 61 points.
11th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 54 points.
?12th RussianFirst (RUS) 19 JP Morgan BAR blog