Extreme Sailing Series- Ben Ainslie Racing - mixed results on Day 2

by Ben Ainslie Racing on 24 Aug 2014 The second day of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 in Cardiff Bay tested everyone’s stamina and commitment.

After a record nine races yesterday, the teams sailed ten today, making for another record day and – given the breezy conditions – some of the toughest competition yet seen on the circuit.

The J.P. Morgan BAR team brought home a mixed bag of results that included a second and a last, to end the day third overall behind Alinghi and The Wave, Muscat, and just ten points off the lead.

Matt Cornwell, the team’s bowman commented, 'Another long day but the conditions have been good. They have been keen to get a lot of races in. It is good really, because we like the long days, it shows our fitness and that we are up there with the others.'

The racing was all about the starts, and Cornwell admitted that they hadn’t quite been up to yesterday’s standards. 'Today was all about the starts, today we weren’t quite firing, we tried a couple of different things and they didn’t work every time – but we were really happy with our fight around the course.'

J.P. Morgan BAR’s new tactician, Paul Campbell-James agreed, 'Yes it was a tricky day today… Yesterday we were controlling things from the front but today was pretty different. We weren’t really performing as well on the starts which means you are fighting your way forward from within the pack, but we are still moving forwards in the fleet whether we are at the front or the back; it is all pretty encouraging.'

It’s Campbell-James’ first event since joining Ben Ainslie Racing and he was very happy with the way it was going. 'It is great to be a part of the team, they are really professional. Having never sailed with Ben before it is pretty good for the future and I am learning a lot.' It’s been an added bonus to be sailing his debut on home waters. 'It is awesome to be the home team, it is an amazing feeling to hear the support from the shore,' concluded Campbell-James.

Racing continues tomorrow at 14:00 GMT. The racing will be streamed live, with commentary, on www.jpmorganbarblog.com from Saturday 23rd to Monday 25th.

Full J.P. Morgan BAR Act 5, Cardiff, Team list:

Skipper – Ben Ainslie
Tactician – Paul Campbell-James
Bowman – Matt Cornwell
Trimmer – Nick Hutton
Fifth Man – Bleddyn Mon

Shore Team

Jono Macbeth
Richy O’Farrell
Ian Mccabe
Simon Daubney
Alex Hopson

Position / Team/ Points

1st Alinghi (SUI) 141 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 139 points.
3rd J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 131 points.
4th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 120 points.
5th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 113 points.
6th Oman Air (OMA) 106 points.
7th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 91 points.
8th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 87 points.
9th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 75 points.
10th GAC Pindar (AUS) 67 points.
11th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 33 points.