Extreme Sailing Series marks a new chapter

Dubai - More powerful GC32 catamarans set to make debut

By James Jose

Published: Thu 11 Feb 2016, 6:24 PM

The 10th installment of the Extreme Sailing Series marks a new chapter this season with a new fleet of boats, teams as well as some iconic venues across three continents.
The 2016 season was officially launched at the Dubai International Marine Club on Wednesday morning and it boasts of a stellar field of eight teams with some of the world's top sailors.
The field includes America's Cup legends, Olympic heroes and world champions. Among the crews will be veterans of 13 Olympic campaigns and 22 America's Cup campaigns. Between them they also hold 27 World Championship titles, 27 European Championships and 106 National Title Holders.
They will also set sail on new boats - the GC32 catamarans, which have replaced the Extreme 40 fleet. The new generation of foiling boats have been partly manufactured in the UAE.
The new season gets going next month with the opening act set to be played out in Muscat, Oman from March 16 to 19. The series travels to China, UK, Germany, Russia, Turkey as well as new venue Lisbon, Portugal. The vibrant city of Sydney brings the season to an end in December.
And as a prelude to the 2016 season, the teams are using Dubai as a test event in order to prepare for a busy season ahead. The teams trained at the picturesque Dubai International Marine Club.
"It is 10 years since we initiated the concept of stadium sailing and we are now five weeks away from what promises to be an exciting season," Andy Tourell, Event Director for the Extreme Sailing Series, said at the launch on Wednesday.
"It is a milestone year for us in more ways than one, not least the change of racing platform to the GC32 which brings with it a whole new dimension to the racing," he added.
On the grid are 2015 runners-up SAP Extreme Sailing Team co-skippered for a fifth year by Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner from Denmark, who have boosted their on-board talent with Italian Pierluigi De Felice, a multiple World Champion and three-times America's Cup sailor.
They will face stiff competition from Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team, skippered by Austrian double Olympic gold medallist Roman Hagara and supported by Hans Peter Steinacher. The team also includes Emirati sailor Adil Khalid, who won the gruelling Volvo Ocean Race last year with Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.
Alinghi, the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series champions from Switzerland and two-time winners of the America's Cup, make a return to the series. Alinghi had finished second in the 2015 GC32 Great Cup.
Morgan Larson, the former helmsman of Alinghi, will lead the Oman Air team, while former Team Turx crew Diogo Cayolla, a three-time Olympian, will spearhead the new Portuguese team.
james@khaleejtimes.com