[Source: Extreme Sailing Series]  An ecstatic Leigh McMillan and his crew on board The Wave, Muscat won Act 2 of the Extreme Sailing Series with a race to spare, a feat rarely achieved on the circuit, and move into the lead for the overall Series. But, after 29 races watched by over 55,000 spectators, it came down to the final double points decider to determine who would stand next to the Omani team on the podium. After a fairly disastrous start to the day, Hagara’s hopes of challenging for first place were gone but Red Bull Sailing Team got their act together in the last three races to clinch 2nd place, in what is there first event podium position since Muscat 2011. After starting the day in fifth place, the all-French Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were the comeback kings today, steadily toppling their opponents to claim the final spot on podium.

There were a few anxious faces on the dock this morning as the weather forecasters predicted the same conditions as that fateful day in 2011 that saw an incredible four capsizes. The wind built gradually throughout the day but the effects of the low weather system only began touching the Extreme 40 fleet on Fushan Bay in the final double points race, with increasing poor visibility from the ever encroaching rain clouds.

The Wave, Muscat came out fighting and made their intentions clear from the first start gun – winning the opening race of the day. Going into the final double points race, and to his surprise, McMillan had an untouchable lead. “We are thrilled to have won here in Qingdao and to have a second and a first place for the first two events is very good stuff for us. We weren’t necessarily expecting to win here. It’s been a tight competition and Red Bull Sailing Team have been performing very well this week and always getting closer and closer, and pushing us harder and harder.”

Everybody’s eyes were on the four teams who were in contention for second place going into the final race, with only 6 points separating them. It was the Danish entry, SAP Extreme Sailing Team who won the race – a repeat of their final race win performance in Act 1 in Muscat – whilst Hagara’s men held their nerve, and position, to finish second. It was a hard day on the water for the Austrians who at one stage looked like they had lost hope of finishing on the podium as they slipped to fifth place. The team, who sat top of the podium for the first two days in Qingdao, were toppled by The Wave, Muscat yesterday and today they seemed to be continuing on the downward trend until the final three races which finally saw Hagara get back in the game. “The whole team is really happy especially as we were leading the first two days then we had a really bad third day. The last day the beginning was really hard for us and we made some really bad decisions on the racecourse so ending up in 2nd place on the podium is great for us and the whole team really deserved it because we pushed really hard.”

A fourth for Groupe Edmond de Rothschild in the final race also secured their place on the podium: “Before the last race we could have ended second or sixth overall so I feel satisfied about our third position because we are on the podium again,” said skipper of the French favourites. “We know that this is what we must do to win the Championship.”

It wasn’t all celebrations today and a frustrated Ian Williams on board GAC Pindar was narrowly denied a podium finish, which has so far eluded the British sailor: “It was a shame for us… The last race really didn’t go our way – it was tough with Mark Ivey’s sickness and the change of crew halfway through today so we lost our rhythm a little bit. But on the positive side to be doing the last race in with a shot of second overall so we’re pleased with the week overall, just a little bit disappointed at the end.”

Co-organised by the Qingdao Yachting Association, China’s ‘City of Sailing’ has once again demonstrated how they became such a successful Olympic sailing venue. Staging a flawless event with a spectacular opening ceremony, an inclusive social programme for schools and public, and a grand closing ceremony that even the rain could not dampen.

Next step of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series, Act 3 Istanbul 7th-10th June.

Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 2, Qingdao, China overall standings after Day 4, 29 races (20.4.12)
Position / Team / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan / Ed Smyth / Pete Greenhalgh / Hashim Al Rashdi / Rachel Williamson 189 points
2nd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matthew Adams / Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 174 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec / Jean-Christophe Mourniac / Hervé Cunningham / Bernard Labro / Romain Petit 171 points
4th GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams / Mark Ivey / Mark Bulkeley / Adam Piggot / Andrew Walsh 164 points
5th Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson / Will Howden / Charlie Ogletree / Nasser Al Mashari / Max Bulger 162 points
6th ZouLou (FRA) Loick Peyron / Philippe Mourniac / Jean-Sébastien Ponce / Bruno Jeanjean / Patrick Aucour 158 points
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen / Rasmus Kostner / Pete Cumming / Christian Kamp / Jonas Hviid 130 points
8th Alinghi (SUI), Pierre-Yves Jorand / Tanguy Cariou / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey / Charles Favre 129 points
9th China Team (CHN) Phil Robertson / Garth Ellingham / Kit Cheng / Nick Catley / Xiaqun Song 74 points

Extreme Sailing Series 2012, Series standings after 2 Acts
Position / Team / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 19 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 16 points
3rd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 16 points
4th Oman Air (OMA) 16 points
5th GAC Pindar (GBR) 13 points
6th ZouLou (FRA) 10 points
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 7 points
8th Alinghi (SUI), 7 points

Sailor quotes

Pierre Pennec, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
“Before the last race we could have ended second or sixth overall so I feel satisfied about our third position because we are on the podium again. We know that this is what we must do to win the Championship. What is difficult here is to be consistent. We feel that we have overcome some weaknesses over the last few days and this shows that we have improved and this is important for communication and the work on board. We still have a very important point to work on for the next Act: the starts. The other positive element is that we always manage to climb up spots when we have bad starts, which shows the good work on board, especially in these short races with shifty winds. I would like to congratulate The Wave, Muscat for their great performance over these last four days. Their victory is clear and deserved. We knew that they would be among our adversaries for 2012 season and this confirms our thoughts. We will have to keep an eye on them!”

Hervé Cunningham, mainsail trimmer, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild:
“It was a tough battle to get that result which is just an okay result for us considering where we were at the beginning but regarding who is ahead I wonder if that is enough for us for the goal of the season. But we are still early in the season so we know what we have to do.“

Ramus Kostner, co-skipper SAP Extreme Sailing Team:
“We are still improving all the time and some of our starts were good, and we were able to hold on to our positions so that was really good. When we get in front it looks like we can stay there… All in all we’re pretty happy with our result not to finish last or second last in our second event here in Qingdao.”

Morgan Larson, Oman Air
“All in all we sailed a decent regatta, we are just a little disappointed with the last couple of races but the guys did a good job and we hung tough. We didn’t have good starts and made some tactical errors that cost us some points and this is a challenging venue.

“We are comfortable now on the boat and feeling that we are with the fleet and we are competitive and we want to be in the top three at every event so we are disappointed with our result here and just have to come back in Istanbul and get back into the top two or three.”

Phil Robertson, China Team
“Our first event here has been a challenge. We have trying to come to grips with the boats and the overall set up. This has been the biggest thing we have learnt and how to make the boat go fast. Today came a bit better. We tuned the boat a little better and we had a bit more speed so today was much better.

“It’s been very good competition here in Qingdao and probably higher than we expected. We are very impressed with the whole organisation and the very short courses. This is definitely a new step for us and a different challenge. We are very happy about how it all went and are keen to come back.”

Pierre-Yves Jorand, Alinghi
“It has been a tough and a little frustrating regatta for us but the conditions were good and sailing was fantastic with very tight results at the end. Qingdao offers a great race course for the Series with reaching starts, up and down legs and the finishing line close to the shore offer a fantastic show to the competitors and spectators. Even the best teams had bad races so at the end the team that made the least number of mistakes won the event and such was the case last year and so far this year. We have to come back for the next event with a different strategy.”

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] The Extreme Sailing Series fleet went into stadium sailing mode today and the intensity on the water ramped up a notch, with plenty of close calls, contact between the boats, penalties and an incredible 11 false starts from the 8 races. To the satisfaction of Austrian skipper, Roman Hagara, Red Bull Sailing Team managed to hold onto their lead, but the remainder of the fleet reshuffled the leaderboard at the end of play on day 2. Hagara is not a man to easily show his emotions but he looked visibly pleased when he stepped on to the stage after racing. His widest smile came when the Chinese commentator asked him ‘Why he was so handsome?’! Hagara is a bit of a local hero here in a city that is proud of its Olympic culture, having a double-Olympic gold medallist in their midst is a huge draw.

Racing started in 12 knots of breeze, within the confines of the natural stadium of Fushan Bay, the fleet had to contend with big gusts up to 17 knots funneling through the city skyline making the bear-away turn at the final mark a tense moment. With the 50m run to the finish boxed in either side by concrete, the Extreme 40 crews had to get it right as they hauled out the massive gennaker, bows digging in before sprinting to the finish. Getting it wrong, or fouling another boat coming into the turning mark, would have ended with a visit to the pit-lane for repairs!

It was all about the nailing the reaching start line today which proved problematic with 6 of the 9 teams being punished for being too eager off the line, putting them at an immediate disadvantage as they fought to claw back places. The Wave, Muscat notched up three false starts – and added another to their tally in the opening race when they mistakenly thought they were over the line. The team managed to hold onto their second place position overall, much to skipper Leigh McMillan’s surprise. “I’ve got no idea how we are where we are! I think we got lucky and had a few gains in a few races… I think we got away with it today. To be in second position is massive shock. I thought the rest of the fleet were long gone, so its good to still be in the mix.”

Red Bull Sailing Team hold onto the top spot at the end of day two despite the efforts of the rest of the fleet – in particular those of Oman Air and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who managed to make significant in-roads on the Austrian team’s points lead. Although the French team’s mainsail trimmer, Hervé Cunningham, was far from impressed: “The result is good but we made so many mistakes on board and we’ve really got to step up and get the level higher if we want to get a good result here. Roman is one step ahead and his team is one of the best boats on the water for the season, and we’re not going to achieve anything if we keep sailing like this.”

Record breaking round the world sailor Loick Peyron and his French flagged-team ZouLou had their best day since making their Extreme 40 debut in Muscat, consistently sailing at the top end of the fleet with their first race win in race two and three further top three finishes. Their efforts were enough to climb a place on the leaderboard, finishing the day in sixth place.

The local contingent China Team continued to draw in the crowds with 2008 Olympic sailor Yngling Summer Song on board. After frustratingly having to retire from race six to repair a broken gennaker furling line, the team made a sterling effort to come back in race seven to claim their first podium position. Kiwi skipper Phil Robertson was pleased with the team’s performance but looking for improvements: “We were within the top three around the first mark in pretty much every race so the starts were great but from then it didn´t go as well. The conditions were perfect. It´s very difficult and frustrating at times but we are really enjoying the short and fast races.”

The newest team on the circuit and the Series’ first ever Danish representatives SAP Extreme Sailing Team began to find their feet in the stronger winds, winning their first race in the colours of their newly announced sponsor SAP. Ramus Kostner, one of the team’s two Danish skippers said “In the fourth race we had a really good start on the other guys and we were straight to the first mark in the lead and then just opened up the gap a little bit more. So for the whole race we could just enjoy looking at the fleet from the lead and that was a great feeling!” SAP Extreme Sailing Team climbs a place on the leaderboard to eighth.

As the Extreme 40s go into the penultimate day tomorrow, the teams can expect plenty of more close racing on the short stadium courses as they fight to secure their positions on the leaderboard before the final day. Current event leader Roman Hagara was under no illusions that his position is safe. “All of the teams are really strong contenders – we could see it already in Oman. Due to our experience in Qingdao we could be regarded as the experts in open waters where we were yesterday but not inside the harbour. I think all the teams know what goes on inside the harbour.”

Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 2, Qingdao, China standings after Day 2, 14 races (18.4.12)
Position / Team / Points
1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 90 points
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 83 points
3rd Oman Air (OMA) 79 points
4th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 78 points
5th GAC Pindar (GBR) 75 points
6th ZouLou (FRA) 72 points
7th Alinghi (SUI) 68 points
8th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 50 points
9th China Team (CHN)  34 points

Sailor Quotes

Hervé Cunningham, mainsail Groupe Edmond de Rothschild:
“We are pretty happy about the leaderboard and we did improve from yesterday. Yesterday was a really bad day for us and today was better but far from being a good day. The result is good but we made so many mistakes on board and we’ve really got to step up and get the level higher if we want to get a good result here. Roman is one step ahead and his team is one of the best boats on the water for the season, and we’re not going to achieve anything if we keep sailing like this. Two times we missed the start (over the start line) and it’s not acceptable at this level because you are out of the pack. So we have to stay focused, improve tomorrow and Friday, and if we do that we could be in a good position.”

Pierre-Yves Jorand, skipper Alinghi:
“We had some good races and some not so good but I think it was the case for everyone today. The conditions were fantastic here in Qingdao and we did win two races which is good. We have a new crew, a new helmsman so our learning curve is still young so we can definitely improve in the Series. The points are close so the competition is on for the next two days!”

Roman Hagara, Red Bull Sailing Team
“We had a more average day than yesterday but other teams had problems on the race course too especially with these reaching starts as it was difficult to judge time and distance on the line. We had one OCS and we finished last, but we weren´t the only ones. All of the teams are really strong contenders. We could see it already in Oman. Everything is very close together and you have to count in every team. It´s very tricky racing here so we will have to wait until the last day.”

Summer Song, China Team
“We hadn´t realised that we had a problem on the boat, but we managed to fix the furling system and had a good result on the next race when we finished second. I feel really excited as I could help more today than yesterday, helping the crew with the sail changes and around the marks. I hope we carry on working together and better tomorrow.”

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] Despite Act 2 not opening officially to the public until tomorrow, thousands thronged to the breakwater to see the Extreme 40s in action on the first day of racing. The biggest support went out to China Team in their Extreme 40 debut and with two men-overboard incidents, the action was full-on. But it was the Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team skippered by Roman Hagara with his Olympic partner, Hans Peter Steinacher as tactician, who used their knowledge of the Olympic waters to edge ahead and top the leaderboard by the end of play on day 1.

Six open-water races were staged today, which saw four different race winners. Racing took place just outside of the breakwater, close enough for the public to follow the action, during a light breeze day, which required shrewd tactics from the sailors, as Roman Hagara explained: “It was difficult because of the light winds and their was a lot of tide so it was fairly unpredictable out there. If you were in a good position on the start line then you would do well. By the end of the day the wind had picked up and we could get the hull out of the water.”

The battle at the top of the leaderboard was supremely close between Red Bull Sailing Team, The Wave, Muscat and GAC Pindar. The British crew led by match-racing supremo Ian Williams on GAC Pindar made an early bid for the leaderboard, claiming the first race win of the Act, but Leigh McMillan’s The Wave, Muscat were waiting to pounce, claiming victory in the following two races. McMillan went on to win an impressive third race in race five of the day, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Hagara’s men: “It was a really good day for us – we are happy with the result,” said McMillan. “Red Bull had an outstanding day and even when we were winning races they were right behind us so it was very difficult for us to get away from them.”

China Team displayed moments of real potential, including a fourth place in the second race of the day, which considering the crew only stepped on to race for the first time today shows the calibre of these professionals. However, two separate incidents show how quickly even the pros can get caught out as skipper Phil Robertson explained, “We loved it! There are a lot of positives we can take out of today and we are very happy with how we ended up – although a couple of us went swimming which wasn’t ideal. We were having our best race and were coming into the last mark when we lost Nick (Catley) our bowman over board. That was a shocker! Second time round…it was me and that was before the race even started,” admitted a rather sheepish Robertson. “I was trying to fix some rudder issues and I fell off the back with a minute to go. So it was a disappointing end but we are happy.”

Oman Air struggled to find their impressive form from Act 1 in Muscat, which saw them claim victory on their home turf just six weeks ago: “We were under no illusion that Qingdao would be easy just because we won the first event,” stated a philosophical Morgan Larson. A late comeback in the final race and a race win leaves the team in fifth place, four points shy of the French team Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, who also had a mixed day on the water. With plenty of races still to come, the teams will be assessing their performance on the water today and planning how to attack or defend as Act 2 goes into stadium race mode from tomorrow. In a similar scenario to Act 1, Muscat, both Hagara and Williams excelled in the early phase only to fade away to the dominance of Larson’s Oman Air team and the Series favourites on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

The event was officially inaugurated tonight at the grand opening ceremony, hosted by the Qingdao Yachting Association (QDYA). The show began with a stunning light show and music, with local performers enacting traditional Chinese dances. Each crew member bearing their national flag was presented to the crowds, as they presented a gift to their hosts. The ceremony took place at Octagonal Square within the Olympic village, with over 2,000 local guests gathering to witness the spectacle. The show culminated with a spectacular fireworks show.

Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 2, Qingdao, China standings after Day 1, 6 races (17.4.12)
Position / Team / Points

1st Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 47 points
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Hashim Al Rashdi, Rachel Williamson 44 points
3rd GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams, Mark Ivey, Mark Bulkeley, Adam Piggot, Andrew Walsh 37 points
4th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec, Jean-Christophe Mourniac, Hervé Cunningham, Bernard Labro, Romain Petit 32 points
5th Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson, Will Howden, Charlie Ogletree, Nasser Al Mashari, Max Bulger 28 points
6th Alinghi (SUI), Pierre-Yves Jorand, Tanguy Cariou, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, Charles Favre 26 points
7th ZouLou (FRA) Loick Peyron, Philippe Mourniac, Jean-Sébastien Ponce, Bruno Jeanjean, Patrick Aucour 24 points
8th China Team (CHN) Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Kit Cheng, Nick Catley, Xiaqun Song 18 points
9th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Christian Kamp, Jonas Hviid 14 points

Quotes from sailors:
Morgan Larson, Oman Air skipper
“We were under no illusion that Qingdao would be easy just because we won the first event. We have to go back to our original goals and if we can end on the podium then that is fantastic but we are certainly aiming for top half of the fleet.”

Loick Peyron, ZouLou skipper
“I have come straight from Naples (AC45) and it is very interesting to be back in the Extreme 40 – it is a different game and it is good to fight against these guys. We have a lot to improve on the starts especially. It could have been a better day for us, it could have been worse. We are in the middle of the pack and looking for better.”

Roman Hagara, Red Bull Sailing Team skipper
“It was really close against The Wave, Muscat and GAC Pindar. In the first few races the three teams were always top three and it was really important to be consistent. We had no race worse then third and I think the others they may have had one bad race so in the end its what counted. We are very happy at the end of today.”

[Source: SAP AG] SAP AG has further cemented a place at the forefront of international sailing by today announcing its sponsorship of the SAP Extreme Sailing Team. As one of the most exciting and innovative new formats of the sport, the sponsorship helps SAP to continue on its course in assisting the development of sailing around the world. The team, formerly the Danish Extreme Challenger Team, is racing as part of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series and SAP will look to implement a range of innovative technology solutions to deliver cutting-edge analytics to the team in order to improve overall race and training performances.

“Through our existing work with Sailing Team Germany, Kieler Woche and the 505 World Championships, SAP continues to deliver cutting-edge innovations to the sport of sailing,” said Stefan Lacher, head of Technology for the SAP Sailing Program. “We are excited to build on our experience and enhance the sport on another level through working with the SAP Extreme Sailing Team.”

In the Extreme Sailing Series teams’ battle against each other close to the shoreline, combining spectator-friendly configurations with challenging sailing conditions. “Stadium Sailing,” as the fast-paced and action-packed discipline is more commonly known, puts fans and spectators at the heart of the competition. The series will take fan involvement one step further through the use of “fifth man spots” that will allow spectators to join the teams out on the water and experience all the action first-hand. The SAP Extreme Sailing Team is set to compete in Act 2 of the Extreme Sailing Series season in Qingdao, China, where its new multihull will be unveiled.

SAP’s history in sailing has produced a number of impressive results in a wide range of disciplines. In 2011, SAP worked with Audi Sailing Team Germany on solutions to support the decision-making process of sailors in order to increase the effectiveness of their racing strategy and execution. With this in mind, a “Sail Better” solution was created to help sailors and coaches to increase their training efficiency through trim optimization, venue pattern analysis and video-based learning. It also provides the team‘s Olympic prospects with the tools to chart a winning strategy for London 2012.

As premium sponsor of Kieler Woche, the world’s largest sailing regatta, SAP delivered a number of solutions that enhance the viewing experience by bringing together live race results, analytics software from the SAP® BusinessObjects™ portfolio and 3-D visualization with commentary. For more information, see “SAP and Kieler Woche Bring the Excitement of Sailing to the World.”

SAP’s longstanding relationship with the 5O5 World Championship has provided another excellent platform to showcase their innovation within the sport. At the 2011 505 World Championship, SAP launched a prototype application that consolidated GPS tracking data with an augmented reality function to provide thrilling real-time insights into the race, offering spectators access to a live results list simply by pointing their phone toward race markers or the fleet of 90 participating boats.

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] In less than two weeks times, the Extreme 40s will take to the waters of the 2008 Olympic sailing venue in Qingdao, China, for Act 2 of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series™. China Team, the home nation challenger for the America’s Cup will be flying the flag as a wildcard entry, and taking on the established 8 full Series teams that have already fought each other hard in Muscat. The teams will be vying for glory to win the Doublestar Cup in Qingdao, organised in association with the Qingdao Yachting Association.

China Team will arrive in Qingdao fresh from competing in the America’s Cup World Series, Naples. Kiwi Phil Robertson, whose match racing team Waka Racing finished eighth in the 2011 World Match Racing Tour, will lead the team, and at just 25 years old, Robertson is the youngest competing skipper. Despite having never sailed an Extreme 40 before, the young skipper is confident China Team can hold their own against the more experienced Extreme 40 teams: “Qingdao is a big event for China Team,” said Robertson. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase to our local crowd that we can match it with the best in the world. We have a very tight schedule getting from the AC World Series to Qingdao, but will put up a good fight. We are looking forward to some home support from the people of Qingdao”.

Joining Robertson will be fellow New Zealander and Waka Racing teammate, Garth Ellingham on mainsail. Nick Catley, an experienced skiff sailor brings the Kiwi contingent up to three as the team bowman, while aspiring Chinese sailing star Kit Cheng will take on the role of trimmer. Cheng is looking forward to sailing on his home waters: “I am really excited to be part of China Team and representing China,” Cheng said. “One of the things that we need to improve on as a team is more consistency and sailing in the Extreme Sailing Series, and especially in China, is the perfect opportunity for us to gain more experience in sailing together and improving our teamwork. I, for one, need to sail more and I intend to learn all that I can during these races and also giving back as much as I can as well.”

Cheng is no stranger to high performance sailing, having spent the last 14 years competing at an international level in the Olympic 420 class and 49er dinghies, as well as keelboats, before recently making his multihull debut on the China Team AC45 in August 2011.

Joining the team in the fifth position is renowned Chinese female Olympic sailor, Xiaqun Song. Song will truly be at home on the waters in Qingdao, the city in which she grew-up, and where she finished eighth in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the Yngling class.

Here’s the second installment of the long, but very interesting and educating to read, interview. Turner talks in depth about the Extreme Sailing Series, the America’s Cup, the sport of sailing and the fine line between making sailing attractive to sponsors and the public and catering to the needs of the rich boat owners. [Click here for the first part of the interview]:

VSail.info: Let’s now talk about the teams participating in the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series. You had 11 last year, you now have eight, with the eighth one being a last-minute deal. Do you see this as a weakness?
Mark Turner: If you look at the numbers since the beginning, eight has been our maximum of full-time teams, plus three or four wildcards. Each year that has been our aim, to have eight boats. We had seven in 2010 and I’m very happy with that, to be honest. In practical terms for us, and this is quite different to the measures you might use in most traditional sailing events, eight boats is genuinely the number which is good. Last year we had ten teams because the eleventh was our own boat that we needed to fulfill contractual obligations with venues but in Istanbul we had too many boats. We couldn’t race in a stadium and the Alinghi crash fundamentally came with the difficulties in racing in a small stadium with eleven boats. In Almeria we, unfortunately, had light winds but had we had more breeze we couldn’t have raced all the boats at the same time. Our sailing stadium format, which is absolutely the heart of the product, has some limits. For us, eight boats is the right number, seven would be fine as well, but ten is just too many, even if in some venues you can put more.

Our objective this year was to have eight boats with the ability to have one or two wildcards, at events where this is appropriate, and this is exactly what we have. I’m very proud of that because these are not easy times because most of the teams are commercially-funded in one way or another. The mathematical problem with aiming at eight is that a variation of plus or minus two is very dramatic. Plus two you have ten, too many, but minus two you have six, probably not enough. It’s quite a scary process and it’s not that easy to get there. We had to turn down quite a few teams that wanted to do five or six events. All of the eight teams racing here in Oman will do the entire season. As you know, the Danish team was a bit of a last-minute deal but we’ll have eight-nine boats in Qingdao, probably nine in Istanbul, nine in the UK and probably ten in Brazil by the end of the year. Wildcards are important but we didn’t want that to become a norm, so that people just join the events they want to. At some point we might lose that fight but until now the importance of winning the overall circuit has been up there. Inevitably, you will have some things that change. Artemis entered last year with the intention of doing the whole season but as the America’s Cup had its technical difficulties and their priorities changed, they bowed out. They didn’t feel very good about that, they were very apologetic and it wasn’t good for us to have that happen. We are trying to avoid that, even if we are never able to complete do it. Big teams come and do this as an extra thing, it’s never their priority. That’s the problem with the America’s Cup teams.

Oman Air flies at the start and in the overall event. The Wave, Muscat, 29 February 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

VSail.info: Absolutely, but on the other hand they add to the quality of the circuit as well, not just the quantity. Team New Zealand, Artemis and Luna Rossa are, after all, some of the world’s best sailing teams.
Mark Turner: I agree with you but Luna Rossa wasn’t an America’s Cup team in 2011. It was perfect for us. It was a high-level team, a good brand but it actually wasn’t trying to do the Cup at the same time. We had to Cup teams last year, Team New Zealand and Artemis, but we if had more that came to us, I think we would have turned them down. I knew they would come and then go, they were, basically, using it for training. That’s fine and, you are right, it adds an extra level but we are not short on good sailors. There is a plus and a minus with the Cup teams and we I never want to be in the position the World Match Racing Tour got into. They nailed their colors to the mast, they said “We are the road to the America’s Cup”, a very random thing that changes every few years. It’s very hard to plan long-term around the America’s Cup because you don’t know what is going to happen. A new guy might win it and change everything. It’s unheard of in other sports, having one of its most important parts run in such a random way.

Again, we would have said no to more Cup teams. For example, the Kiwis nearly made it to this event and Artemis might come and be a wildcard in some events. We’ll see what happens during the year. The important thing for us is to have this core set of teams with the majority of them being with a commercial objective because the whole structure has been set up for that. They must care about the hospitality side and they must care the public is there. If it becomes a Cup plus private owners circuit we might end up in the position the Medcup found itself. You try to please two very different groups of people and that is very difficult. A mix of that is always good and we always had some private owners. Erik Maris is was with us in the two previous seasons and is back this year well. It’s a nice mix to have but for us, ultimately, our objective is to get brands involved, brands that activate and use their sponsorship.

Red Bull is a great example but The Wave, where we are right now in this event, have had enormous success in promoting their resort in their key markets. That’s what we are trying to create and to have these teams is very important. Whether we achieve it or not in the long term remains to be seen but we have to keep on working to make it attractive to these guys. Sailing is a tough sport to sell.

VSail.info: Since you mentioned the Medcup I was curious to know your opinion about the end of AUDI’s sponsorship. Is it something that makes you happy? Do you see it as one competing circuit less in the market?
Mark Turner: No, not at all. I think that any brand leaving the sport is bad for all of us and a new brand coming in is always very good. Take for example Alpari and the World Match Racing Tour. We were also in talks at some point last year, we are disappointed we didn’t go any further but they did a gret job. That’s absolutely, unquestionably, a good thing for the sport. Brands need to see other companies coming into sailing, into commercially-driven parts of the sport and that helps all of us. When a company leaves the sport of sailing it has an adverse, negative effect.

The Danish team, sponsored by British fashion designer Simon Spurr, is the latest entry in the circuit. The Wave, Muscat, 29 February 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

VSail.info: Is the Extreme Sailing Series in search of a title sponsor?
Mark Turner: We have been looking for one during the last six months because 2011 was really an investment year for us, in terms of moving the whole vent on and choosing where we would go with the event rather under the influence of a main partner, allow us to grow it. Six months ago we started the search for two main partners, one of which might end up having the naming rights as well. We are reasonably down the line now with two companies and we have to see if we pull this one off for the next year, maybe even through this year. We want that, we need that, for the future. In the year 2010, without us choosing, we lost iShares very late in the season and in 2011, by our choosing, we ended up with two years where the revenue stream was completely changed. The sponsorship side is now a relatively small part of the total budget. Even with two main partners it will still be a minority part of the total funding.

VSail.info: Does most of the funding come from the host cities?
Mark Turner: Yes, from the cities. Overall, it’s several million that come from the cities. We still are a reasonably small event and we have a package that works well for the cities, what they have to pay is in the hundreds of thousands not millions. Each city deal is slightly different because you have a different amount of value-in-kind. For us, value-in-kind is very valuable. If the cities put on a lot of the infrastructure or the public entertainment that has a big impact on our budgets. So, each city is different but the value of the deals increases every year. It takes time because you generally do 2-3 year deals, so you can’t change from one year to the next but if you include value-in-kind, revenue from the cities is more than 50% of our income. The rest of the income comes from hospitality, entry fees for the teams, merchandising, in some events we sell public space in the villages and after we bought Tornado Sports last year we also sell boats, spares and sails.

We have diversified the revenue stream enormously, which is a much better and sane model for the future. However we absolutely need those two main sponsors as much for funding as for activation. In the last two years we missed having a main partner pushing us and activating.

VSail.info: Since the city deals are so important for the circuit, what is the main challenge you encounter when you approach a possible venue where sailing is not a popular sport?
Mark Turner: Quite the same as any other non-major sport. You usually talk to nine people that know nothing about the sport and one that might know something about it. You are educating them at the same time. One issue is the confusion in sailing as to where the different events sit. If they are also approached by other sailing events you have to explain the difference and where each one sits. I also think that people’s perception of sailing, 99% of the time, is that it’s about white sails somewhere over the horizon. First, we have to get the message across it’s not the same thing.

In Qingdao last year, we had the same team that ran the Olympics, the local organizing committee, and until the first day of racing they had no idea, they simply hadn’t understood at all what we were about. When they saw the boats sailing 5 meters from the pier, it blew them away. All the difficulties and challenges we had leading up to the event, when we explained where we wanted the VIP tent to be, where we wanted the TV cameras to be, were simply due to the fact they were used to the Olympics. The Olympics were in a set area somewhere away and they couldn’t understand we could sail anywhere we wanted and set any race course we wanted. That’s a difficult message to get across, it’s a challenge, in every new venue.

Ernesto Bertarelli isn't simply the owner and helmsman of Alinghi. He's also a major stakeholder of the Extreme Sailing Series. The Wave, Muscat, 29 February 2012. Photo copyright Pierre Orphanidis / VSail.info

VSail.info: In the inner circles of the sport of sailing there is a debate going on over monohull and multihull yachts. Do potential venue cities care about the type of boat that is used? Can they even tell the difference?
Mark Turner: I think that people don’t care. I was in a meeting with a big, global, sports marketing agency about two years ago and the person I was talking to, meant to be their sailing expert, was asking me to tell him the differences between a monohull and a multihull. We are in a bubble and we forget entirely, entirely, how much we are in a bubble. I actually don’t care whether it’s a monohull or a multihull. What is important for this event is that the sporting action is as entertaining as it can be, in this order. We will never sail this event on a boat that is crap from a sporting point of view and doesn’t work from a sporting equity and doesn’t provide a fair winner. We will never do that.

As long as you have a boat that does that, what is important is that it’s entertaining. In an event such as Almeria, where the public, in the tens of thousands, was almost 100% non-sailing, I know that when a boat lifts a hull or accelerates very quickly and places change right in front of the audience, people lean back, take photos and their heads follow the action. That’s very hard to achieve with a monohull. I’m well away these days from worrying what class of boats the Olympics should choose, all I’m saying is that if part of your mission is to make it interesting to watch, then the multihull platform, as it stands today, is way better. It’s not a question whether people watching care if it’s a multihull because they mostly don’t care. It simply delivers what we need to deliver.

VSail.info: You state that in sailing we are in a bubble. Has your involvement with other sports brought new ideas or new perspectives?
Mark Turner: Definitely, not just for me seeing other sports but also our overall team has now a mix of different skills and backgrounds. That’s quite helpful. We are involved in the mass-participation side of running and cycling and it’s quite a different world, commercially, with sponsorship still being an important part but people pay entry fees to come. You have thousands of people in cycling and running that pay entry to watch. It’s a different model to what we do in sailing.

VSail.info: Do you think that we could charge entry fees in sailing? Will people pay a ticket to watch a regatta?
Mark Turner: They will do in the Olympics. However, when sponsorship is a core revenue stream you would be in a real dilemma because in order to make sponsorship more valued you need more people to come in. Charging a ticket and limiting the entry would be in conflict with the aim of increasing the value of sponsorship. If you are Wimbledon, it’s a different thing. You have different levels of desire you can a put a price on. I think that what we can do is the VIP side of things where people actually do pay to come in. Potentially, we could have the equivalent of an airplane with the Premium Economy class where there is a high level of hospitality, people go out on the water and people would pay at that level. I think that most people in sailing would struggle with the idea of charging tickets because we need more people to come and watch it.

VSail.info: Do you think that major TV networks will ever pay to broadcast sailing?
Mark Turner: There’s only a relatively few places where this has happened anyway, even when TV stations had more money and people had more latitude to do that kind of things. Perhaps the America’s Cup can but I’m not sure. In the 32nd America’s Cup in Valencia there were deals but the money changing hands was low and sometimes reduced the amount of coverage because they did the deals with the stations that really wanted it, not necessarily the stations they really wanted. Again, it’s the same thing. If your model is driven by sponsorship, you need to maximize the coverage rather than treat is as a revenue stream. When you start getting in the middle of that, 50-50, you compromise your coverage and you still get some income but you would be better off by simply enhancing your sponsorship value by getting the best deals. These days it’s a very hard game to have media coverage and you often have to pay or pay costs. For example, if you want something in different languages you will have to pay. They might provide something in English but unless we pay for the cost of doing it in Arabic, Chinese or Spanish they might not cover it. We might also provide different camera angles. It’s much more about partnerships with TV rather than seeing it a revenue stream. If you are football it’s different. If you are the Premier League it’s different but none of us, quite frankly the America’s Cup included, is the Premier League.

He’s one of the world’s most accomplished sailors, having recently established a brand new record, circumnavigating the world in 45 days. Peyron is in Oman, helming the Zoulou Extreme 40 boat at the opening event of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series circuit. We caught up with him before the final day’s races and talked about offshore sailing, his record, the Extreme 40′s and the Team Energy challenge in the America’s Cup. [Note: The interview was done in French and the translation in English is mine, so any possible error or incoherence is due to the translation]

VSail.info: I always wanted to ask you this question. When you are in the middle of the ocean, with your huge trimaran doing 30 knots, banging on the waves and you trying to get some sleep, have you ever felt fed up with it?
Loïck Peyron: No, never.

VSail.info: Wouldn’t you rather have a nice sleep at home?
Loïck Peyron: Yes, in that sense I’d rather be in the comfort of my home but everybody that is away from home and if everything in their life is going well would like to be at home, obviously. That’s true for everybody whose job requires them to be absent, whether they are sailors, fishermen or pilots. Even if you love your job and you appreciate the moments you spend, even the bad ones, you always want to return home. I can never say I’m fed up but on the other hand, particularly in offshore sailing, time is extremely elastic. In life in general, you feel that time might flow faster or slower but this feeling is more intense in offshore sailing

The start of an offshore race, the first few days, is relatively normal. The flow of time is quite normal and follows that of a clock. Since we choose to start when wind conditions are as favorable as possible, we sail fast, we feel very well because we left when it was winter and we now have good weather, plenty of sunshine, we start getting used to it and everything onboard goes smoothly. When you are in the southern hemisphere, you are forced to be much more attentive, the nights are shorter and pass rapidly, even if the days get longer, so up to that point everything is relatively good.

When you pass the halfway point of the race, when you stop distancing yourself from the start and you start getting closer to the finish, that’s when time starts feeling passing slower, days drawing out. We are ahead of the record time, there are icebergs and potential problems, so we start feeling the pressure. The potential problems might not become bigger but we have much more probabilities to stop everything. In the first half we had the right to do stupid things, to break something but paradoxically, the further we approach the finish the bigger danger becomes.

VSail.info: Why?
Loïck Peyron: Because you run the risk to abruptly stop everything while you are doing fine, without of course you taking that decision. As a result, time goes by very slowly during the last days or last weeks. In the Barcelona World Race I did a year ago with Jean-Pierre Dick the last three weeks seemed endless. Going for three weeks upwind on a monohull, there I could say you could be fed up.

VSail.info: During your recent round-the-world attempt was there any moment you thought you wouldn’t be able to break the record?
Loïck Pyeron: Of course, all the time, even if you are ahead of the record time. All you need is just an iceberg, a floating object or a technical breakdown to stop you completely. We felt quite comfortable with the weather conditions. Even during the last five days when we had to extend our route, we were feeling we had favorable weather but we were still not sure we were going to break the record because everything could happen.

VSail.info: Even if you had to go so much west to go north, did you feel confident about your weather models?
Loïck Peyron: Absolutely. We felt very confident, given the boat’s performance. Still, we were absolutely conscious there were random factors. When you sail so fast on a multihull everything can happen. It’s completely random. A tree trunk floating on the ocean that hits a hull can stop everything.

VSail.info: So, what is the most important factor in beating such a record? Is it luck, the boat, the weather, the crew?
Loïck Peyron: The weather. Optimal weather conditions can allow you to beat the record, even with older boats.

VSail.info: You rounded the world in 45 days. Do you envision the record being brought down to less than 40 days?
Loïck Peyron: Of course. It can even go lower. Twenty years ago we couldn’t grasp the possibility of rounding the world in 80 days. I was there, with my brother and Blake and we were wondering what we could do in order to bring the record to less than 80 days. That was the limit back then and we now have 45 days. The only issue is the weather. Depressions have a given speed and in the southern hemisphere we cannot go faster than them. We can go faster but we stumble in the mild weather systems and transitions are very difficult because you have light winds, in general. That’s where we can have a factor that blocks the record attempts but, in decreasing order of importance, gains will come from weather management, or the luck to have a weather that is 100% favorable, and the fact to shorten distances.

There is, obviously, no direct route because of the weather but in the recent record break we still sailed 9,500-10,000 miles more than the hypothetical direct route. So, 10,000 miles is quite a number of days even if, as I said, there is no direct route in sailing. Nevertheless, all records are made to be broken and the only boat that currently exists, able to break the record we just established, is the one we used. She is magnificent, very well built, very enjoyable to sail, very powerful. It’s a beautiful machine but she needs to be well managed at all times, you can’t give her to everybody to sail.

VSail.info: What is more enjoyable for you? Rounding the world in that machine of 100 feet or doing windward/leeward races half a mile long with an Extreme 40?
Loïck Peyron: Both. I have the chance to be able to do both. That’s precisely the interest. Doing that every day, here, is quite good but you have to do other things as well.

VSail.info: Where do you feel more comfortable?
Loïck Peyron: I feel equally comfortable on both but now there is a lot more people that feel comfortable on a 40-foot catamaran than people able to circumnavigate the globe on 100-foot trimarans, so competition is much more difficult here.

Loïck Peyron helms the Team Energy AC45 catamaran. Cascais, 21 July 2011. Photo copyright Gilles Martin-Raget / America's Cup

VSail.info: Do you also feel comfortable on an AC45 wing catamaran?
Loïck Peyron: Yes, they are exceptional boats! There are also other notions that come into play in these boats and it’s the AC72′s that will most certainly be of great interest to me. They are great, brilliant machines, completely different from what we know so far. There is simply no comparison. They are not in competition against other boats, they are just a great addition. The Cup will always remain the pinnacle of sailing and it now has brilliant boats. Still, I have been reading your website and I feel you don’t like the AC45′s or the Extreme 40′s!

VSail.info: No, it’s not a question of whether I like them or not. It’s a question of the advantage they give Oracle Racing over the challengers. Do you feel Oracle Racing have an unbridgeable advantage in design?
Loïck Peyron: No, not at all. They won the 33rd America’s Cup with their wing trimaran and the next morning they offered everybody the same wing design. Don’t forget the AC45 wing concept is exactly the same with the USA17 wing design. Just the fact they sell, give or rent boats with the same technology, in smaller scale, to everybody is a sign. It isn’t the only one though. We all know that in the history of the America’s Cup the Defender always had an advantage and if there is one thing I dream of, is that it is imperative for the survival of the America’s Cup, the way we are seeing it now, that Oracle won next year. It’s imperative. They should absolutely not lose it.

VSail.info: What will happen if Team New Zealand wins?
Loïck Peyron: Then the Cup will be over, for me. The Cup, the way we see it today will be over. Can you name any person on this planet, other than Larry Ellison, able to invest so much? I, actually, don’t give a damn who will win. In fact, may the best win. But for the survival of the Cup, the way we are seeing it today, the new way to film it and share it with the widest audience possible, that’s what we all want after all, Oracle must win. We don’t want it to remain a small event, followed by a few guys that like watching boats heeling, 10 miles offshore. I don’t care about such an event. It existed in the past, that’s fine, but it doesn’t exist any more, I’m sorry. I think I’d better say I’m happy.

What we now have is a show with incredible boats and really crazy races that everybody loves. Damn! I have sailed on so many boats but I swear I never felt the sensation I have on the AC45′s. Everything they have done in this new Cup is exceptional. They have the smarts to do it but, most importantly, they have colossal resources. Who provides that? It’s Larry Ellison. If he doesn’t hold the Cup any longer he won’t put in all that and not just for him but for everybody. He actually puts in for everybody. When we take part in the AC45 regattas, the inscription fee we pay is less than the price of the two cameras we have onboard. Have you watched the broadcasts? We have never seen that before.

I might be wrong but I think it’s the only way to shake things, to make some buzz so that we have more than three guys watching the races from the beach. It’s the only way and so far the only guy putting money in a disinterested way is Larry Ellison. Of course, he invests in his own team to keep hold of the Cup but he could very well not be doing all the rest. Does he have any obligation to do it? Did he really have to invest 5 million dollars to have a complete design package, ready to be bought by the other challengers? Does he have any obligation to invest tens of millions in TV production? Is anybody forcing him to do that? Nobody. If he really wanted to just keep the Cup he wouldn’t be doing that.

We should never forget that. I’m not saying all this because I owe him something. I don’t have any Oracle shares. I don’t give a damn but without that guy we wouldn’t be now where we are.

VSail.info: Have your brother and you decided to challenge for the America’s Cup because of the change from a monohull to a catamaran?
Loïck Peyron: No, not necessarily. We had looked into the possibility of entering the Cup in the past with Bertrand Pacé. It, obviously, helped it was a multihull but it wasn’t the only factor. It was all those things I told you about. A year ago, we felt, even if it was still a bit early, that there was this change in philosophy. They wanted to change the game, transform it, bring it closer to the public, create exciting races, change the rules. All the utopias, the dreams that exist in the sport of sailing since 30 years ago can now be found in this America’s Cup.

VSail.info: Do you think this time France has real chances in winning the America’s Cup?
Loïck Peyron: Why do you refer to a country?

VSail.info: You are a French team after all. You have a French flag on your shirts.
Loïck Peyron: It’s not the size of your flag or its colors that decide your potential. It’s never a country that challenges for the America’s Cup, with the possible exception of New Zealand. All challenges since 160 years ago are private. It’s one person that challenges, it’s private resources. Since it’s, unfortunately, a mechanical sport that requires private resources and in France, for many historical reasons, we lack these private resources, we will always have problems, regardless of the know-how we might have.

VSail.info: Conventional wisdom wanted that a Cup in multihulls would be a golden opportunity for the French.
Loïck Peyron: Of course it’s a golden opportunity but if you don’t have money, you don’t have money! If you are poor, you are poor. That’s a fact and being French will not change that! If we can’t make it, it won’t be the end of the world. We never had any certainty we would be there.

VSail.info: Let’s talk about Team Energy. Where are you standing right now?
Loïck Peyron: Well, we will continue the AC45 circuit, that’s for sure. Apart that, we have absolutely no guarantee we will be able to build an AC72. It’s as simple as that. No money, at least not for now. It’s a pity though because we really have everything required on the design side. We are ready to press on the start button to build a good AC72 but we will be undoubtedly late, undoubtedly.

VSail.info: Even if you had the necessary funding tomorrow morning will you still be less competitive in the Louis Vuitton Cup?
Loïck Peyron: Yes, absolutely. It would be illogical to think we could have an advance over the other three challengers if we started tomorrow. That’s self evident. Still, an AC72 will always be a big multihull and in that domain, I wouldn’t say we have an advance but we have the necessary culture. There is a lot of people in France that have the skills for a big multihull and we could potentially reduce part of the delay thanks to that culture. At least that’s what I hope and that’s where I’m betting on. That’s an opportunity we should grab. Don’t forget there are only three teams so far for the Louis Vuitton Cup and four would be a nice number.

VSail.info: Do you see it as a problem for the organization, a negative point, if there are just three challengers?
Loïck Peyron: Three is certainly not as pretty as six. There is however a very difficult financial reality we have to take into consideration. The small error they maybe committed was to announce they had 15 challengers. I don’t think it was necessary, there was no need to over-promise. Still, that was a couple of years ago and things change fast, I don’t blame them for that. You always want to do the best you can. Even with three challengers, quality will be there.

VSail.info: So, will you continue with the AC45 regattas until May 2013, even if you don’t find the necessary funding for an AC72 yacht?
Loïck Peyron: Yes. It could also be a little bit longer because I heard they would like, probably, to organize an AC45 World Championship in San Francisco between the Louis Vuitton Cup and the America’s Cup. If true, that would be a very good idea. It’s not stupid and it is even more justified if there are just three teams in the LVC. If this World Championship does take place we will take part.

VSail.info: Is it so hard to find corporate funding in France?
Loïck Peyron: Yes and that has always been the problem with the America’s Cup in France. All the previous French teams had problems getting the necessary funding and it’s a normal thing, not only in the current difficult period. The America’s Cup has always had a negative image in France and there have been some stories in the past that have “traumatized” the corporate sponsors. In addition, when one talks about sailing in France there are so many nice stories beyond the Cup, I would say too many of them, that are much more affordable. Take the Vendée Globe, the Route du Rhum, the Jules Verne, just to give a few examples.

VSail.info: What was your budget for the Banque Populaire campaign?
Loïck Peyron: It was approximately 3.5 million euros per year during 5 years, of which 10-12 million euros were for the design and construction of the boat.

VSail.info: Isn’t Banque Populaire interested in sponsoring you and Team Energy?
Loïck Peyron: As you can very well see, the bank’s name contains the word “Populaire” [popular] and the America’s Cup still isn’t, unfortunately, popular in France. I would even say it’s the contrary and we always have to fight against that. It’s strange though but in France each time we are asked the question it’s always about just sponsoring. Take a look at the current four teams. What do you have? An American guy, an Italian guy, a Swedish guy and a group of friends together with a government. It’s not sponsors, it’s not stickers. It’s never the case. Sponsors are there just for running the team but you will never get a return from 100% of a strong budget in the America’s Cup. It’s unfeasible. I’m not saying it’s wrong, it’s just the way it is.

VSail.info: If that’s the case why are you then trying?
Loïck Peyron: Because you will never attack with the resources Ellison or Bertarelli have. You never do that. You don’t attack from the top, you attack from the bottom. In monohulls you had no chances unless you attacked from the top. The boat rule was so close that you needed tons of resources. On the other hand, right now, anything could happen with the multihulls, at least in this Cup. I’m confident our boat could be at least as competitive. I’m not saying it will but we have the chances. I feel confident on the design side. All we need is the resources to build the boat and feed our guys for 6 months. We just need 15 million euros. The word “just” is of course relative.

VSail.info: Do you think that with just 15 million euros you could have a competitive campaign?
Loïck Peyron: Of course, since we haven’t had the time to spend it so far and we only have one year left. We have been working on that since three years and we haven’t been paid.

VSail.info: Haven’t you been paid?
Loïck Peyron: By whom?

VSail.info: I don’t know, I see you have a Corum logo on your shirt.
Loïck Peyron: Yes, but that’s not enough to cover the entirety of our engagement until the summer of 2013. I’m not even doing that for the glory.

VSail.info: Then I guess you must like sailing.
Loïck Peyron: Yes, too much unfortunately. That’s my problem. [Laughs]