[Source: Vulcain Trophy] Alinghi and Realstone Sailing end the weekend of Grand Prix Les Ambassadeurs level on points, but Alinghi wins the event thanks to one more victory in all 14 races sailed during the event (5 wins for Alinghi vs. 4 for Realstone). You could not dream a better season opening for the Vulcain Trophy presented by Business & Decision!

“It is really fantastic that we have been able to sail 14 races this weekend, and it’s very satisfying to race at this level! I would like to congratulate the Realstone team that sailed very well during the whole event. It came down to very little, actually a single race. It could have been them, it could have been us! I’m really happy to start the season in these gorgeous weather conditions! I also would like to congratulate our tactician Tanguy Cariou who did a wonderful job” said Ernesto Bertarelli.

Jérôme Clerc, skipper of Realstone Sailing, cannot hide his disappointment. “I am obviously disappointed. We sailed very well and have been constant throughout the weekend. I think we showed a great potential. I was a little nervous today because we had already blown our wild card (disqualification on the occasion of a slight collision with Ladycat). That’s certainly why I made a mistake on the starting line of the second race and it definitely didn’t help.”

Paul Cayard, skipper of Artemis Racing, who finished in 3rd position, commented: “This weekend is the most beautiful event I attended since I am on the circuit! I look forward to the next races in Crans.”

The general ranking went through a lot of changes today. De Rham – Sotheby’s, skippered by Philippe Cardis, moves up one place overall with two nice races today, while the crew of Zen Too, after its capsize yesterday, had promised some action today. And action there was, with a win in the first race and a second place in the last one.

All crews have commented the new race format, which opens further tactical options, but also brings more suspense because it allows many ranking changes during the regattas. “This new race format is very demanding! The legs are very short; you have to maneuver a lot. That’s why it is important for the crew to be well trained” said Yann Guichard, tactician aboard Ladycat, 4th overall. “It is true that the new gate brings in adrenaline rushes and puts us in situations that are sometimes really hot!”

Next event in two weeks in Crans (Open de Crans, 26-27 May)!

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Overall ranking:

1. Alinghi (29 points) – 2. Realstone Sailing (29 points) – 3. Artemis Racing (54 points) – 4. Ladycat (62 points) – 5. De Rahm – Sotheby’s (63 points) – 6. Zen Too (66 points) – 7. Okalys – Corum (70 points) – 8. Nickel (85 points) – 9. Veltigroup (102 points)

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] An impressive set of sailors from all over the globe with an extraordinary set of CVs including skippers Ian Williams (GBR), Roman Hagara (AUT), Pierre Pennec (FRA), Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) and Morgan Larson (USA) and a host of strong commercial brands, will set out on their quest to win the Extreme Sailing Series. Eight pro teams, meeting the objective of organisers OC ThirdPole for 2012, will be on the starting grid in Muscat on 28 February. An impressive high level fleet that will face additional strong competition event by event from several wildcard entries during the year, including Artemis Racing, and local ‘home’ teams, meaning the grid will be full with 8 to 10 boats at all the Acts.

Whilst the economic situation inevitably makes it harder to raise sponsorship funds for new and existing teams, the interest in the award-winning stadium sailing global circuit has never been stronger with many potential teams for 2013 already working actively to kick off their campaigns during the 2012 season – a mark of the maturity of the event as a high quality commercial sports property.

Seven of the teams on the start line in Muscat are returning teams – Alinghi, Oman Air, The Wave Muscat, Red Bull Sailing Team, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, ZouLou and GAC Pindar have competed in one or more seasons already. “It is a very positive indication of the sporting integrity and commercial value of the circuit to see so many of the highly competitive and high-profile teams sign-up again for 2012,” said Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of OC ThirdPole, the organising company and creators of the Extreme Sailing Series. “Going into our sixth year, the level of competition will step up yet another gear, and we can expect the racing to once again be incredibly tight with Act winners only known in the closing minutes at each venue. As organisers, our mission will be to also continue to increase the commercial return for all the stakeholders, and whilst ensuring the very best racing, develop further the fan entertainment package and media value which already stepped up markedly in 2011.”

A new name for 2012 is ZouLou, headed up by Frenchman Erik Maris. It is not Maris’ first Extreme 40 experience though as he competed in the same boat as ‘Luna’ in the 2009 series, and this time will be ably supported by an experienced multihull crew with the added caché of French sailing superstar Loick Peyron, recently returned from setting a new Jules Verne round the world record, as helmsman for at least the first two events in Muscat and Qingdao.

The all French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, runners-up in both 2011 and 2010, will return for a fourth season of competition, and will again be led by skipper and helmsman Pierre Pennec: “We finished last season 2nd overall and we missed victory by a whisker,” said Pennec who is a seasoned campaigner and a skilled multihull sailor. “We are coming back to the circuit more motivated than ever and with the objective of winning the championship. This is not going to be easy considering the line-up announced for 2012 and to be able to do it we must keep improving. This season will also mark the arrival of a new talented crew member on board Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.”

Two teams will be representing Oman – The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air – at the helm of The Wave, Muscat is Olympic Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan whilst newcomer American Morgan Larson, with three America’s Cup campaigns under his belt, will take the helm of Oman Air. “This year I have had the chance to put my own team together which is a great opportunity,” said McMillan who took over the helm of The Wave, Muscat from Torvar Mirsky after Act 2 last year, to finish in 4th place overall with Omani sailor Khamis Al Anbouri on bow. “It is exciting to be sailing with a new team, and I think we definitely have the potential to get some good results. Our aim is to try and win the Series this year. We are looking forward to some great racing this year, and in some really exciting new venues – it’s going to be a fantastic year.”

The Swiss team of Alinghi return again for a third season (winners in 2008) after finishing in 5th place overall last year, but this time there will be a new man at the helm. Ernesto Bertarelli will be both skipper and helmsman in his first full season of Extreme 40 competition.

The Austrian duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, the successful Olympic Tornado partnership that brought home two Olympic gold medals to Austria, will once again be leading Red Bull Sailing Team: “We are looking forward to the new season,” said skipper Roman Hagara. “It was a short break and we have just been training in the gym. Our shore crew will work hard on the set up of our Extreme 40 in the next weeks to get ready for the first Act in Oman.” The team finished 6th overall in 2011 and will be happy to repeat their opening performance of 2011 that saw them take the 3rd spot on the Muscat podium.

British skipper, Ian Williams, and three-times ISAF World Match Racing Champion (2007, 2008 and 2011) will lead his team for a second season on GAC Pindar. Williams came to the Extreme 40 circuit fresh last year, swapping one hull for two, and was on a fast and sharp learning curve from capsizing in Act 2 in China to leading Act 8 in Almeria up until the penultimate day. The British team will be out to prove they can cut it with the ‘big boys’ this season.

In addition to the strong line-up above, an eighth entry will be announced separately by the team sponsor early February, and a number of wildcard entries will also be accepted in 2012 as per the Notice of Race, which allowed for up to 8 teams for the season plus a maximum of 4 wildcards at each Act. At all the Acts, there will also be local ‘home team’ entries, meaning that each Act will have a minimum of 8 to 10 top teams competing to win.

Five weeks and counting – the 2012 Extreme 40 battle will commence…

Extreme Sailing Series 2012
Team / nationality / skipper /nationality
Alinghi SUI / Ernesto Bertarelli SUI
GAC Pindar GBR / Ian Williams GBR
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild FRA / Pierre Pennec FRA
Oman Air OMA / Morgan Larson USA
Red Bull Sailing Team AUT / Roman Hagara AUT
The Wave, Muscat OMA / Leigh McMillan GBR
ZouLou FRA / Erik Maris FRA
8th team TBA early Feb

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] It came down to the wire in the final double points race to determine the podium places of Act 8 in Almeria. Going into the final race the Swiss team of Alinghi were in a strong position to claim overall victory, only a major faux pas would have prevented what was rightfully theirs after such a strong performance over the last five days and 32 races. In the end, Tanguy Cariou’s team on Alinghi secured victory by one of the biggest points margins of 22 points over Italy’s Luna Rossa in 2nd place: “We are really happy to have at least one win this year,” said Alinghi skipper, Tanguy Cariou. “We tried to manage the risks today, we had good boat speed and good team work. It is great for us to have a win here, I am really happy for Yann and the whole crew. It is really good to show the teams that we can make it.”

However, the fight for second was by the closest of margins with Luna Rossa holding off Ben Ainslie’s Oman Air by just one point: “For me it was my first experience of multihull racing and I have learnt a huge amount, which for me is probably more important to me personally than the end result,” said Ainslie. “To finish on the podium for the second time in three events is a great team effort. It is a very high level of competition and when you look at the people on board the other boats, they are all extremely accomplished sailors. They are fighting for every inch and with the type of racing that we do it ends up being very tight as the races are so short, and invariably you end up with collisions and action creating some exciting racing! It’s been fantastic sailing with the team. Now it’s time for me to get focused on the Olympics.”

Almeria has for the last two years hosted the final of the Extreme Sailing Series championship. This year the Spanish round, attended by an estimated audience just shy of 70,000 spectators, has set the stage for the final in Singapore between the 7th-11th December. And it is Max Sirena’s team who now lead the overall 2011 rankings by just one point: “We now have a month before the boats get to Singapore and to be in the lead for that month is fantastic,” said Luna Rossa helmsman, Britain’s Paul Campbell-James. “It’s good to have the mental advantage of being in the lead going into the final Act.”

Great performance by Ben Ainslie and Oman Air that clinch third place. Almeria, 16 October 2011. Photo copyright Mark Lloyd / Extreme Sailing Series

Ian Williams’ Team GAC Pindar scored their best ever result of 2011 with a 4th place here in Almeria, stealing it from Groupe Edmond de Rothschild on the final upwind beat in the final race. It was a tough day for the French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who had been in contention for the podium throughout the event. But Pierre Pennec’s team is still in the game for the Extreme Sailing Series ultimate victory – on 68 points for the season with Luna Rossa on 69. Emirates Team New Zealand was given redress after yesterday’s crash and maintained 6th place ahead of double-Act winner The Wave, Muscat. Leigh McMillan’s team were struggling to find their form in the light air Acts. Red Bull Extreme Sailing also had a tough end of regatta – Roman Hagara’s crew still had everything to play for, lying in 8th overall, going into the final race but it was not to be.

The points have never been tighter and the final positions can be harsher looking than the reality of the competition. Whilst the frontrunners held their own private battle for the podium, it allowed others to shine through here on the final day. Alex Schneiter’s debut in the Extreme 40 circuit was rewarded with two race wins today, and they ended Act 8 in a respectable 9th place, four points ahead of Roland Gaebler’s Team Extreme and Alberto Barovier’s Niceforyou team on 135 points, his team enjoying a morale-boosting race win in the penultimate race.

But the applause goes to skipper Tanguy Cariou, helmsman Yann Guichard, trimmer Nils Frei and bowman Yves Detrey for Alinghi’s victory in Almeria – their first win of the season. Luna Rossa is now top the season’s leaderboard and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild will push them to the limit in Singapore. And there will be a very tight fight behind them for third place, with six teams able to fill that podium place for the 2011 season. Singapore will be a great battle!

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after 32 races (16.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 254 points
2nd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 233 points
3rd Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 232 points
4th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brad Webb 218 points
5th Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 216 points
6th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Ray Davies / Jeremy Lomas / Derek Seward 213.5 points
7th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 209points
8th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 202 points
9th Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter / Boet Brinkgreve / Charles Favre / Nicolas Heintz 155 points
10th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Antón Paz / Tom Buggy 151 points
11th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 135 points

Extreme Sailing Series 2011
Overall standings after 8 Acts
Position / Team / Points

1st Luna Rossa 69 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 68 points
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand 60 points
4th Alinghi 59 points
5th The Wave, Muscat 57 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing 53 points
7th Artemis Racing 48 points
8th Oman Air 47 points
9th Team GAC Pindar 29 points
10th Niceforyou 18 points
11th Team Extreme 18 points

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] On a day when the wind arrived in Almeria, bringing up to 18 knots, the action ramped up a few gears. The spectators were treated to a spectacular display of Extreme 40 close combat racing inside the stadium of the port of Almeria. The Swiss team of Alinghi lead overall scoring three firsts and three seconds in the ten races today – Tanguy Cariou’s team head into the final day of Act 8 with an 18 point advantage over Italy’s Luna Rossa and any of the top seven teams are still in contention for a podium place here at the penultimate Act of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series.

The public who came to watch today saw over four hours of full-on racing, the 11 Extreme 40 teams were competing within touching distance of the shore and each other, hulls flying with gennakers up and a two boat smash in the penultimate race. The victims, Emirates Team New Zealand hit by Groupe Edmond de Rothschild – the sound of the collision stopped the crowd in their tracks and ended the Kiwis day with a gaping hole in the stern of their port hull. Back on shore the damage also proved to extensive to repair overnight and Act 8 is over for Adam Beashel’s team: “We were comfortably sailing on starboard tack with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild sailing behind us and we were not paying much attention to them as we were assuming they would dip us,” said Beashel. “It was only at the last second that I saw them bow down behind us, trying to get behind but there just wasn’t any room. There was a loud bang and a collision and they went into our transom. Unfortunately it’s not going to be an overnight fix either so this is the end of the regatta for us. The boat can be fixed before Singapore and we can only hope that we have done enough in the interim and let the jury decide how it is best decided on from here. Hopefully, it will turn into something salvageable for the season.”

Severe damage on the stern of the Emirates Team New Zealand boat. Almeria, 15 October 2011. Photo copyright Mark Lloyd / Extreme Sailing Series

The 11 Extreme 40 teams are pushing their machines to the limit for victory and today saw a number of teams jumping the start line. In this game it can all be about the start, but get it wrong and the punishment is severe. It was about slick crew work and staying out of trouble, for some that was not possible. “Luna Rossa were on our right and we were trying to avoid the collision as much as we can, but Luna Rossa is not giving us any water and we can’t avoid the contact with Emirates Team New Zealand,” said Pennec. “I went to discuss with CJ [Paul Campbell-James helmsman on Luna Rossa] when we were back on the pontoon because we are all making some mistakes on the water, but there is no point to break the boats. I’m not really happy and I’m really sorry for Emirates Team New Zealand.”

The battle lines for the final day of Act 8 are drawn and tensions are high. The leaderboard is close but the sailors focus less on the points than the overall strategy for victory as Luna Rossa’s skipper Max Sirena explained: “The objective for today was really to sail better than yesterday when we made some big mistakes which cost us a lot of points. Luckily today the conditions were great with some strong wind and flying hulls, which we haven’t done for a long time. We had a few tight situations with Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and a few other guys, but we managed pretty well to come out clean. We are surprised to be second but tomorrow is the final day and there are still a lot of points to fight for.”

The action came thick and fast today in a mix of open water and stadium racing as Beashel explained: “It’s quite a lot when you are racing in such a confined spot, with brick walls on three sides… A lot of things start to happen pretty quickly and the boat speeds are a lot quicker, and as you can see when you have accidents at speed the results can be pretty damaging. It’s all part of the game when you come to venues like this and it’s fantastic for the spectators but it is pretty nerve-wracking sailing for us! Trying to duck and weave your way in and out of the boats trying to tactically position yourself to come out in front and at the same time trying to avoid any damage.”

Overnight leaders, Team GAC Pindar, were knocked off the top spot by the second race of the day by Alinghi – Ian Williams’ team tumbled to 7th in the rankings by the end of play. Others reveled in the breeze with Leigh McMillan’s The Wave, Muscat, Roman Hagara’s Red Bull Extreme Sailing and Ben Ainslie on Oman Air all scoring race wins but it was the consistency that paid off for Alinghi. With 43 points separating the top 7 teams and potentially over a 100 points up for grabs with a double-points final race, anything can still happen. At the other end of the leaderboard, Roland Gaebler’s Team Extreme with Spanish Tornado Olympic medalist Anton Paz on board is in a close battle with the other Italian team, Niceforyou skippered by Alberto Barovier, as Alex Schneiter’s team on the new Team Tilt are still getting up to speed here in their debut. As the wise Max Sirena predicted: “Nothing is set yet!”

Extreme Sailing Series Act 8, Almeria, Andalucia (Spain) standings after races (24.10.11)
Position / Team / Points

1st Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou / Yann Guichard / Nils Frei / Yves Detrey 187 points
2nd Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena / Paul Campbell-James / Alister Richardson / Manuel Modena 169 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec / Christophe Espagnon / Thierry Fouchier / Hervé Cunningham 162 points
4th The Wave, Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan / Kyle Langford / Nick Hutton / Khamis Al Anbouri 159 points
5th Oman Air (OMA), Ben Ainslie / Kinley Fowler / David Carr / Nasser Al Mashari 157 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara / Hans Peter Steinacher / Matt Adams / Craig Monk 155 points
7th Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams / Mischa Heemrskerk / Andrew Walsh / Brad Webb 144 points
8th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Adam Beashel / Ray Davies / Jeremy Lomas / Derek Seward 142 points
9th Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler / Nahid Gaebler / Antón Paz / Tom Buggy 100 points
10th Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier / Stefano Rizzi / Daniele De Luca / Simone de Mari 94 points
11th Team TILT (SUI), Alex Schneiter / Boet Brinkgreve / Charles Favre / Nicolas Heintz 93 points

[Source: Alinghi] Ernesto Bertarelli and his team won the Bol d’Or for the 6th time since their last victory back in 2004, crossing the finish line at 16:25 on Saturday, June 18th, followed by Foncia (helmed by Michel Desjoyeaux), Ylliam (helmed by Arnaud Psarofaghis) and Okalys (helmed by Loïck Peyron).

The Alinghi Team demonstrated a very good technical control during the whole race and managed to stay in the lead of the regatta most of the time. The victory of Alinghi in this year’s Bol d’Or is setting a new time record for the D35 class as the previous record was hold since 2004 by Zebra 7 which at that time had won the Bol d’Or in 8h59’19’’.

Alinghi crew was composed of Ernesto Bertarelli (Helm), Pierre-Yves Jorand (Mainsail), Tanguy Cariou (Tactic), Nils Frei (Trimmer), Coraline Jonet and Yves Detrey (Bow).

After only 2h14’ of race Alinghi had covered half of the race course, between Geneva and le Bouveret. The way back towards Geneva was the theater of a constant battle between the four leading teams as they all finished in less than a 10 minutes delta.

Alinghi managed to take the lead of this group at the entrance of the “Petit Lac” and kept this advantage until the finish line.

“We took a great and aggressive start, which helped us to stay in command of the race since the first moments” explained Ernesto Bertarelli. “The rounding of the mark in “le Bouveret” was very hot and tricky, as we decided to keep our main sail up in more than 25 knots of wind”. Adding, “We sailed really smoothly today and the crew did a fantastic job around the race course, being always chased closely by our competitors, but dealing well with every single wind change we had to face. We didn’t make any major mistake and it paid!”

“Winning the Bol d’Or in our home waters is really fantastic, especially knowing that the Bol d’Or will stay in the family, as my sister Dona won it last year with her D35 Ladycat”.

The Bol d’Or was the last regatta of the season for the D35’s on Lake Geneva.

Next rendez-vous for the class will be in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, South of France (September 1st – 4th) and last Grand Prix of the year will take place in Antibes (September 22nd -25th).

Ernesto Bertarelli wins his 6th Bol d'Or. Geneva, 19 June 2011. Photo copyright Chris Schmid / Alinghi

Alinghi crash Extreme 40 in Istanbul

Day 1 of Act 1 of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series delivered a class Extreme 40 result – four boats finished on equal points at the top of the leaderboard – The Wave, Muscat, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Artemis Racing and Alinghi.

The conditions too were near perfect at The Wave, Muscat with a breeze that was on the positive side of 10-12 knots for most of the afternoon which allowed six ‘open water’ races to be staged off the waters of The Wave, Muscat. The new ‘young gun’ on the circuit, Torvar Mirsky, ensured home team of The Wave, Muscat claimed the top spot with two first places and a second place, getting the defending champions off to the perfect start. “Amazing conditions today, Oman’s got warm weather and a beautiful sea breeze, perfect sailing conditions for these Extreme 40 boats. For us, it was an amazing performance beyond what we expected. I know a lot of people thought we would be up there but I wasn’t so sure. Our team are working really well together – Nick Hutton and Khamis have done a really good job to get myself and Kyle Langford up to speed on these boats and we’re all working well together.” But always waiting to pounce was Pierre Pennec, the new skipper of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, who showed his mettle today as his all-French crew stepped up to the mark.

Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing crew, who demonstrated their strong form in yesterday’s practice races, continued in the same vein: “It’s the end of day 1 racing here in Oman and we’ve found ourselves in a four-way tie and I think that just sums up how the racing is, its just close and tight and everyone is battling for every point. It was brilliant, it’s the Extreme 40 delivered to the ‘tee’ today and, I think, from a novice in the multhihull world we are smiling! It was a really good day.”

Day 1 of Act 1 of the 2011 Extreme Sailing season. Oman, 20 February 2011. Photo copyright Lloyd Images / Extreme Sailing Series

Alinghi skippered by Tanguy Cariou and with Yann Guichard at the helm who, if you remember, put Groupe Edmond de Rothschild on the podium for the last two years in second place overall is looking forward to the public ‘stadium’ days which start the day after tomorrow: “It’s a good start, we just make 5 practice races in four days, so its good to be at the top of the rankings. It sets us up well for the next day and especially the ‘stadium’ racing when it will be great to have the public and to have some tough and tight races.”

At the other end of the scale, match racing pro Ian Williams new to two hulls had a baptism of fire on Team GAC Pindar – the best result an 8th place. The umpires were kept busy – a clear sign the 11-boat fleet are pushing hard already – handing out multiple penalties to the all-Italian team Niceforyou.

And as the new teams and crew accelerate up the learning curve and their confidence grows, the combat will become even more intense. As the day 1 leader put it: “It couldn’t be closer… There are a lot of really good teams here and a lot of newcomers to the fleet who are really competitive people, and we always knew it was going to be tight and the results show that.”

Extreme Sailing Series, Act 1 at The Wave, Muscat
Day 1 Results after 6 races:

1st The Wave, 49 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, 49 points
3rd Artemis Racing, 49 points
4th Alinghi, 49 points
5th Oman Air, 42 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Sailing, 39 points
7th Luna Rossa, 38 points
8th Team New Zealand, 31 points
9th Niceforyou, 24 points
10th Team Extreme, 17 points
11th Team GAC Pindar, 9 points

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series] The new Alinghi Extreme 40 has been christened by the crew during their pre-season training camp this week in Oman. The team are training for the first Act of the Extreme Sailing Series at The Wave, Muscat in just over a week, where they have been blessed with perfect sailing conditions.

The Alinghi Extreme 40 was built at Marstrom and is the tenth new boat to the Alinghi fleet, it is also the 20th addition to the Alinghi fleet in over 20 years.

Before the launch of the new Alinghi Extreme 40 the team of Tanguy Cariou,Yves Detrey, Nils Frei and Yann Guichard were training on an existing catamaran from last year’s Extreme Sailing Series circuit. Now they will continue with a two-boat training program. They have the additional support of Extreme 40 specialists Mark Bulkeley, part of the Oman Sail winning Extreme 40 team in 2009, and Fred Lemaistre.

Alinghi carry out two-boat training. Oman, 8 February 2011. Photo copyright Alinghi