2017 Form Guide

The 2017 team line-up includes many familiar faces, who bring valuable Stadium Racing experience to the table, but also features plenty of fresh talent looking to make its mark, which may throw up a challenge to the well-established crews. As the crews ready themselves for round two in Qingdao in a few days’ time, take a look at the 2017 Form Guide for a reminder of who’s who. Who is your money on? by Extreme Sailing Series™ reporter Will Carson

Monday 24th April 2017

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2017 – pre-season form guide

ALINGHI

Where better to start than with the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series™ champion Alinghi. Prior experience in foiling GC32 catamarans gave the Swiss crew a head start as the 2016 season began in Muscat. They were metronomic in their boat handling, allowing them to overhaul arch rivals Oman Air right at the last minute at the Series finale in Sydney. It’s only right then that Alinghi, co-skippered by Team Principal Ernesto Bertarelli and helmsman Arnaud Psarofaghis, returns to the Extreme Sailing Series as favourite to defend its crown with an unchanged team line-up that includes Nicolas Charbonnier, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey and Timothé Lapauw. If Alinghi is successful this year it will be the fourth time the team would have won the Extreme Sailing Series following victories in 2008, 2014 and 2016. It would also add to the two America’s Cups the team has won under businessman and philanthropist Bertarelli’s guidance. Alinghi is feared and respected on the water for its slick crew work and sheer boat speed. Will that famed Swiss precision be enough to secure the team back-to-back Extreme Sailing Series titles? Only time will tell.

What they said:

“The Extreme Sailing Series never fails to deliver a great circuit where there is an ever-increasingly good balance between sport and spectacle. Being the defending champions, we know that we have our work cut out because we have become the ones to beat, but also because – and this is what makes the Series so good – the standard of all of our competitors is so high.” - Ernesto Bertarelli, co-skipper and co-helm

LAND ROVER BAR ACADEMY

Land Rover BAR Academy went into the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series as something of an unknown – a squad made up of young sailors no older than 23, handpicked by Sir Ben Ainslie to represent the youth wing of his America’s Cup Challenger. The team began the 2016 season under the tutelage of senior Land Rover BAR crewmembers Leigh McMillan, himself a three-time winner of the Extreme Sailing Series, Paul Campbell-James and Bleddyn Môn before fielding a fully youth side by Act 4 in Hamburg. While lacking the experience of some of the other crews, Land Rover BAR Academy showed flashes of brilliance throughout the season and by the time it came to a close in Sydney it had established itself as one of the teams to beat, often finishing races in the top three. A strong fifth place finish overall in its debut season gave then-skipper Neil Hunter double the reason to celebrate as he earned promotion to the Land Rover BAR senior team, making way for bowman Rob Bunce to lead the team into 2017. Last season regulars Owen Bowerman, Will Alloway, Oli Greber, Adam Kay, Sam Batten, Elliot Hanson and Chris Taylor return, while Annabel Vose, who competed with wildcard entry Thalassa Magenta Racing in Lisbon last season, joins the team as strategist. If these young guns can tame their GC32 and rediscover their form of late 2016 they could be a real force to be reckoned with.

What they said:

“As a team we were really happy with how we ended the 2016 season in Sydney. I have big shoes to fill taking over from Neil, but I hope to lead the Land Rover BAR Academy team into the season and look to continue developing and staying amongst the front of the fleet. We have worked hard over the winter both on and off the water in the gym, so we all feel very prepared going into the season.” - Rob Bunce, skipper and bowman

NZ EXTREME SAILING TEAM

The newest team to the Extreme Sailing Series, New Zealand outfit NZ Extreme Sailing Team makes its debut as a fully-fledged crew on the 2017 tour. At the helm is Chris Steele, one of the country’s brightest young talents who comes to the Extreme Sailing Series with an impressive CV that includes two national match racing titles and a place on the 2017 World Match Racing Tour. He also boasts prior experience of GC32 racing in the Extreme Sailing Series, first with Taylor Canfield’s CHINA One and then at the head of his own crew as a wildcard in the season finale in Sydney. Steele has assembled a talented young crew that includes fellow match racers co-skipper Graeme Sutherland and Josh Salthouse, 2016 Nespresso Youth International Match Racing champion George Anyon, 49er dinghy star Leonard Takahashi and Ireland’s Shane Diviney. The team has been formed to give New Zealand’s elite youth sailors a launch pad into the cutting-edge world of foiling multihull racing. Although NZ Extreme Sailing Team lacks the experience of more seasoned crews, Steele’s men have already proven they can compete with the best, notching up one race win and two thirds when they raced on board wildcard RNZYS Lautrec Racing in Sydney last year. There’s no doubting this group’s talent, so their success will lie in their ability to gel together quickly and get a handle on their superfast GC32 catamaran.

“It’s a young team and we face a challenge but it’s great to be able to give New Zealand’s sailing stars of tomorrow this opportunity, and hopefully show the big boys what we’re capable of. Our ambitions for this year are to learn as much as possible. We proved in Sydney that we can be competitive; now we just have to improve that consistency level.” - Chris Steele, co-skipper and helm

OMAN AIR

After narrowly missing out on victory in the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series, Oman Air returns to the fray with renewed vigour and a new-look team that sees Kiwi match racing world champion Phil Robertson take over skipper duties from Morgan Larson. Robertson will be looking to lead the team the whole distance this year after it was forced to settle for second overall in 2016 by an in-form Alinghi on the final day of the season. Robertson, winner of the 2016 World Match Racing Tour, is no stranger to the Extreme Sailing Series having led Gazprom Team Russia in 2014 and 2015 before getting his first taste of foiling as a wildcard entry in 2016. Backing him up will be the familiar faces of Oman Air’s long-serving crew – Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari and James Wierzbowski – as they begin their campaign for victory. The Oman Air boys were the team to beat throughout the first half of the 2016 season but, with a 2017 line-up against them that includes the likes of arch rivals Alinghi, Series stalwarts Red Bull Sailing Team and a new-look SAP Extreme Sailing Team, they will need to be on top form if they are to enjoy the same dominance this season.

What they said:

“I am very excited about the new role ahead. I know these guys are extremely competitive so we will be pushing for podiums and if we can put ourselves in a position to have a shot at the title, then we’ll be working around the clock to make it happen. Oman Air is a very experienced and talented team with a successful history, so to be able to lead such a great crew is an amazing opportunity. The team finished second last year so the fire in their belly is burning.” - Phil Robertson, skipper and helm

RED BULL SAILING TEAM

One of the most feared teams in the Extreme Sailing Series, Red Bull Sailing Team returns in 2017 as the Series’ longest-serving crew having competed every year since 2011. Led by double Olympic gold medallists Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, the Austrian team is known as the king of consistency, the proof of which lies in its 2016 scorecard that saw it finish on the podium in all but one Act. After more than two decades competing together at the highest level, Hagara and Steinacher are rightly regarded as one of sailing’s most powerful pairings. The driving force of the team, Hagara is known for being fearless at the helm while Steinacher’s excellent tactical decisions are key to their impressive run of form. Stewart Dodson and Adam Piggott return as trimmers while Will Tiller, part of Phil Robertson’s match racing world champion crew alongside Dodson, joins Red Bull Sailing Team as bowman. Last year’s third-place finishers will be gunning for the top spot this year – the one thing that has so far evaded them in the Series. Be sure to keep an eye out for Red Bull Sailing Team’s trademark fast and furious style when the battle for Extreme Sailing Series glory resumes.

What they said:

“The 2017 season is going to be more competitive than ever before, and to be successful, we will have to beat the two-time America’s Cup champion Alinghi. With Will Tiller we have a new and very strong team member. This change will definitely play into our hands and should support the overall performance of the team.” - Roman Hagara, skipper and helm

“The GC32 is a racing machine, and sailing it on the limit requires a lot of experience and dedication. We have both.” – Hans Peter Steinacher, tactician

SAP EXTREME SAILING TEAM

A mixed bag of results in 2016 has seen the Danish crew of SAP Extreme Sailing Team opt for a line-up change ahead of this year’s competition. Co-skippers Rasmus Køstner and Jes Gram-Hansen return to lead the team but crucially they have drafted in America’s Cup skipper and former match racing world champion Adam Minoprio to steer their GC32 at half of the Acts. New Zealander Minoprio knows these ‘flying’ boats like the back of his hand thanks to a season at the helm of French team NORAUTO in the GC32 Racing Tour, in which he led it to glory. His inclusion in the outfit will see Gram-Hansen step off the boat for some Acts, analysing the action from the team’s support boat. Another new addition is Richard Mason, whose impressive CV includes stints with the British Olympic squad, solo sailing in the Figaro du Solitaire plus a season on the GC32 Racing Tour. Young Danish sailor Mads Emil Stephensen and Italian America’s Cup veteran Pierluigi de Felice complete the team, while Frenchman Hervé Cunningham steps in temporarily in Muscat. The SAP Extreme Sailing Team sailors will be looking to repeat their 2016 success in Cardiff and Sydney, where they finished third and second respectively, but forget the likes of Qingdao when they only managed a sixth. This crew proved last year that they can mix it up with the best teams on the tour, and if they find some consistency they could be serious title contenders in 2017.

“It is our ambition to constantly explore ways to improve our team’s performance. Blending our experience with Adam’s will improve our understanding of how to get the best out of the GC32. I have known Adam for many years and there is no question of his talent.” - Jes Gram-Hansen, co-skipper and helm

“Our results in 2016 were a bit mixed. Overall, we lacked consistency through the different conditions we experienced. We want to be back on the podium for 2017 and challenge the best teams.” - Rasmus Køstner, co-skipper, mainsail trimmer and tactician