Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 2 press conference – what they said

In front of a packed audience of members of China's press, the skippers of the seven international teams that will compete for glory on the waters of Qingdao gave their thoughts on what promises to be four days of thrills, spills and high-octane action.

Friday 28th April 2017

In front of a packed audience of members of China’s press, the skippers of the seven international teams that will compete for glory on the waters of Qingdao gave their thoughts on what promises to be four days of thrills, spills and high-octane action.

Here’s what they had to say:

Arnaud Psarofaghis, Alinghi (SUI): “Qingdao is a great place for sailing but we know we have to be patient with the race course because it can be tricky. We won this event last year but we will need to stay focused, keep learning and push hard if we are to enjoy that success again.”

Rob Bunce, Land Rover BAR Academy (GBR): “This season we’ve got a similar team line-up to last year, and we were happy with our performance in the opening Act in Muscat. The team really came together and by the end of the regatta we were putting in some good results. Now we’re really excited to get racing under way in Qingdao.”

Chris Steele, NZ Extreme Sailing Team (NZL): “We’re a new team to the Extreme Sailing Series and we don’t have a huge amount of experience on the circuit. These GC32 foiling catamarans can be extremely difficult to control in strong winds, as yesterday’s practice racing showed. The forecast for today is looking a bit lighter so that will help us.”

Phil Robertson, Oman Air (OMA): “It’s a very tricky race course here in Qingdao but we’ve got a lot of experience within our team. Pete (Greenhalgh) and Ed (Smyth) have sailed here at every regatta since the Extreme Sailing Series started coming to Qingdao in 2011 so we’re not fazed by the challenge. We’re excited to get into it.”

Roman Hagara, Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT): “The challenge of sailing in Qingdao stems from the wind blowing through the city’s high-rise buildings when the breeze is offshore. It can get very breezy, very gusty and there’s a lot of current. All these factors will come into play over the next four days so we have to remain focused at all times.”

Jes Gram-Hansen, SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN): “Qingdao is a very difficult place to sail and it takes good preparation and a bit of luck to get a good result. We’re hoping we have both. We won here in 2015 but cane sixth last year so we’ve been studying our previous performances closely.”

Liu Xue (Black), Team Extreme (CHN): “This is not my first time sailing in Qingdao in the Extreme Sailing Series – I’m so happy to be back sailing with this great event in my home city. Because the racing takes place so close to the shore everyone can come to watch, which is a great way to inspire children to take up sailing.”