10 things you didn’t know

Did you know there is an Aussie helm is that is also a secret machine on the drums, or the professional sailor who is also a Surgeon in his spare time or even how long it takes building an Extreme 40?

Thursday 2nd April 2015

Throughout its nine-year history the Extreme Sailing Series™ has seen many faces and stories pass through its waters. Most people know the facts about the elite sailors and their achievements but did you know there is an Aussie helm is that is also a secret machine on the drums, or the professional sailor who is also a Surgeon in his spare time or even how long it takes building an Extreme 40?

10 things you didn’t know about The Extreme Sailing Series™ and the people in it…

1. Big stars such as Pro-Surfer Sally Fitzgibbons, Supermodel Jodie Kidd, Cricketer Michael Vaughen and Irish Formula 1 legend Eddie Jordan are a few of the celebrities that have jumped on-board the Extreme 40s for a ride.

2. Aleksey Kulakov, who sails on Gazprom Team Russia, is also a surgeon.

3. The weight of an Extreme 40, including sails, is about the same as a small car – that’s only 1,400kg for such a powerful machine that can reach speeds of up to 30knots!

4. Mitch Booth, designer of the Extreme 40 and helm of Team Turx powered by Kaya Ropes, is a demon on the drums and he likes to reminisce about the days he played for INXS – We haven’t worked out if he is joking or not!

5. Tom Buggy, bowman on Lino Sonego Team Italia is not only a professional sailor but also employee of the Series organisers OC Sport and a sponsored kitesurfer! However a near miss eight years ago during a kitesurfing stunt resulted in the loss of three pints of blood and 100 stitches!

6. The average build time of each Act Race village and Extreme Club is 1,134 man (and woman) hours! Well done!

7. Phil Lawrence completed his 1000th race as Race Director for the Extreme Sailing Series during Act 2 in Muscat this year. He has a few more grey hairs on his head than when he started five years ago.

8. Phil Robertson helm on Gazprom Team Russia completed the Auckland 70.3 half Ironman in 4h 45m 14s finishing 89th out of 763. Rasmus Køstner co-skipper for SAP Extreme Sailing Team finished the Triathlon Vitoria Ironman in 10h 09m finishing 81st overall.

9. Diogo Cayolla from Team Turx powered by Kaya Ropes has competed in three Olympic Games (Atlanta, Sydney and Athens) in three different classes (Star, 49er and Tornado)! Impressive!

10. The Extreme 40 can fly a hull and heel over to an angle of 45 degrees but anything past this will result in a capsize.