Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 8, Los Cabos, presented by SAP press conference: What the skippers said

With racing due to start in less than an hour’s time, find out what the sailors had to say at the official skippers’ press conference this morning, which set the scene for Act 8, Los Cabos, presented by SAP, the final Act of the 2017 Extreme Sailing Series™.

Thursday 30th November 2017

With racing due to start in less than an hour’s time, find out what the sailors had to say at the official skippers’ press conference this morning, which set the scene for Act 8, Los Cabos, presented by SAP, the final Act of the 2017 Extreme Sailing Series™.

Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI), co-skipper and helm of 2016 champion, Alinghi: “Last year was pretty much the same situation as this year, but we are six points off SAP Extreme Sailing Team and three behind Oman Air. Mathematically it’s still possible for us to win the season.

“It’s going to be tricky as we will have to put two boats between SAP Extreme Sailing Team and Oman Air to win. Our team is really ready for the fight, we wish everyone the best, and may the best team win.”

Rob Bunce (GBR), skipper and bowman of British-flagged Land Rover BAR Academy: “It was fantastic in San Diego to have Sir Ben Ainslie on board and we learnt a lot from him. Even though the results don’t show it, the whole team really came forward. It will be a slightly different set up here with Giles Scott, a slightly different atmosphere, we’re really looking forward to racing with him.”

John Tomko (USA), skipper of wildcard entry Lupe Tortilla Demetrio offered his advice to local wildcard Team Extreme México: “You just have to take it one race at a time and do what you usually do, it’s just sailboat racing. Every day you get more confidence and you grow as a team. Just go out and enjoy it.”

Josh Junior (NZL), co-skipper and helm of NZ Extreme Sailing Team: “This is the last event of the season and it’s here in Cabo and we’re very excited to be in this beautiful town.

“Our team has been growing as the season has gone on. We’ve had a couple of changes on the boat and each event we’ve learnt a lot, so hopefully at this event we can start to win a few races.”

Phil Robertson (NZL), skipper of Oman Air: “We’ve had a really fun season and the team’s been fantastic. It’s been nice for me to step into a team that has so much history and strength in it. We’ve done fairly well, a little bit better that we thought we would at the start of the season. We’re ready for a great event here in Cabo.”

Roman Hagara (AUT), skipper of Red Bull Sailing Team: “It’s a great venue here and we’ve already travelled around the local area. We went to an organic farm and did some cooking lessons and some of the other guys on the team took some bikes to the dunes.

“It’s a really great place, I think the sea life here is amazing, I wish I could come back here and just spend time out on the ocean watching the it.“

Adam Minoprio (NZL), helm of SAP Extreme Sailing Team: “We’re pretty happy to be here in Cabo with a three-point lead over Oman Air and a six-point lead over Alinghi.

“Hopefully it’ll be a really fun week. The team’s been improving with each regatta. We’re going to be working hard this week to make sure we keep improving, as we know the guys behind us will be pushing hard. We just hope to have some great sailing here and a really fun time in Cabo.”