Hannah White makes her predictions for Cardiff
As the eight strong Extreme 40 fleet prepare for the only UK leg of the eight part global tour, Series commentator Hannah White makes her predictions for Act 4, Cardiff presented by Land Rover.
Tuesday 16th June 2015
16.06.2015
The competition is hotting up; SAP Extreme Sailing Team have the bit between their teeth but underdog Stevie Morrison loves to perform in front of a home crowd. As the eight strong Extreme 40 fleet prepare for the only UK leg of the eight part global tour, Series commentator Hannah White makes her predictions for Act 4, Cardiff presented by Land Rover.
Looking back at Act 3, Qingdao presented by Land Rover
It’s been over three years since SAP Extreme Sailing Team started their Extreme Sailing Series™ campaign and with their improved form and still no event wins, I was rooting for them to rise to the top in China. Up until then you couldn’t fault their effort and determination but it just hadn’t quite come together for them. The team, led by Danish duo Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner, had an unfortunate start to the Act when they collided with Gazprom Team Russia in the first race, which I thought would knock the team’s confidence. However, through sheer grit and determination SAP Extreme Sailing Team completed the first day’s racing, and following a grueling 17 hours of work by the shore crew, the boat was ready for day two of racing. Where other teams might have struggled to focus after such drama, they remained professional and continued to fight on through. 22 races were played out that weekend and SAP Extreme Sailing Team secured 14 podiums and five wins - it’s a great achievement and very well deserved after such a challenging start.
I was delighted to see Igor Lisovenko’s Gazprom Team Russia secure their first podium spot, taking third - their highest position on the leaderboard to date. I’ve always rated helmsman Phil Robertson as a sailor. I’ve seen him working his way up through the ranks of the World Match Racing Tour and now the Extreme Sailing Series. He’s shown a huge amount of maturity beyond his years, and it’s easy to forget he is only 28! It’s a strong team despite the potential language barrier, helped by the friendship between Kiwis, Phil Robertson and Garth Ellingham and the fantastic Russian crew; Igor, Aleksey Kulakov and Alexander Bozhko. Over the last three Acts Gazprom Team Russia have shown that they’re absorbing everything from their hugely experienced coach, Cameron Dunn (who joined at the start of the season), and no doubt they will continue to push for the podium at events to come.
Coming into this season, we were really expecting the more experienced teams to dominate the 2015 circuit, but the competition is getting tougher with each Act. The battle for the overall prize at the end of the Series is going to be more sought after than ever.
The UK Act – Cardiff, Wales
I love Cardiff - it’s definitely one of my favourite events. It draws huge crowds, phenomenal home support and some truly exciting sailing right in the heart of the city. Typically, we see more breeze at this venue compared with some of the others on the eight-stop tour but equally, it’s a very tight racecourse with deep water, teams sailing really close to the shore and unpredictable winds due to the surrounding landmarks on the bay. Even some of the world’s best sailors can get caught out by it, including Dean Barker back in 2014. Dean’s a fantastic sailor but his 2014 syndicate, Emirates Team New Zealand, struggled with the venue and finished at the back of the pack.
The Wave, Muscat have a great track history on this racecourse. The team finished in second position in 2012, and won the event in both 2013 and 2014. Skipper Leigh McMillan is an outstanding sailor and he and his fellow Brits - Sarah Ayton and Pete Greenhalgh - really enjoy performing on their home waters. I think after finishing in second position in Qingdao, The Wave, Muscat will definitely want to upset the pace of SAP Extreme Sailing Team.
So, my predictions for Act 4, Cardiff are:
1st - The Wave, Muscat
2nd – SAP Extreme Sailing Team
3rd - Oman Air
There, I said it! Stevie Morrison (Oman Air skipper) will love the home support and the crowds. I think he’s going to have a huge amount of support with family and friends coming down to the bay so I think he and his teammates are going to put on a great show this month.
Project Speedbird
I recently launched an exciting new project at the Science Museum in London, called Project Speedbird, where I will be attempting to break the women’s speed record over one nautical mile. I am so lucky in my role with the Extreme Sailing Series to be surrounded by the world’s best sailors, eight times a year. This allows me to pick their brains, feed off ideas, watch them in action and in doing so learn from them all. I am by no means the best sailor in the world, but I am very fortunate that I get to spend time with and talk to these extremely experienced athletes in the sport of sailing.
We have such great, knowledgeable sailors in the Extreme Sailing Series including the likes of Leigh McMillan and Stevie Morrison who are both moth sailors, and have experience with foiling boats, so I intend to absorb every bit of information that I can when it comes to sailing these boats. In Cardiff, I will be out on the water on my training boat, doing some exhibition sailing and I’ll also have Speedbird herself on display, the soon-to-be record-breaking boat, for everybody to see - I’m very excited!
