Extreme Sailing Series - Thrilling opening Act

Extreme Sailing Series™ 2012 final day of Act 1 got underway today, 2nd March, in Muscat, Oman. There were massive Omani celebrations at The Wave, Muscat as Oman Air and The Wave score a one-two, squeezing out the French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who had finished every day but the last on top. Going into the first Act of the Extreme Sailing Series 2012, the all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild led by Pierre Pennec were favourites on paper and few would have predicted the final outcome that saw Morgan Larson’s team on Oman Air triumph in their debut here in Muscat, Oman. Four teams were in contention for the podium going into the final double-points race – the new Danish entry, Team Trifork, won the race, but Oman Air did enough to secure victory after an intense battle with the favourites. Leigh McMillan’s team on The Wave, Muscat muscled their way into the two-way fight and raced brilliantly on the final day to finish second overall ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with Austria’s Roman Hagara (Red Bull) in fourth, having been just one point behind the French going into the final race. Fleet racing on the final day in Muscat - Extreme Sailing Series 2012. Act 1 - Lloyd Images_© 'It’s an amazing feeling! It was a challenging week and obviously our learning curve was quite steep,' said Larson. 'But this was really hard racing and any team could have won going into those last couple of races and we were just lucky they went well for us.' Morgan Larson’s team that includes four-time Olympian Charlie Ogletree and Max Bulger from the States, Britain’s Will Howden and Omani Nasser Al Mashari competing in his second Extreme 40 season, held on to a marginal lead from the opening race today but in the fourth race of the day the pressure mounted… Pushed over the line at the start, Oman Air had to restart and trailed the fleet, Larson’s team finished seventh leaving them on equal points with The Wave, Muscat and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild two points adrift. In the next race, won by Loick Peyron’s team on ZouLou, McMillan’s team finished ahead of their teammates and pulled ahead by one point. By the end of the penultimate race the two Oman Sail teams were back on equal points going into the final double-point decider and Pennec’s team had to win the final race with Oman Air and The Wave, Muscat finishing no better than sixth place. It was too tall an order for the French favourites who managed to get ahead of their rivals to finish the race in second but Oman Air crossed the finish line in third to clinch overall victory after four days and 29 races. 'Surely I feel disappointed about not having sailed well today,' said Pierre Pennec, skipper, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. 'But this is the nature of the sport and even if this sounds strange, I feel very happy about this week’s competition. I really enjoyed being on the water and despite the fact that this is my fourth year in the Extreme Sailing Series, we have learned a lot in these last few days. My new crew sailed here for the first time and they have shown great human, mental and technical potential.?I think it’s fantastic that the two top crews here in Muscat are the local teams. They are going to be seriously competitive this season.' It proved to be a thrilling opening Act to the season and, after five years of Extreme Sailing Series competition, there is a feeling that 2012 is going to be one of the closest yet. 'It’s up to us to catch up and be competitive in China because the goal is to win overall. Third is still a good result – it could be worse! It’s a warning for us,' said Hervé Cunningham, tactician Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. Next stop China – Act 2, Qingdao 17th-20th April. Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 1, Muscat, Oman standings after Day 4, 29 races (2.3.12) Position / Team / Points 1st Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson / Will Howden / Charlie Ogletree, Nasser Al Mashari, Max Bulger 165 points 2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Hashim Al Rashdi, Rachel Williamson 159 points 3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec / Jean-Christophe Mourniac / Hervé Cunningham / Bernard Labro / Adeline Chatenet 155 points 4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 148 points 5th GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams / Mark Ivey / Mark Bulkeley, Adam Piggot / Andrew Walsh 138 points 6th ZouLou (FRA) Loick Peyron, Philippe Mourniac, Jean-Sébastien Ponce, Bruno Jeanjean, Antoine Joubert 111 points 7th Alinghi (SUI), Ernesto Bertarelli, Tanguy Cariou, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, Pierre-Yves Jorand 109 points 8th Team Trifork (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Simon Hiscocks, Jonas Hviid 95 points

Sailing Club Spotlight Notts County Sailing Club

Local sailing team prepares for this summer's Paralympic Games

St. Petersburg, Florida -- Jen French's love for the water all started with a date. "My husband took me windsurfing on our second date," she says. Her sailing teammate, Jean Paul Creignou, started on the water when he was a child in Europe. "When you go sailing, you just step out in the water and you're in a different world right away," says Creignou. "It's just very peaceful." What they say brings an extra challenge to their sport is sailing with a disability. "We can go out sailing and actually racing against able-bodied people. We're all treated the same," French says. This summer, these St. Pete sailors are going to London, representing the United States at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Every four years, the games take place in the same location that hosts the Olympics. And the Paralympics come with the same prestige. "You have to find the right teammate that can help each other out and compensate for each others disabilities," says Creignou. The teammates both started honing their craft individually before developing a disability. They agree that paralympic sailing takes a certain amount of innovation. After suffering a spinal cord injury in a snowboarding accident years ago, Jen now uses a lifting harness to move her from the dock into the boat. She also uses sideguards from a wheelchair that were modified by a local welder in order to stay rigid in the boat. A few years ago, after finding it challenging to research adaptive resources for her own injury, she co-founded a nonprofit called Neurotech Network. It helps expand education and access to medical technology for people with disabilities. Meanwhile, Creignou is legally blind due to a degenerative condition. But disabilities aren't even noticeable as they glide and battle the wind on the water for hours at a time. "You really have to have a love for the sport," French says. And they do, no matter what splashes get in their way.

Sailing Club Spotlight Southampton Sailing Club

Extreme Laser Sailing

Buoyant sailing school launches new boats

A SAILING school that has taught thousands of youngsters the skills of getting afloat in Bristol has launched four new boats. The racing vessels were put onto the water at the headquarters of the West of England Schools Sailing Association (Wessa) during a ceremony at Baltic Wharf. Donations of more than £10,000 had allowed Wessa to increase its fleet of sailing and power craft. The school's spokeswoman, Gill Hannan, said: "We have formed a Bristol racing squad, which can take part in regional and national competitions. The new boats mean we can now develop the racing potential of our young people. "They will allow our promising young sailors to compete at regional regattas, as well as in national events organised by the National Schools Sailing Association, giving our club sailors something to which they can aspire." She said team racing involved two or three boats being raced against a similar number, with those sailing them working together to beat their opposition. It brought tactics, good communication and team work into play, as well as the sailors having to know the rules of sailing "inside out". The money needed for the boats came from health insurance firm Simply Health, which gave £5,000, and pound-for-pound match funding from Sport England. A further £750 was donated by a private trust fund. Wessa is a registered charity and voluntary organisation that promotes sailing among school children in Bristol and the surrounding area. It is run by a voluntary management committee and has been in operation for more than 30 years, in that time teaching 15,000 students aged seven to 19 to sail. In the 1980s it took over the Bristol Sailing School, which now operates as the trading arm of the organisation to help fund Wessa activities. In recent years it has also broadened its scope to incorporate Bristol Sailability, which was set up to help people with disabilities to learn sailing. Wessa is recognised by the Royal Yachting Association as a training and Sailability centre and aims to provide water-based coaching and recreation to the widest range of ages and abilities as possible.

Pinching - Be Your Own Tactics Coach