Act 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series will start tomorrow with the return of Extreme 40 style stadium competing on the Turkish waters of Istanbul. For the first time in the Extreme Sailing Series, Saturday morning will also see the eight Extreme 40 catamaran yachts face the challenge of competing in one of the world’s narrowest straits, on the well known Bosphorus.
The fleet racing in Istanbul in front of the historic skyline Credit: Lloyd Images
At just 700 metres wide at its narrowest point, the Bosphorus is a crucial shipping channel, with heavy traffic crossing between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The shores of the straight are heavily populated, but the residents are more accustomed to seeing ferries and tankers as opposed to the racing catamaran yachts.
Extreme Sailing Series 2012, ESS, EX40, Multihull, Qingdao, China Credit: Lloyd Images
Race Director Phil Lawrence spoke of the challenges the teams will face. “The Bosphorus is an iconic stretch of water that presents enormous challenges with the volume of shipping and ferries, coupled together with a four knot current. It will be a huge challenge for the skippers. We have light winds forecast for the first two days but big breeze for the weekend.”
Red Bull Extreme Sailing showing off in front of the VIP tent in the race village in Istanbul 2011 Credit: Lloyd Images
The Extreme 40s last met in Qingdao, China seven weeks ago and over the last two days, the teams have been making the most of the time to fine tune their boats and put in some practice on the water. British Olympian Leigh McMillan, skipper of The Wave Muscat, is top of the leaderboard after a win in Act 2, and is eyeing the podium for a third consecutive event. “We had a really good start this year, we were straight out of the blocks with two podium finishes and we are hoping to maintain this with another podium finish in Istanbul.”
How to follow the Extreme Sailing Series, Istanbul
The Extreme Sailing Series is putting fans right at the heart of the action, whether in Istanbul or following from home. Racing takes place over four days from the 7-10 June, with one day of open water racing followed by three days of stadium style racing when the event opens to the public. Adding to the action on the water will be the NeilPryde Racing Series, on the 9-10 June, including a special LED night race scheduled for Saturday night.
To follow online:
The Extreme Sailing Series website homepage will go into race mode on day one and will serve as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for live video, results and news as well as an interactive live blog where fans can leave their comments. The racing will be streamed live to the website with expert commentary from Richard Simmonds. This streaming is also available on all iOS devices (iPad, iPhone) at the following times:
Friday 8th June: 1400-1600 CET
Saturday 9th June: 1400-1630 CET
Sunday 10th June: 1400-1630 CET
(All times CET – Central European Time – GMT -2hr and local time EEST +1hr)
Fans can also follow the live commentary on Twitter from the 7-10 June and access exclusive content and competitions on the Facebook page.
If being in Istanbul:
The event opens to the public from the 8-10 June where they can witness the fast and the furious action as the eights teams go head-to-head in competition. The best place to watch the racing is at the free public Race Village, located at Ahırkapı Park close to the Sultanahmet district.
