Strong Line Up For Final Extreme Sailing Series Act Boosted By Additional Entries

The final and ninth Act of the global 2011 Extreme Sailing Series will be played by ten Extreme 40 teams out on the waters of Marina Bay in Singapore from 7-11 December. The iconic Singapore Flyer will provide a stunning backdrop to what will be a dramatic end of season match to claim the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series Overall Championship.

The penultimate Act in Almería, Spain was won by the Swiss team Alinghi, whilst Luna Rossa’s second place elevated the Italian team to the top of the 2011 overall rankings, just a single point ahead of the all-French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. These two teams will be fighting for overall victory and behind them, six teams will be locked in a close battle to claim third place on the podium.

The Extreme 40 fleet will be boosted by two further entries from France and Switzerland alongside the regular teams of Luna Rossa, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Emirates Team New Zealand, Alinghi, The Wave Muscat, Red Bull Extreme Sailing, Oman Air and Team GAC Pindar.

A new team supported by Stéphane Kandler, SOITEC and the first club, named Team Extreme – the first club, comes with a strong French crew line-up of Sébastien Col (skipper/mainsail trimmer), Jean-Christophe Mourniac (helmsman), Franck Citeau (trimmer) and Christophe André (bowman), all well known for their multihull expertise. The team will be managed by Bruno Dubois who is more than familiar with the challenges of competing in the highly competitive Extreme 40 field.

“I’m very glad to help this crew to step into this catamaran top-level circuit,” said Stéphane Kandler, K-Challenge’s CEO. “The goal being to have a long-term view and to continue for the 2012 season and beyond, as it is a real opportunity for the future. Sailing multihulls is really becoming a ‘must-have’ regatta format. We have then decided to follow this logic, as it is important to focus on all the high level sailing formats, which is what we’ve been doing since 20 years.”

In addition, Alex Schneiter’s Team TILT will compete in Singapore after their debut at Act 8 in Almería. The Swiss team headed up by Schneiter includes Nicolas Heintz on bow, helmsman Charles Favre and a new addition in the form of tactician Arnaud Psarofaghis, a multihull specialist also competing in the AC45 World Series and previous European Moth Champion. “Almería was for us a great experience,” said Schneiter. “Competing against so many talented people in high performance boats is a privilege that you don’t experience every day! The race format, as well as the overall organisation, is just amazing. There is constant pressure on the water and not only we did have to adapt to this new environment but we had to play catch up a lot with the other teams present in the circuit since January. We are excited to be back with the Extreme 40 fleet in Singapore and eager to be in the starting blocks.”

Extreme Sailing Series 2011
Overall standings after 8 Acts
Position / Team / Points
1. Luna Rossa 69 points
2. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 68 points
3. Emirates Team New Zealand 60 points
4. Alinghi 59 points
5. The Wave, Muscat 57 points
6. Red Bull Extreme Sailing 53 points
7. Artemis Racing 48 points
8. Oman Air 47 points
9. Team GAC Pindar 29 points
10. Niceforyou 18 points
11. Team Extreme 18 points