After hosting several international sailing events including the 2008 Olympic Regatta, 08-09 Volvo Ocean Race, and several Clipper Round the World Yacht Races, Qingdao (China’s Sailing City) is set to be one of nine hosts to the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series.
Spectators will be able to view exciting up close racing action from the 11-boat Extreme 40 fleet during April 15th-17th (1:00pm to 5:00pm) at the Qingdao International Marina. Open water racing located outside of Fushan Bay will take place April 13th & 14th.
The Extreme Sailing Series Race will take place at nine venues with 32 races over 5 days at each venue. The Extreme 40 fleet is comprised of radical 40ft catamarans that can sail faster than the wind! The generous sail area allows the Extreme 40s to accomplish this unthinkable feat.
2011 Extreme Sailing Series™ – Act 2 Results: Extreme Sailing Results – Qingdao.
Capsizes, collisions and after 29 races over five days just five points separated the two former America’s Cup adversaries, Luna Rossa and Emirates Team New Zealand at the end. The Italian team fought to the finish to claim the Double Star Cup in the very final double-points race! “We are really happy,” said skipper Max Sirena, “it should be a long night for the Luna Rossa team tonight! It’s a great result for us as we are a new team even if we have Paul and Alistair onboard who where part of the winning team last year, but Manuel and I are still learning. Compared to our result in Muscat, we really see the improvement here in Qingdao as our boat handling and the communication onboard is a lot better.”
Extreme Sailing Series Race 2011 Calendar & Host Venues:
Muscat, Oman :: 20-24 February (20-21 ‘open-water’ racing)
Qingdao, China :: 13-17 April (13-14 ‘open-water’ racing)
Istanbul, Turkey :: 25-29 May (25-26 ‘open-water’ racing)
Boston, USA :: 30 June – 4 July (all days public event)
Cowes, UK :: 6-12 August (all days public event)
Trapani, Italy :: 14-18 September (14-15 ‘open-water’ racing)
Nice, France :: 28 September – 2 October (28-29 ‘open-water’ racing)
Almeria, Spain :: 12-16 October (all days public event)
Singapore :: 7-11 December (7-8 ‘open-water’ racing)
{gallery}extreme-sailing{/gallery}Photos © Lloyd Images