The Americas Reloaded: X- Series 2017 GC32 Hot and Tuned

Red Bull Sailing Team at Australia final event of the Extreme Series 2016 ready for action in 2017

The famous fleet of GC32s will return to the Americas on 2017 to cause some damage. Under the Extreme Sailing Series Teams will tour the Continents to compete in heart stopping events. San Diego US and Los Cabos Mexico are now officially the Americas Leg of the World Tour.

“2017 will see the return of the Extreme Sailing Series to the Americas. Over 10 months the fleet of GC32s with compete in eight adrenaline-fuelled Acts, travelling to three different continents with the addition of two brand new iconic venues,” organizers warned.

On December 10 Extreme Series reported that the the battle for the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series was on in Sydney Australia. At the final event of the 2016 season Teams went head to head to draw blood.

“Will the victor be Alinghi or Oman Air? Or can Red Bull Sailing Team cause an upset?” Race reporters asked hours before the start gun.

A few hours laters it was all over. The 2016 ranking and new 2016 Champion was declared. Team Alinghi conquered the year show ranking top number 1 followed very closely by Oman Air. Third was taken by the restless Team Red Bull Sailing Team followed by SAP Extreme Sailing Team in Fourth, Land Rover BAR Academy ended the year Fifth, 6th went to Visit Madeira, 7th position China One, and final position 8 to Team Turx.

On December 11 International Sailing PRess rushed their prints to headline Alinghi take over at Sydney and crowing of the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series.

“Swiss team Alinghi was crowned 2016 Extreme Sailing Series champions today after an epic final-day shoot-out at the season finale.In a nail-biting showdown that went right down to the wire, Arnaud Psarofaghis’ men saw off a last-ditch attempt from arch rival Morgan Larson’s Oman Air to complete their ascendancy to the top of the 2016 rankings. It’s the third time Alinghi have won the Extreme Sailing Series following victories in 2008 and 2014 but the first time they’ve done so ‘flying’ on the new lightning fast GC32 catamarans,” the official press report read.

The catamaran GC32 was born into life this very year. Race organizers made a switch to the faster, stronger and more radical multihull swiftly but not unprepared and not without many precautions. All sailors and Team members had to take safety official courses to be able to handle the power and threat of the GC32. The boat does not only fly it goes supersonic. It only takes a breeze for it to life its hull and foil. Speeding in-port stadium regattas -while safety and logistics close by at hand from shore is more dangerous than foiling at high speeds on open seas. Wind changes, fluctuations of depths, crashing, foil damages,  unbalanced crew and misfortunates could be tragic at these speeds. Another issue which influenced the 2016 Extreme Sailing Series was that Teams had to get acquainted with their new “spaceships”. While most skippers and leaders and sailors where more than familiar with multihulls and their impressive performance the GC32 is like nothing ever seen out in the water. It was design for one purpose to be completely Extreme.

“Oman Air started the eighth and final Act of the season with the upper hand taking a narrow two-point lead overall onto the iconic waters of Sydney Harbour, but Alinghi knew that if they could defeat Larson’s crew they would claim the Series crown for themselves. Alinghi started the final day in charge with a 19-point buffer on Oman Air and opened their scorecards on trademark form with two seconds as Sydney Harbour delivered champagne sailing under bright blue skies and with winds of 13 to 20 knots.However, a wobble halfway through the afternoon gave hope to Oman Air and they answered by notching up a podium finish of their own to narrow the gap once more. Desperate to force Alinghi into making a mistake that could allow them back into contention, Larson pulled out every trick in his book but time and time again the Swiss crew clawed back into the action. Alinghi’s season victory was only guaranteed following the 24th and penultimate race of the Act, their fourth place ahead of Oman Air in fifth finally pushing glory beyond Larson’s reach,” organizers went word by word at the event.

The race at Sydney was the final sprint of a marathon which started for contenders at the beginning of the year. Teams raced in UK, Europe, Portugal, Oman and several other destinations to break into this new form of sailing. Like all multihull switched events -inspired by the success of the America´s Cup the Extreme Sailing Series and its flying GC32s fell in favorably with the crowds and sailing fans.

The debate on if multihulls are the future of sailing was put to rest. GC32s hacked and sliced that theory with ease. They performed without major accidents throughout the year flawless in face and view of hungry and curious crowds who showed up to see the start and end line in port Stadium Sailing regattas. The future of Sailing? Without a doubt! At least one of the futures of the multidimensional future of professional sailing.

“Foiling has really added a new dimension to the sport,” said Extreme Sailing Series Event Director Andy Tourell. “I don’t think we could have had a better year – it’s been absolutely sensational.”

At Sydney Red Bull Sailing Team dominated the penultimate day but couldn’t keep the momentum going, slipping off the Act podium but retaining third place overall.

“It was a tough season, this first season on these GC32s,” skipper Roman Hagara said, “but it was great to finish on the 2016 podium.”

Land Rover BAR Academy recovered from a spectacular capsize on day one and a broken mainsail yesterday to score three podium finishes from eight races today, finishing fifth both in Act 8 and overall.

Oman Air’s dominance over the first half of 2016 saw Alinghi playing catch-up but as the season went on the Swiss crew became known as the kings of consistency, winning just over a quarter of the 169 races held this year and the last four Acts outright.

Both teams spoke to the press...

“We’re really happy, and pretty relieved too,” co-skipper and helmsman Psarofaghis said. “It was a really intense day – we started really well then had a few bad starts. Then we got into a game with Oman Air that we didn’t really want to play.

“Halfway through the day Oman Air were still able to come back but then we started to sail simply again. When we sailed our own race away from the pack we were really fast and that was the key for us.”

Now the “Kings of Cool Alinghi” have already packed their bags are off to a break, but it will be a short one. Make no mistake Teams of the Extreme Sailing Series are dead on professional athletes and internationally known and recognized and achieved sailors. They will be up and training for the start of the 2017 Series faster than the GC32 lifts off the water at 12 knots.

Not only have Teams broken into the newly designed GC32s they have put on a hell of a show. Now the show will take over The Americas, Reloaded. Now that engines are hot, tuned and running things can only get faster and faster, better and better.

Confirmed Venues for the 2017 Extreme Sailing Series World Tour are -in order of appearance.

Muscat Oman, Qingdao, China, Madeira Islands Portugal, Europe, Hamburg Germany, Cardiff UK, San Diego US and Los Cabos Mexico.  

“Whether you’re a hard-core sailing fan or a wide-eyed newbie, the Extreme Sailing Series has something for everyone. The free to enter public Race Village puts fans right at the heart of the action - racing their catamarans at full throttle just off the waterfront, the sailors can hear the roar of the fans, who experience the competition up close like never before. And fans around the world can follow online through live video streaming and dynamic SAP Sailing Analytics,” do these words ring familiar?

But what exactly can you expect to see on the water? Why don't you show up and see it for yourself?

Oh yes, the GC32s are now after an entire year of professional sailing, training, trimming and performance hot and tuned. Who said it takes year to master a boat? Even after an entire year the new boats was still a hot topic for Team leaders. At Sydney the final stop they spoke about their GC32 Vision.  

“The GC32s are perfect. At the beginning of the season we thought it would be hard to compete on small courses in foiling boats but now the Extreme Sailing Series is even better than before,” Arnaud Psarofaghis, Alinghi.

“These boats are a challenge to race and the game gets tougher every day. We just didn’t execute the middle to the end of the season properly and that really put us under pressure in Sydney,” Morgan Larson of Oman Air added.

“We’re already looking forward to next year – we’re sure we can fight for the podium. The boats have been fantastic. The GC32s have been amazing for the circuit and I think all the teams have had a fantastic season,” Jes Gram-Hansen, SAP Extreme Sailing Team kicked the talk from Sydney Australia and the end of the Start of the GC32 Era.