Going to EXTREMES

This was without doubt the most significant sailing event to have made Singapore’s shores, ever. Sure the Volvo Ocean Race was great but it suffers the same problem that sailing events have always suffered – the real action takes part where Joe Public will never see it!

Forget for a moment that these 40 foot 1 tonne wonders and fly hull in 8 knots of breeze and go on to peak at 40 knots. Then look at what the Singapore Government has just created with the Marina Barrage, it’s a spectacular venue with the Singapor Flyer dwarfing everyhing in sight, the western bank is developing into a world class garden and then the “will it really stand” Sands Resort with its massive observation deck. Over night, the Marina Barrage made perfect sense as soon as the Extreme 40 teams started warming up clocking average speeds in the 16 knot region and someone topping out at 30 knots in the confined space. Singapore should feel proud of what its been able to achieve for up until now the Marina Barrage was just a reservoir and now some of the worlds best sailors know the Garden Nation is a serious sailing venue.

Some of the world’s best sailors is no joke. Each of the crews comes with a long list of sailing achievements including Round-the-world record holders, Olympians, double Olympic medal winners, World Champions in almost every class, Americas Cup sailors… the list goes on! Its a hot class for sure.

Only six teams made the Extreme 40 Asia Series which starts racing in Hong Kong, then Singapore before venturing over to Oman. The ’09 version was more of a showcase for the asian Venues on what exactly the Class is all about. The Extreme 40’ are all about bringing high performance sail right into the public eye. In 2010 the Asia Series will feature more teams and the possibility of the Maldives as another venue.

One of the more interesting teams was the Omanis with two boats and an extremely professional campaign. What’s most interesting about the Team Oman is that back home, sailing is used as a tool to create modern day heroes for the youth of the nation, and its working! Currently the campaign includes Formula 18 beach catamarans, the Extreme 40’s and they also have two maxi triamarans for getting around the world rather quickly. That’s all good then you hear that they are training 30,000 kids to sail suddenly its proportions grow to miraculous levels! Good fortune comes from hard work as the Team Oman took out 1st and 3rd places in Singapore, no easy feat when you watch them race 8 times in an afternoon. Onboard its stressful, highly physical work especially for the bowman who has to hoist, set, furl and unfurl the gennaker about the size of a tennis court! With such confined spaces, margins for error become a virtual zero. Tactically things happen so fast that a boat can go from hero to zero in one short leg. Fortunes change very quickly as the boats accelerate with a ferocious force.

Last year at CSC the Cat Fleet was lucky enough to have Macca visit and show us some of the finer points of cat sailing. Macca was on red Bull Extreme Team which wedged themselves into 2nd spot between the Team Oman boats. Team China was as close to ‘home grown’ as we could get. A familiar name for some at CSC is Tan Wearn Haw who commenced sailing an optimist at the Club and has since gone on to represent Singapore at the Olympics as well as sailing for Thierry in the Team China Americas Cup program, so well done Wearn Haw. The Team was helmed by Olympian Hugh Styles, managed by Thierry off the Club Med cat program that was to smashed the Jules Verne Trophy with Wearn Haw trimming and calling tactics and Adam acting as a human pump!

Exciting it certainly was but also great to see how Singapore has come of age… I remember the Kallang Basin area as a polluted industrial waterway – just look at it now. That’s vision!

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