Wednesday, 25 May 2011
The teeming city of Istanbul is the iconic setting for Act 3 of the nine-stop global Extreme Sailing Series™ tour starting tomorrow (Wednesday, 25th May). At the same time, don’t miss Eurosport’s ‘Wednesday Selection’ – the channel’s flagship sailing programme. The hour-long programme to be broadcast at 2200 BST (23:00 CET) will feature 30-mins of action from Qingdao in China which saw plenty of drama as the Extreme 40’s struggled to keep control in the gusty conditions in the first half of the event, resulting in four capsizes. Closer-combat followed in the lighter conditions played out over the final two days with the Luna Rossa grabbing overall victory in the final race from their former America’s Cup adversary, Emirates Team New Zealand.
The eleven international teams are now busy assembling their Extreme 40 racing machines in the technical area on the Halic estuary, after the containers were unloaded overnight. “It is a busy time here in Istanbul,” commented Gilles Chiorri, Extreme Sailing Series Event Director. “But we are on track with the boats being craned in tonight and tomorrow morning. The Istanbul Act has the potential to be a great event,” concluded Chiorri.
Racing begins tomorrow at 14:00 local time (GMT +3hours) and then the event opens to the public on the third day (27th). On Saturday (28th) and Sunday (29th) Turkey’s national terrestrial broadcaster, TRT, will be covering the event live and the racing schedule will adapt to the live broadcasts (see schedule below). Follow all the action via our live text reports online. And there will be plenty of entertainment for the public from on the water with the Extreme 40s, kids sailing and kiteboarding demos, and on shore with an official welcome by the drumming band Ottoman Mehter, live music, alongside the radio show provided by media partner, PowerFM.
The latest weather report from WetterWelt, official weather supplier to the Extreme Sailing Series, indicates some generous north to north-easterly wind conditions over the coming days with 8-10 knots forecast tomorrow and up to 16 knots by Saturday. However, the skippers are expecting the conditions to be tricky as Groupe Edmond de Rothschild skipper Pierre Pennec explained: “The playing field selected for the races in Istanbul is an inland water, which is relatively small with hills close by. As a result the winds could be particularly fickle.”
Event media
See Extreme Sailing Series images
Schedule of racing and entertainment:
Wednesday 25th (racing day 1 non-public)
1400-1700 Racing Day 1 (no 5th men)
Thursday 26th (race day 2 non-public / media day)
1000-1100 Youth Sailing Programme
1200-1230 Press Conference
1400-1700 Racing Day 2
Friday 27th (race day 3 public)
12:00-14:00 Lasers and Optimists racing
13:45-14:00 Drumming demonstration by Ottoman Mehter band to welcome the Extreme Sailing Series to Istanbul
14:00-17:00 Racing Day 3
Saturday 28th (race day 4 public)
11:00-13:00 Lasers and Optimists racing
13:00-15:00 Kia 25’s racing on the water
13:00-15:00 Live Music on the Extreme 40 stage
15:00-18:00 Racing Day 4
Sunday 29th (race day 5 public)
11:00-13:00 Lasers and Optimists racing
13:00-15:00 Kia 25’s racing on the water
13:00-15:00 Live Music on the Extreme 40 stage
15:00-16:30 Racing Day 5 – first half
16:30-18:00 Kiteboarding Demonstrations
18:00-19:30 Racing Day 5 – second half (Live broadcast of the racing on TRT until 2000)
19:45-20:00 Prizegiving on the Extreme 40 stage (top 3 teams only)
20:00 to late – Launch of the ‘Conquest of Istanbul’ celebrations across the city
via BYM Sailing & Sports News.
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