| Kiwis snatch victory in final minutes of US debut. |
| By Extreme Sailing
Series 2011 Media. |
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Photos by Lloyd Images,
edited By Peter Andrews. |
| July 4, 2011. |
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| Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand clinched victory at Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series in an epic showdown, while the circuit has also achieved a highly successful USA debut. |
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Emirates Team New Zealand,
during the final day of Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series
2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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As the country celebrated its Independence Day, American Terry Hutchinson on board Artemis Racing went in to the final race with an 8 point lead, after heading the leaderboard for most of the past 5 days. But it was the lost in the final leg of the final race of the final day that changed all that.
In a finale that one could think was written by a Hollywood scriptwriter, Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand had a blinding start. They took the lead once from Pierre Pennec’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, only to lose it after painfully stalling in a tack on their final beat finish. |
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Artemis Racing, during the final day of Act 4 of the Extreme
Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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Until this point, despite having to duck most of the fleet on the start line, Terry Hutchinson’s Artemis Racing had managed to stay inside the crucial four places behind Barker, which were necessary to take overall victory. On the final beat however, just one tactical choice decided the final outcome.
With the right-hand side of the course for once not paying for the American, as they approached the final top mark they were passed by four boats to score an 8th place. This was a rare occurrence for Hutchinson and one that totally shattered his dream of winning on his home turf, with Emirates Team New Zealand taking overall victory by four points with a total of 293 after 37 races. |
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Emirates Team New Zealand racing, during the final day of
Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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"I said yesterday there is only one race you need to be in the lead for and its the most important one," said an emotional and disappointed Hutchinson as he shared his thoughts on the podium in front of his fans.
"We had a winning combination coming into the leeward mark going up the right-hand side and the breeze went hard left, so we lost four boats up the last beat. All we can do is congratulate Emirates Team New Zealand. They hung tough for the whole regatta and sorry to the fans of Boston as it would have been great a good Independence Day finisher." |
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Emirates Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker shakes
hand with Artemis Racing skipper, Terry Hutchinson
at the prize giving, during the final day of Act 4 of the
Extreme Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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For Emirates Team New Zealand, the team were understandably quite ecstatic to win their first ever Extreme Sailing Series event. An additional bonus from Act 4 for Emirates Team New Zealand is that they have also taken the 2011 overall series lead over from Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.
"The sailing has been very challenging" said Barker. "Artemis Racing showed us the way the whole week, but the racing here was so tight, with potentially four boats able to take the title going in to the final race. It’s never over until it’s over. We had a really tight finish with Artemis in Istanbul and its nice to come out on the right side of this one. Boston has been great, we love the city and have really enjoyed our time here." |
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Artemis Racing, during the final day of Act 4 of the Extreme
Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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Leigh McMillan and the crew of The Wave-Muscat stood proudly on the podium for 3rd place, exceeding their own expectations in McMillan’s recent return to the circuit.
"I was jumping up and down and shouting when we crossed the finishing line," said a jubilant McMillan. "It was a very good celebration amongst the team and it meant a lot for us. We never felt that we had a lot of breaks, but we worked really hard through the week so it’s fair to say that the guys carried me through the week as I had my head down." |
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The Wave-Muscat flying high, during the final day of Act
4 of the Extreme Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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| Max Sirena’s Luna Rossa, winner of Act 2 in Qingdao, China, got back into the frame over the last two days of the five-day event and were in contention for the podium. However it was not to be the Italian’s turn this time, finishing in 4th place overall ahead of the all-French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild by a mere two points. |
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Luna Rossa, during the final day of Act 4 of the Extreme
Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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| Tanguy Cariou’s Alinghi came back strongly in Act 4 to climb from 9th on the opening day to finish 6th overall, ahead by just three points of Red Bull Extreme Sailing. This was one of the tightest overall leaderboards in the history of the event, with the top seven teams all vying for podium positions on the final day. |
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Groupe Edmond de Rothschild racing, during the final day
of Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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| Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series at Fan Pier in Boston has been a huge success with the US crowds turning out in force to enjoy the Extreme Sailing Series and 49er racing, the latter won by the US team of Jonathan Goldsberry and Charlie Smythe. Then there were the incredible stunts performed by the Red Bull Air Force skydivers in addition to action played out on the water. |
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The three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy,
the USS
Constitution,
seen out on Boston Harbour for Independence Day, during the
final day of Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series 2011, Boston,
USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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| An enthralled local non-sailing
crowd turned out in spades to watch up close what was probably
one of the biggest ever on-site American audiences for a sailing
event, estimated to be around 55,000 over the five days of Act
4. The Stadium concept developed for the Extreme Sailing Series,
certainly engaged a largely non-sailing audience in Boston. Boston’s
host venue partner, the Fallon Company, pulled out all stops
to ensure Boston would be the success, that it has quite clearly
seen to be achieved. |
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Khamis Al Anbouri onboard The Wave-Muscat, during the final
day of Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series 2011, Boston,
USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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"I am thrilled about the response we have had from everyone," said the company’s CEO and President, Joe Fallon. "So many people have told me: ‘I hope everyone comes back for the action next year’. The official charity, Courageous Sailing, and the strong contingent of volunteers supported the event with huge enthusiasm."
The next stop on the international nine-stop Extreme Sailing Series circuit is in the UK, at the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week in just four weeks time. As for now however, the Kiwi team has a lot to celebrate tonight and the whole of Boston and the United States will be joining them! |
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Alinghi, during the final day of Act 4 of the Extreme
Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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Extreme Sailing Series Act 4 at Fan Pier Boston, USA
Current overall standings after 37 races, Day 5
Position / Team / Skipper and crew / Points
| 1st |
Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker, Adam Beashel, James Dagg and Jeremy Lomas on 293 points. |
| 2nd |
Artemis Racing (SWE), Terry Hutchinson, Sean Clarkson, Morgan Trubovich and Julien Cressant on 289 points. |
| 3rd |
The Wave-Muscat (OMA), Leigh McMillan, Kyle Langford, Nick Hutton and Khamis Al Anbouri on 269 points. |
| 4th |
Luna Rossa (ITA), Max Sirena, Paul Campbell-James, Alister Richardson and Manuel Modena on 262 points. |
| 5th |
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA), Pierre Pennec, Christophe Espagnon, Thierry Fouchier and Hervé Cunningham on 260 points. |
| 6th |
Alinghi (SUI), Tanguy Cariou, Yann Guichard, Nils Frei and Yves Detrey on 251 points. |
| 7th |
Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT), Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Will Howden and Craig Monk on 248 points. |
| 8th |
Oman Air (OMA), Sidney Gavignet, Kinley Fowler, David Carr and Nasser Al Mashari on 198 points. |
| 9th |
Niceforyou (ITA), Alberto Barovier, Mark Bulkeley, Daniele de Luca and Simone de Mari on 172 points. |
| 10th |
Team GAC Pindar (GBR), Ian Williams, Mark Ivey, Andrew Walsh and Jono Macbeth on 137 points. |
| 11th |
Team Extreme (EUR), Roland Gaebler, Bruno Dubois, Sebbe Godefroid and Bob Merrick on 126 points. |
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Spectators during the final day of Act 4 of the Extreme
Sailing Series 2011, Boston, USA.
Photo © Lloyd Images.
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| For more information about
the Extreme Series, go to the official website at: www.extremesailingseries.com.
Video can also be found on the Extreme Sailing Series YouTube
channel can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/extremesailingseries. |
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| Outimage and the
Extreme Sailing Series © 2011 |
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