The UK leg of the Extreme Sailing Series, the only truly global and annual sailing circuit in the world, that will visit 8 iconic venues in 3 continents, is coming to Cardiff from 23rd to 26th June, just after visiting the Olympic sailing city of Qingdao, in China, one month ago.
The adrenaline-fueled Elite Level Extreme Sailing Series enters its 10th year and is a unique concept, pitting some of the very best professional sailing teams in the world against each other on identical GC32 hydrofoil catamarans on challenging, tactical courses, but close enough to shore to provide spectacular, stadium-style entertainment at an event which is free entry for the public.
The original Stadium Racing format pioneered by the Series has been revolutionary for the sport. It has brought the boats and the action to the public like never before, putting guests at the heart of the battle with the unique ‘Guest Sailor’ spot and dramatically increasing the pace on the water that result in great images, especially now these boats literally fly over the water.
The sailors from 8 teams and 13 nationalities, including China, are some of the best in the world: Olympic, America’s Cup, World Champions, offshore legends and record breakers. It is elite level, high performance sport.
This year is particularly exciting because the event includes a Chinese flagged team ‘China One’ doing the entire season for the first time in the 10 year history of the Extreme Sailing Series. Chinese sailor, Liu Xue ‘Black’ who finished the last Volvo Ocean Race on the podium with the Dongfeng Race Team said ‘it’s a great project with strong Chinese foundations’.
So far, this circuit has been to Muscat (Oman) and Qingdao (China) and after Cardiff, the fleet will visit Hamburg (Germany), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Lisbon (Portugal) Istanbul (Turkey) and Australia.
Article provided by Nee Hao
