Team Masirah sails away with Singapore title in Extreme Sailing Series Asia

Contributed by Ronda Ng. Photos by REDintern Tan Jon Han/Red Sports.

Marina Bay, Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - Team Masirah continued its dominant form and emerged as the winner of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia Singapore leg after five days of racing under a kaleidoscope of weather conditions. There was plenty of drama as heavy rainfall returned to the course when a thunderstorm struck just before the start of the last (fifth) race on the final day of the competition.

The rain caught the sailors off guard. When the heavy downpour swept through the course, the Race Committee were forced to abandon the race for safety reasons. The rain, however, did nothing to affect Masirah's stronghold on the leader board as they went on to win their second consecutive leg of the series after their success in Hong Kong last month.

Masirah extended its lead after winning two out of the four races to score a massive 121 points. Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team followed next with 111 and The Wave, Muscat with 100. China Team finished with 92 points, BT with 87 and Rumbo Almeria with 77.

Skipper of Masirah Pete Cumming said, "It's been a really good week for the team and we are thrilled with the win. We would like to thank the Singapore Government for giving us the opportunity to sail here and to everyone who helped to make this event possible."

Masirah was presented with the award for their victory here at the Singapore Flyer by Singapore Olympic swimmer and Nominated Member of Parliament Joscelin Yeo, who was the Guest-of-Honour for the day.

Said Joscelin, who had earlier experienced sailing on the Extreme 40s, "I didn't know what to expect as extreme sailing is not a common sport. It was very exciting and the adrenaline rush I felt was amazing. People are probably surprised that we can do something like this in Singapore and it shows that we as a country are open and exposed to new sporting events and ideas. It is definitely something I would like to experience again!"

The Extreme Sailing Series Asia
The inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia was launched in October 2009. The 2009/10 Series will visit Hong Kong (November 20-24), Singapore (December 11-15) and Muscat, Oman (February 1-5 2010).

The Boats
Designed by Tornado Sport in 2005, these 40-ft catamarans have taken the sailing world by storm. The boats are extremely light, weighing the same as a Mini Cooper, but hugely overpowered with a sail area the size of a tennis court, meaning they can race at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour and "fly" a hull in just eight knots of wind.