Pictures from the event are here
Videos from the live race is here
Nice promo video is here
Bliss. 25 degrees and torquoise water. Light Mediterranean breeze caressing the palm trees that welcome a small group of visitors to the airport. Welcome to Nice!
Exactly one year ago we saw that the Extreme Sailing Series of Formula 40 catamarans was coming to Almeria, Spain. Unfortunately we weren't able to go. At the same time our interest in being a part of this exciting event was peaked so we immediately checked the schedule for 2012 and booked a hotel in Nice, France, the closest venue to Spain. To put some context around the importance of this event one must go back to 2001. At that time Anatolijus was a keen sailor of HobieCats and in 2001 at one of the starts of the Swiftsure race he saw a Formula 40 catamaran called Dragon Fly and a dream was born: one day to sail on one of these. As with many of his dreams, he put it on paper and....
So we got to Nice, weather was amazing. We got a very nice hotel with a little balcony several tram stops away from the Promenade Anglais (main promenade of the city on the sea) where the racing event was to take place.
The amazing thing about the Extreme Sailing Series is that their main purpose is to promote extreme sailing and bring it to the masses. The event is free to watch from the shore and the stadium style racing allows spectators to see and hear the action, take pictures and make friends. At the same time, the event is televised and is streamed live over the Internet. We were very excited to see the event up-close. Of course, getting onto one of the boats was not possible, because, according to the event site, you had to buy a hospitality suite (I believe they were starting at about 7k) which included one sail on the catamaran.
As we arrived on Thursday, we anticipated the first event but it was cancelled due to too much wind. The next day there were races planned in the morning and afternoon, but we decided to take a train to Monaco and Monte Carlo to maximize the morning.
In Monaco we saw the harbor with a million massive yachts, we saw the Ponant cruise yacht coming into the harbor (the yacht is famous as in 2008 it was hijacked by pirates), visited the Royal Palace, which is a very nice place to visit and has an excellent audio guide, went to Monte Carlo to see the casino and admire Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley and Ferrari exhibits in the street. I am not sure why we always imagined these places to be much bigger, but they were much cozier and had a very friendly, rich feeling...
We got back to the Promenade Anglais for the second set of racing and enjoyed the spectacle. The race included several crashes we could see and hear which took 2 of the 8 boats out of action. They both had to go back and make repairs for the next day's sailing. In the meantime, my head was full of thoughts on "I need to find a way to get on one of these!" so following the philosophy of "if you never ask you never win" I dialed the UK number of the event hospitality organizers to see if there is any way to buy a "ticket" to get on a boat. A lady answered, but she had no info on this and said she would get back to me. In the meantime, we went to check out the Extreme Sailing gear that was being sold at the racing village on the promenade. There I asked one of the people working at the store if there was any way to get on one of the boats. He said that I should talk to the woman who is the event coordinator. He introduced me to Priscille and she was very energetic and excited about me being excited. She said: “so nice to see fans that love this sport” and was very surprised we flew in just to see the event. So I asked if there was any way to get onto one of the boats and she said "there may be", she just needs to check if there are any VIP tickets available. Just as I am talking to her, my phone rings and I am getting a callback from the UK number from a different woman to whom my message was forwarded. As we are talking we realize we are standing about 10 feet away from each other. She tells me she got my message about tickets and was calling back to let me know there was a POSSIBILITY!!!! So I was standing there with the two very nice ladies telling me that Cathy and I could have VIP tickets for the Saturday hospitality suite which would include one live race on a Formula 40, spectator trips on zodiac inflatables to watch event from the water and full day access to the hospitality suite which is right on the edge of the promenade overlooking the race course. At that point the price didn't really matter, as how can you put a price on living a dream! So we said we are in and the ladies were very happy to have their new, extremely excited VIP guests. To add to the excitement, Priscille told me that she would also try to see if she can get me onto two sailings on Saturday. We finalized the details sitting in the VIP lounge sipping a drink and tasting what our future held. Needless to say it was hard to fall asleep that night.
The next morning we got a call saying we needed to be at the race village at 10 and my first sailing was on!!! So we got there, I got into my sailing gear and we headed off to the harbor. Cathy also came to go on the zodiac to be the official photographer of our first sail. We got to the boat, got our instructions, met our crew-mates (guest sailors and crew). Our boat name was ZouLou skippered by a French skipper and we were off. We got to put up sails, winch some sheets and steer a bit. There was not much wind in the morning but we did manage to fly a hull with full sails and spinnaker deployed, it was amazing. The nice part was meeting several very interesting (and I later learned, important) people. We later had a nice time in the VIP lounge, exchanged info and I was able to send them video and photos I took with them.
After the sail they asked us if we were interested to go in the media zodiacs to watch the race from the water, to which we said yes (of course). So we spent about 2 hours watching the races up very close, chasing the boats to get best views and shots. It also allowed us to get a good perspective on how fast Formula 40s are...
As we were flying around, I was told I was slotted to go on the Formula 40 during the 3rd race of the second set. When it was time the team zodiac came and picked us up, I handed over the photo equipment to Cathy and then I was delivered to the sailboat.
I got to ZouLou and boarded. The crew was surprised to see me again, sailing for the second time. Later I found out that there is a max one sail per VIP and that day, after my race they cancelled guest sailings due to conditions being too windy and dangerous. So I got on, got my GoPro video cam setup and got ready for the pre-start sequence.
Things were different from the morning sail. Things were intense before the race even started and it was interesting to see accomplished sailors concentrating, adjusting, counting and getting their mental state set to WIN. The race started and the work began. Pulling, jumping, hanging on the edge, tripping, avoiding the boom hitting me on the head.... Even without having to actually do anything for the boat, I was busy keeping out of the way and acting as the "rail meat" to provide some weight once the boat was flying the hull. I also have to say that with all the adrenalin, coming to a near collision (you can see it in the video at about 5min 40s mark when The Wave Muscat came within inches of crashing with us) the race seemed to last an hour versus the 15 minutes it really was. We finished the race, I thanked the crew and we went off to the VIP lounge.
At the VIP lounge upon our return at about 5pm, they served champagne as we finished watching the final races of the day. We met lots of people from the event and many sponsors: SAP, Oman Air, Extreme Sailing and media. Priscille and the others continued to be excellent hosts throughout the evening. After the races we got invited to the staff BBQ that was happening late at night, which ended up being amazing. All in all we felt like VIPs and the experience was truly unforgettable and worth it!
The next morning I went to the harbor where the boats were moored to get my team shirts that crews had promised me the evening before (things you cannot buy in a store) and said goodbye to my new friends. Then we went to the real French flower market, had breakfast and headed out to the airport.
While at the airport we could see the boats lining up for the final set of races for the Sunday. My dream was accomplished and we were very happy to be heading back. Our plane got delayed an hour, but after an experience like this I was just sitting and quietly smiling to myself... My blue suitcase nicely matching my Extreme Sailing shirt I was wearing.... An experience we will both never forget...
Videos from the live race is here
Nice promo video is here
Bliss. 25 degrees and torquoise water. Light Mediterranean breeze caressing the palm trees that welcome a small group of visitors to the airport. Welcome to Nice!
Exactly one year ago we saw that the Extreme Sailing Series of Formula 40 catamarans was coming to Almeria, Spain. Unfortunately we weren't able to go. At the same time our interest in being a part of this exciting event was peaked so we immediately checked the schedule for 2012 and booked a hotel in Nice, France, the closest venue to Spain. To put some context around the importance of this event one must go back to 2001. At that time Anatolijus was a keen sailor of HobieCats and in 2001 at one of the starts of the Swiftsure race he saw a Formula 40 catamaran called Dragon Fly and a dream was born: one day to sail on one of these. As with many of his dreams, he put it on paper and....
So we got to Nice, weather was amazing. We got a very nice hotel with a little balcony several tram stops away from the Promenade Anglais (main promenade of the city on the sea) where the racing event was to take place.
The amazing thing about the Extreme Sailing Series is that their main purpose is to promote extreme sailing and bring it to the masses. The event is free to watch from the shore and the stadium style racing allows spectators to see and hear the action, take pictures and make friends. At the same time, the event is televised and is streamed live over the Internet. We were very excited to see the event up-close. Of course, getting onto one of the boats was not possible, because, according to the event site, you had to buy a hospitality suite (I believe they were starting at about 7k) which included one sail on the catamaran.
As we arrived on Thursday, we anticipated the first event but it was cancelled due to too much wind. The next day there were races planned in the morning and afternoon, but we decided to take a train to Monaco and Monte Carlo to maximize the morning.
In Monaco we saw the harbor with a million massive yachts, we saw the Ponant cruise yacht coming into the harbor (the yacht is famous as in 2008 it was hijacked by pirates), visited the Royal Palace, which is a very nice place to visit and has an excellent audio guide, went to Monte Carlo to see the casino and admire Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley and Ferrari exhibits in the street. I am not sure why we always imagined these places to be much bigger, but they were much cozier and had a very friendly, rich feeling...
We got back to the Promenade Anglais for the second set of racing and enjoyed the spectacle. The race included several crashes we could see and hear which took 2 of the 8 boats out of action. They both had to go back and make repairs for the next day's sailing. In the meantime, my head was full of thoughts on "I need to find a way to get on one of these!" so following the philosophy of "if you never ask you never win" I dialed the UK number of the event hospitality organizers to see if there is any way to buy a "ticket" to get on a boat. A lady answered, but she had no info on this and said she would get back to me. In the meantime, we went to check out the Extreme Sailing gear that was being sold at the racing village on the promenade. There I asked one of the people working at the store if there was any way to get on one of the boats. He said that I should talk to the woman who is the event coordinator. He introduced me to Priscille and she was very energetic and excited about me being excited. She said: “so nice to see fans that love this sport” and was very surprised we flew in just to see the event. So I asked if there was any way to get onto one of the boats and she said "there may be", she just needs to check if there are any VIP tickets available. Just as I am talking to her, my phone rings and I am getting a callback from the UK number from a different woman to whom my message was forwarded. As we are talking we realize we are standing about 10 feet away from each other. She tells me she got my message about tickets and was calling back to let me know there was a POSSIBILITY!!!! So I was standing there with the two very nice ladies telling me that Cathy and I could have VIP tickets for the Saturday hospitality suite which would include one live race on a Formula 40, spectator trips on zodiac inflatables to watch event from the water and full day access to the hospitality suite which is right on the edge of the promenade overlooking the race course. At that point the price didn't really matter, as how can you put a price on living a dream! So we said we are in and the ladies were very happy to have their new, extremely excited VIP guests. To add to the excitement, Priscille told me that she would also try to see if she can get me onto two sailings on Saturday. We finalized the details sitting in the VIP lounge sipping a drink and tasting what our future held. Needless to say it was hard to fall asleep that night.
The next morning we got a call saying we needed to be at the race village at 10 and my first sailing was on!!! So we got there, I got into my sailing gear and we headed off to the harbor. Cathy also came to go on the zodiac to be the official photographer of our first sail. We got to the boat, got our instructions, met our crew-mates (guest sailors and crew). Our boat name was ZouLou skippered by a French skipper and we were off. We got to put up sails, winch some sheets and steer a bit. There was not much wind in the morning but we did manage to fly a hull with full sails and spinnaker deployed, it was amazing. The nice part was meeting several very interesting (and I later learned, important) people. We later had a nice time in the VIP lounge, exchanged info and I was able to send them video and photos I took with them.
After the sail they asked us if we were interested to go in the media zodiacs to watch the race from the water, to which we said yes (of course). So we spent about 2 hours watching the races up very close, chasing the boats to get best views and shots. It also allowed us to get a good perspective on how fast Formula 40s are...
As we were flying around, I was told I was slotted to go on the Formula 40 during the 3rd race of the second set. When it was time the team zodiac came and picked us up, I handed over the photo equipment to Cathy and then I was delivered to the sailboat.
I got to ZouLou and boarded. The crew was surprised to see me again, sailing for the second time. Later I found out that there is a max one sail per VIP and that day, after my race they cancelled guest sailings due to conditions being too windy and dangerous. So I got on, got my GoPro video cam setup and got ready for the pre-start sequence.
Things were different from the morning sail. Things were intense before the race even started and it was interesting to see accomplished sailors concentrating, adjusting, counting and getting their mental state set to WIN. The race started and the work began. Pulling, jumping, hanging on the edge, tripping, avoiding the boom hitting me on the head.... Even without having to actually do anything for the boat, I was busy keeping out of the way and acting as the "rail meat" to provide some weight once the boat was flying the hull. I also have to say that with all the adrenalin, coming to a near collision (you can see it in the video at about 5min 40s mark when The Wave Muscat came within inches of crashing with us) the race seemed to last an hour versus the 15 minutes it really was. We finished the race, I thanked the crew and we went off to the VIP lounge.
At the VIP lounge upon our return at about 5pm, they served champagne as we finished watching the final races of the day. We met lots of people from the event and many sponsors: SAP, Oman Air, Extreme Sailing and media. Priscille and the others continued to be excellent hosts throughout the evening. After the races we got invited to the staff BBQ that was happening late at night, which ended up being amazing. All in all we felt like VIPs and the experience was truly unforgettable and worth it!
The next morning I went to the harbor where the boats were moored to get my team shirts that crews had promised me the evening before (things you cannot buy in a store) and said goodbye to my new friends. Then we went to the real French flower market, had breakfast and headed out to the airport.
While at the airport we could see the boats lining up for the final set of races for the Sunday. My dream was accomplished and we were very happy to be heading back. Our plane got delayed an hour, but after an experience like this I was just sitting and quietly smiling to myself... My blue suitcase nicely matching my Extreme Sailing shirt I was wearing.... An experience we will both never forget...
