Emirates Team New Zealand

Emirates Team New Zealand take top spot

And final race of the championship, four boats were in strong contention for a podium finish – Sweden’s Artemis Racing who have led this event since day one, Emirates Team New Zealand, The Wave, Muscat and Luna Rossa. The tension could be felt on shore, with silence falling over the crowds as the 11 boat fleet went into battle. The fight for third place couldn’t have been closer between The Wave Muscat and Luna Rossa — whoever finished the race in a higher position would claim the final podium position. Luna Rossa was ahead of The Wave, Muscat right until the final run to the finish line when a call by The Wave, Muscat to sail closer to the shore in search of more wind paid off. Khamis Al Anbouri commented: “The last race was so close! We stayed focused and kept fighting. It was so close and we knew the team on Luna Rossa wouldn’t hold back - they led for most of that race.” Overall Series standings after 3 Acts: 1) Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) (39); 2) Artemis Racing (SWE) (37); 3) Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) (36); 4) Luna Rossa (ITA) (33); 5) Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) (28); 6) The Wave, Muscat (OMA) (27); 7) Alinghi (SUI) (24); 8) Oman Air (OMA) (15); 9) Team Extreme (EUR) (9); 10) Team Niceforyou (ITA) (9); 11)Team GAC Pindar (GBR) (7).

Emirates Team NZ wins Extreme Sailing event in Boston | VSail.info

[Source: Extreme Sailing Series ] Dean Barker’s Emirates Team New Zealand clinched victory at Act 4 of the Extreme Sailing Series in an epic showdown as the circuit made a very successful USA debut. As the country celebrated 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 lost in the final leg of the final race of the final day. An enthralled US non-sailing public 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 at 55,000 over the five days. The Stadium concept developed for the Extreme Sailing Series certainly engaged a largely non-sailing audience in Boston.

In a finale that could have been written by a Hollywood scriptwriter (but wasn’t!), Emirates Team New Zealand had a blinding start, taking the lead once from Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, only to lose it after painfully stalling in a tack on the final beat. Until this point, despite having to duck most of the fleet on the start line, Hutchinson 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 it, with the right-hand side of the course for once not paying for the American, and as they approached the final top mark they were passed by four boats and scored an 8th place. A rare occurrence for Hutchinson, destroying his dream of winning on his home turf with Emirates Team New Zealand taking overall victory by four points on a total of 293 after 37 races.

An emotional and disappointed Hutchinson shared his thoughts on the podium in front of his fans: “I said yesterday there is only one race you need to be in the lead for and its the most important one,” said Terry. “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.” said Dean. “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.