Wind, rain and boat-to-boat contact start Red Bull Sailing's inaugural season at the GC32 Racing Tour in Villasimius, Italy. The strongest opening regatta in the history of the tour traveled to Sardinia to race. Oman Air took the lead in the five-race series. Two-time America's Cup winner Alinghi (SUI) was second and Sir Ben Ainslie's INEOS Rebels UK was third.
The Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team, led by Roman Hagara (skipper / helmsman) and Hans-Peter Steinacher (tactician), finished a strong fifth. On board the double Olympic champions were Rhys Mara (trimmer) and Mark Spearman (trimmer) of Australia and Sweden's Julius Hallström (bowman). Hagara said after the 16 races, "Hans Peter and I are very pleased with the start of our competition. The new crew is really getting on board and we are already working well together. We see great potential for this season."
The Extreme Sailing Series has been combined with the GC32 Racing Tour this season. The 10 teams include not only Olympic and America's Cup winners, but also match racing and Volvo Ocean Race winners. Two-time America's Cup winner Jimmy Spithill, now a team member of Luna Rossa's competition for the next America's Cup, joined Red Bull Sailing on rough waters Sunday, supporting Hagara, Steinacher and crew from the coach boat.
After calm conditions that allowed only one race on the opening day, there were gusts on the second day, in which the catamarans flew across the sea at speeds of up to 50 knots (93 km / h). On Sunday, the boats fought thunder, heavy downpours and 20-knot gusts. On Friday, Red Bull Sailing was involved in one of the most dramatic moments of the regatta: As the 10 boats were sailing across the course at high speed, Red Bull Sailing and Zoulou (FRA) tried desperately to avoid a collision, but were unable to prevent a collision, with the wind instruments on the masthead sheared off by the Austrian boat. The on-water umpires gave Zoulou a two-point penalty.
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