Extreme 40s: Another Podium Finish for ECOVER in Kiel

Second Overall for ECOVER in Kiel

by Lucy Harwood

A fantastic result in Kiel today as the Ecover Sailing Team leave stage three of the Extreme Sailing Series with another podium finish under their belt, and holding third overall after three events. The final day in Kiel was dominated by an intense weather system that covered the race course for most of the afternoon, squall after squall came through, with shifty winds and freezing conditions for the nine teams fighting it out for the final points on the third stage of the series.

For Ecover, it was a much better day on the race course than yesterday, the British team needed to come out fighting and stay in the top end of the fleet to ultimately stay on the podium for the event overall. “We had a disappointing day yesterday where nothing seemed to come together and happen,” commented Ecover helmsman Leigh McMillan. “So there was a lot of pressure on us to go out today and reverse that. We did a really good job of being quite aggressive on the downwind starts, and that paid off. We had a good strategy for the day and it worked out really well, we are really pleased to get second again here in Kiel and continue to push the guys at the top for the positions overall”.

The results from Kiel saw the top three teams in Cowes once again standing on the podium, although in a slightly different order, as first and third switched places to see Groupe Edmond de Rothschild take first and The Wave Muscat fall back to third.

Many of the new teams in the series including Red Bull and The Ocean Racing Club have shown some good results over this event, and it is clear that the gap between front and back is closing as the series moves on. "I see that as an advantage, because we’re improving as well. I think the teams that have had a chance to train over the winter, compared to those such as ourselves who haven't had that opportunity, are showing that we are improving event after event. If others teams such as Red Bull come up with us then there is more chance of the other top boats having bad results and us improving as a result of that. I think our consistency actually favours us having more good teams, rather than only fighting it out with three or four boats," Leigh McMillan.

Race three was the most controversial of the event so far, with multiple penalties awarded across the fleet and a collision between Red Bull and The Wave, Muscat which saw Red Bull awarded four points for the incident where there was damage across both boats. “It wasn't ideal conditions today, the squalls are pretty intense and it throws yet another challenge on top of the normal racing. There was a lot more work for the umpires today as penalities were awarded left, right and centre on some races. Some you win, and some you lose, but that’s just yacht racing! I’m really pleased with the result, it shows we’re progressing at each event, and that we have the ability to sail consistently and deliver results. With just two events left there is everything to play for, we are loking forward to what Trapani will bring in a couple of weeks time, " skipper Mike Golding.

Results after 23 races – Sunday 29th August

1 Groupe Edmond De Rothschild – 167 points
2 Ecover Sailing Team – 148 points
3 The Wave Muscat - 128 points
4 Oman Sail Masirah – 125 points
5 The Ocean Racing Club – 125 points
6 Red Bull Extreme Sailing - 99 points
7 Groupama 40 - 92 points
8 Wirsol Team Germany – 63 points
9 Audi Sailing Team Germany – 59 points

Ecover Sailing Team is Mike Golding (Skipper, Helm), Leigh McMillan (Trimmer), Will Howden (Mainsheet/Tactician) and Jonathan Taylor (Bow).

ECOVER Sailing Team
Extreme Sailing Series Europe