Alinghi Rallies for an Exciting Win in Los Cabos
Adrenalin pumped in the contestants’ veins as the race came to an end on the fourth day of the 2018 Extreme Sailing Series™ season finale in Los Cabos. The unlikely winner, the Alinghi Team from Switzerland, rallied for the first place, beating the Oman Air and Red Bull Sailing teams after spending 10 months navigating around the globe.
“The team did a perfect job and made it so easy for me to sail with them. The trick is to stay calm throughout the event. To win the season and to win the last Act, it’s the perfect way to finish the year.” - Arnaud Psarofaghis, head of the Alinghi Team
The Swiss team also won the award for the best shore crew of the season, a new prize created by Extreme Sailing Series logistics partner, WTC Logistics. On the other hand, SAP Extreme Sailing Team from Denmark, last year’s champions, didn’to btain the expected results, finishing fourth place overall, despite their talented crew of some of the world’s best sailors. Kiwi match racing champion Adam Minoprio, member of the Danish team, expressed his disappointment and praised Alinghi’s consistency, stating: “We didn’t give ourselves many chances this regatta, and we didn’t sail our best as a team.” However, the team won the Zhik Speed Machine Trophy for the fastest speed achieved in the final Act of the season.
The Extreme Sailing Series™ once again proved to be an exciting adventure for both competitors and audiences around the world. Sailing the waters of seven countries in three continents, Los Cabos was the perfect finale for the exceptional twelfth year of the Series.
| Position |
Team |
Points |
| 1° | Alinghi (SUI) Arnaud Psarofaghis, Nicolas Charbonnier, Timothé Lapauw, Bryan Mettraux, Yves Detrey | 141 pts |
| 2° | Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Dan Morris, Rhys Mara, Micah Wilkinson |
130 pts |
| 3° | Oman Air (OMA) Phil Robertson, Pete Greenhalgh, James Wierzbowski, Stewart Dodson, Nasser Al Mashari | 126 pts |
| 4° | SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Rasmus Køstner, Adam Minoprio, Julius Hallström, Pierluigi de Felice, Richard Mason |
123 pts |
| 5° | INEOS Rebels UK (GBR) Ben Ainslie, Giles Scott, Oli Greber, Mark Spearman, Joey Newton | 110 pts |
| 6° | US Team Extreme (USA) Taylor Canfield, Riley Gibbs, Matt Woodworth, Scott Ewing, Brian Porter | 97 pts |
| 7° | Team México (MEX) Erik Brockmann, Tom Buggy, Alex Higby, Tom Phipps, Yanic Gentry | 92 pts |
Text: Extreme Sailing Series™ ± Photo: ESSLosCabos_LloydImages
