Ever wondered what it’s like to crew a high powered Extreme 40? David Carr gives us an on board view from these adrenaline-pumping, exhausting speed machines during a fast and furious iShares Cup race.

BANG! The five-minute warning gun is fired and our team of four sailors switches into race mode on board our Extreme 40. We have five minutes to prepare for the start of a 15-minute race – a race that will push us to the limits of our physical powers and test our tactical capabilities against the best sailors in the world.

It’s time to focus – each sailor on board has a very different job to perform during the race but teamwork is paramount and as a group we need to get a race plan together. Each team’s boat is identical so to gain a speed advantage over our rivals we must pick out any gusts of wind to sail into. A good pre-race strategy is very important and means all the boys on board are working together to achieve the same thing — once we are on the racetrack there won’t be any time to think as we put our plan into action.


Everyone’s watch on board is counting down the start-time. Races are won and lost in the pre-start positioning and our opponents will be trying to push past us to get a perfect, clear spot. As we get closer to the start gun all the Extreme 40s are rafted up next to each other jostling for position. Sailors are shouting to other boats — using the racing rules of sailing to try and outwit each other — sails are flapping and winches whirring.

Final countdown
BANG! The one-minute warning gun is fired and our helmsman who drives the boat has to manoeuvre towards the start. He wants to be exactly on the line, moving at maximum speed, when the race starts. This is a real test of his skill at judging time and distance, and our team communication, as he calls for the sails to be trimmed to make the boat go faster or slower so that the boat crosses the line at the perfect time — too early, and you have to go back!

With 10 seconds to go before the start, there is an explosion of energy as every member of the team helps pull the sails in to get the boat up to maximum speed. The sails are effectively the engine providing the power and the sail trimmers work the sheets like working through the gears on a car to reach maximum speed.The helmsman, holding the carbon tiller, is focused on the starting line and the other boats around him. The mainsheet trimmer, who controls the biggest sail on the boat, is pumping the hydraulic handle to get the mainsail trimmed for perfect acceleration. The bowman is standing over the top of the traveller winch, turning the handle in a flurry of speed, while the jib/gennaker trimmer is pulling the jib sheet (the rope which controls the sail) in on his winch.

BANG! The start gun is fired and our boat shoots off up the course. The feeling of acceleration in these boats in unrivalled — if you are standing up, you often need to brace yourself to keep from falling over as the boat takes off from under you. One of the hulls lifts out of the water, reducing drag, and our boat bursts into action.

The chat onboard dies down so the helmsman can keep talking to the sail trimmers about the boat’s speed and overall performance. With such short, intense races, the first minutes after the start are key and will have a big impact on our finishing position.

Going upwind the bowman will be trying to read the wind on the water, painting a picture of what is going on up the track, while the mainsheet trimmer is constantly checking on the other boats. Navigating an Extreme 40 is tactically challenging as the action is so fast-paced decisions need to be made without any hesitation.

“Tacking!” calls our helmsman, as the Extreme 40 starts to turn through the wind. The two trimmers sprint to the other side of the boat, frantically grinding on their winches and hydraulic handles to get their sails back in acceleration mode. The boat slows for a moment as both hulls touch down into the water, before picking up speed as she flies off on her new course.


Neck-and-neck
All the boats get to the first turning mark at around the same time, and with so many boats in one place there’s potential for some big crashes. We’re now neck-and-neck with two other teams and our gennaker hoist becomes a super important part of this race. As the helmsman steers around the mark and away from the wind the rest of the team rush to the back corner of the boat, leaning our bodyweight as far out as we can, trying to stop the nose – or bows – of the boat from going underwater which could cause the dreaded Extreme 40 cartwheel!

When the helm has the boat under control again he yells ‘Hoist!’ and three of us work together to pull on the gennaker halyard as quickly as possible. In seconds the huge downwind sail is up, propelling the boat down to the next mark. It takes great co-ordination and power from our team to get the gennaker up and properly trimmed — if we do it well a good hoist can gain us places.

As we smoke down the course we continually adjust the gennaker, keeping the boat fully powered up and maximising our speed. The gennaker sheet is loaded with pressure and needs to be winched in short sharp bursts. By the end of the downwind leg our bowman’s forearms are searing with lactic acid, and aching from non-stop grinding.

To get to the bottom mark we need to gybe a couple of times, this manoeuvre requires the biggest burst of energy. First we need to furl the gennaker as the boat turns, then once the wind is coming across the boat from its new side we pull on the new gennaker sheet as quickly as possible to get the sail back out again. The crew grab the ropes and sprint from one side of the boat to the other. There are people running everywhere and arms fly all over the place. Quite often someone on the team ends up flat on his back on the springy trampoline, having taken an elbow in the face. In the chaos, sailors have even run straight off the side of the boat and into the water as the boat moves so quickly underneath them!


As the Extreme 40s stream into the second mark the gennaker is furled away. Our helmsman and the mainsail trimmer concentrate on the boat’s speed and positioning, whilst our bowman and the jib trimmer fight the huge 78 square-metre gennaker back onto the deck. The bowman is on the low side of the boat next to the water as they go around the mark and often drinks down a few waves whilst trying to wrestle the sail under control.

By now the entire crew are heavily sucking in air, struggling to talk as we discuss our tactics heading out on the second lap. This lap is the same as the first, as we nip and tuck all the way round — our boat handling and fitness tested like in no other form of sailing. We power back down towards the finish line at 30 knots, the whole fleet coming in with just 30 seconds between first and last, crossing the line nose to tail. As we finish the lads collapse onto the trampoline, snatching a few minutes to recover before starting the next race. We know the next 5-minute warning signal is not far away and we may be tired now, but that was just the first race of five for the day!