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May 27, 2008 |
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TeamOrigin sailors will take their Extreme 40 catamaran into battle for the first time this weekend in Lugano, Switzerland in the opening event of the iShares Cup regatta circuit. The first competition to ever see a TeamOrigin branded boat line-up with another Americas Cup team will be the opening Lugano leg of the iShares Cup on Friday 30th May. TeamOrigin has entered its Extreme 40 catamaran in the iShares Cup, a regatta circuit featuring multiple short course races close to spectator vantage points over a three-day weekend. Nine other racing teams including Alinghi, the Defender of the Americas Cup, will also be competing in Lugano. Amongst the nine are some of the very best skippers and crews in the sport from the obvious Americas Cup sailors along with Olympic medalists, ocean racers, and world champions. TeamOrigin's entry will be skippered by Robert Greenhalgh, who last year skippered Team Basilica, the 2007 iShares Cup Champion. The other three crewmembers from TeamOrigin joining Rob are his brother, Peter Greenhalgh (GBR) as mainsheet trimmer /tactician, Julian Cressant (FRA) as trimmer, Matt Cornwell (GBR) as bowman and Mike Heffer (NZL) and David Duff (NZL) as shore support. "We are really looking forward to our first event in the iShares Cup this weekend. We have been training with our boat in the Solent for several weeks and are really eager to see how we match up with the opposition. It will be fun to be racing for real again. We have plenty of competition here, some from last year and some new entries, and I think the Circuit will provide more action, racing contest and drama this year than last," commented TeamOrigin Extreme 40 skipper Rob Greenhalgh. One of the many interesting features of the iShares Cup regatta circuit is the obligation of each team to take a fifth-man observer on board for each race. TeamOrigin founder and principal backer Sir Keith Mills will sail on Saturday and Sunday on board the TeamOrigin catamaran. The iShares Cup regatta format not only provides competitive racing for the teams taking part, but also enables strong business-to-business networking possibilities with top-class hospitality and sporting spectacle mixed together for guests watching from the shore. Each of the iShares Cup events includes three days of racing with the beginning of each day featuring a session of informal, non-scoring races. During these sessions, TeamOrigin will take VIP and media guests out on the water to get to know the team better and to taste the Extreme 40 racing experience. In the afternoon TeamOrigin will compete in up to five organized scoring races. Each race will last approximately 20 minutes and will be sailed close to the shore giving spectators an intimate view of all the action.
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