Extreme 40's in London - Sailing on the Thames

London, UK - Take four world-class racing boats with top crews, add water and wind. Now stand back and watch. With a rumor that London has been shortlisted for the iShares Cup Extreme 40 tour next year confirmed, the Thames saw a special display of skill today as some of the ishares fleet took to the water to test the venue, and perhaps show-off a bit. It's the goal of the tour to bring the sport to the spectators, and the tight confines of the Thames gave Londoners a ring-side seat, while providing the crews with plenty of challenge.

"What an awesome place to race," said the winning skipper on Oman Sail, Pete Cumming. "It was really challenging to negotiate the tides as well as the winds, which were gusting up to 18 knots [22mph] - and then not get distracted by the dominance of the O2 arena and Thames Barrier. London would be a great venue for an iShares Cup regatta with fantastic spectator viewing and a promise of plenty of carnage with not much space for the boats to race around in. I really hope we'll be back here next year."

"What a cool way to spend the morning," said Dame Ellen MacArthur of BT Team Ellen. "It's such an opportunity to race on The Thames and a great location for a yacht club. Just ten minutes from a tube station and you can be out on the water racing these awesome catamarans."

Four-time Olympic Gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent joined in for the race aboard iShares, and was impressed by the speeds the Extreme 40 reached - as the lightweight 40-footers can quickly accelerate up to 40 knots. "The acceleration on these boats is just incredible. I've been on other sailing boats before, but nothing compares to the power these can move away at from being totally stationary. It was like being in a car or motorbike, just incredible."

The fastest time was set by Oman Sail at 9 minutes and 14 seconds. iShares and Matthew Pinsent took second place at 9 minutes and 28 seconds, and Ellen MacArthur and Australian Nick Moloney from the BT team in third place with 9 minutes 57 seconds. TEAMORIGIN came fourth in 10 minutes 6 seconds.

The next iShares Cup event will take place at Skandia Cowes Week on August 2nd, where eleven teams will be racing the Extreme 40 catamarans. Competitors will include the current America's Cup defender Alinghi, racing against America's Cup challenger BMW ORACLE. Joining these hot shots on the start line will be team BT, iShares, Holmatro, Volvo Ocean Racing, Team Aqua, Oman Sail and TEAMORIGIN. Also racing at the next iShares Cup event will be the only woman in the fleet - double Olympic Gold medallist Shirley Robertson, at the helm of JPMorgan Asset Management.

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• Ishares Cup
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