Extreme 40 Catamarans

Amsterdam, Netherlands - Two days down, and one to go in the final series for the 2008 iShares Cup.  Team Alinghi has continued its strong, steady sailing to broaden its lead for the Cup, but even after all of the races in all of the series, there's no sure thing.  The competitors are going into the final day's sailing with 70 points waiting on the water - plenty to shake things up both for the Amsterdam series, and the iShares Cup itself.

Not exactly a dry boat, the crew from the Extreme 40 iShares are trying to keep her bows up, and hanging on tight!  This shot was taken at Cowes Week this year at the iShares Cup races.  The iShares Cup Series concludes in Amsterdam starting tomorrow, the last racing in what has been an action-packed series this year.

Kiel, Germany - The fourth sailing venue of the 2008 iShares Cup tour has hosted some fine racing these last three days, and the spectators turned out in droves to see it.  Fifty-thousand people for a football game would be expected, but 50,000 people coming out to watch sailing is nothing short of phenomenal.  This tour's formula of top sailors, short races, and accessible shore-side venues combined with the hull-flying action of the Extreme 40 catamarans has truly proved the skeptics wrong:  Sailing can be a spectator sport, and a popular one at that.

When a multihull buries the front of a pontoon in the water, it's called "digging in," and it often results in spectacular cartwheels, pitchpoles and capsizes. Nico Elshout caught this shot of the Extreme 40 Tommy Hilfiger racing in the iShares Cup earlier this year. Despite the acrobatics, injuries are fairly rare among these pro sailors. Riding the fine edge between speed and disaster is

Cowes UK - Though rarely disappointing, the racing of the Extreme 40 iShares Cup catamarans definitely proved EXTREME this week, as the winds never fell below 25 knots during all three days of racing. The lucky spectators at this year's Cowes Week had a real treat as they watched high speed hull-up racing, one sailboat capsize after another, and dramatic crashes these past few days, as the iShares Cup fleet and all-star sailors tested their skills sailing off the Isle of Wight. High action, top sailors and big winds - yacht racing just doesn't get much more exciting than this.

Cowes, UK - The first iShares race at Skandia Cowes Week has concluded, and what carnage it was for the fleet of Extreme 40 Catamarans, with three capsizes and a major collision!