Ramy Salameh, freelance writer and PR (Korea Tourism Org - London) on his unpredictable week in Cardiff.
I was in Cardiff for the August bank holiday, which began almost predictably with driving rains, but that was about all I could have predicted in the week that followed.
Cardiff played host to the ‘World Extreme Sailing Series’ (extremesailingseries.com), a relatively new brand of high-tempo elite sailing competition that brings the audience into close quarters with the crashes and splashes that only these ‘extreme 40’ catamarans can produce. Just how close I was to eventually get, was not part of my consciousness at that stage, as I enjoyed a drink and my comfortable perch on the VIP balcony as a guest of the organisers.
The catamarans weigh-in at 1400 kg, can be assembled in 5 hours and are then shipped across 3 continents to take part in 256 races a year. They are light, sleek and their multi-hulls give stability even when the wind raises one hull out of the water, leaving the other to slice through at speed.
As we watched the 62ft high masts and branded sails pass beneath our noses in the welsh bay, one of the organisers asked if I wished to sail on one of the boats in an official race; having picked my jaw off the floor, I was soon donning helmet and waterproofs before stepping onto the netting between the two hulls of the ‘Emirates New Zealand’ boat captained by Dean Barker a world-renowned America’s Cup sailing legend, for a unique and exhilarating experience.
Looking across at other competitor boats, I realised that the JP Morgan BAR catamaran was skippered by quadruple Olympic gold and silver medalist, Sir Ben Ainslie, the most successful Olympic sailor of all time.
The field was packed with racing superstars and I could not quite believe I was in an official series race! The other unbelievable sensation is the speed of these boats, the competitiveness of the crews and the risk of being hit as we vied for prime positions around the course.
As far as I know, there is no other professional sporting event in the world, where a guest can be part of an actual race. This adrenalin-fuelled sailing and the intimacy it allows with spectators is part of the reason why major corporate brands are attracted to sponsor the event.
The current global partner is ‘LandRover’ and they see this series as a great platform to connect and reach out to b2b and b2c audiences in various global markets.
Any comments? Email Annie Byrne
