The 2012 Extreme Sailing Series was the sixth year of the series and the second year of it being a fully global event. The series started in

Muscat, Oman Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

on 28 February and ended in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on 29 November and was scheduled to take place in 8 cities and 3 continents.

Acts

Act 1: Muscat, Oman

The starting act of the 2012 series was held in

on the weekend of 28 February and 2 March 2012 and was won by Oman Air.

Act 2: Qingdao, China

The second act of the series, which was held in

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

was held between 19 and 22 April 2012 and was won by The Wave, Muscat. China entered a local 'wild card' entry into this act.

Act 3: Istanbul, Turkey

The third act of 2012 was held in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on the weekend of 7–10 June 2012 and was won by The Wave, Muscat.

Act 4: Porto, Portugal

The fourth act, held between 5–8 July 2012, took place in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and was won by The Wave, Muscat.

Act 5: Cardiff, UK

The fifth act of 2012 was in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the first of a three-year deal to host the event there. The event, originally scheduled to be held over the August bank holiday, actually took place the weekend after, between 31 August and 2 September 2012. This act was won by Oman Air. Cardiff entered a local 'wildcard' team into this act.

Act 6: Trapani, Italy

Act 6, which was scheduled to take place between 13 and 16 September, did not take place as the

Province of Trapani The province of Trapani (; ; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by ...

and the regional government of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

failed to execute their obligations necessary for hosting the event.

Act 7: Nice, France

The seventh act took place in

Nice, France Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million

between 18 and 21 October 2012 and was won by Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

Act 8: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Act 8, which took place in

between 29 November and 2 December 2012. As the final act of the series, a lot was in the balance as the whole series had been closely contested. The Wave, Muscat won the Brazilian act by 0.2 points, and also took the overall trophy. Brazil entered a local 'wildcard' team into this act.

Teams

Core Teams

Alinghi

Alinghi Alinghi, or Alinghi Red Bull Racing because of the sports marketing branding by Red Bull, is the syndicate set up by Ernesto Bertarelli, racing under the colors of the Société Nautique de Genève, to challenge for the America's Cup, as well ...

is a professional sports team that was created in 2000 by

Ernesto Bertarelli Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli (born 22 September 1965) is an Italian-born Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist. The 2017 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List estimated the family's wealth at £11.5 billion, an increase of £1 ...

in order to compete in the 31st

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Their team consisted of

( Skipper/ Helm), Jean-Christophe Mourniac (

Tactician A tactic is a conceptual action or short series of actions with the aim of achieving a short-term goal. This action can be implemented as one or more specific tasks. The term is commonly used in business, by protest groups, in military, espionage ...

), Pierre-Yves Jorand (

Mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast (sailing), mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. T ...

Trim), Nils Frei (

Headsail A sail plan is a drawing of a sailing craft, viewed from the side, depicting its sails, the spars that carry them and some of the rigging that supports the rig. By extension, "sail plan" describes the arrangement of sails on a craft. A sailing c ...

Trim) and Yves Detry ( Bowman).

GAC Pindar

GAC Pindar GAC Pindar is a professional sailing team that competes in a variety of sailing competitions including the Extreme Sailing Series, M32's and the World Match Racing Tour. GAC Pindar was established in 2011 and is headquartered in Southampton ...

, in its second year sailing Extreme 40's, is a long-time sailing team competing in the World Match Racing Tour and supporting numerous sailors across all levels of the sport. Their team consisted of Ian Williams/ Andrew Walsh (Skipper/Helm),

Anna Tunnicliffe Anna Tunnicliffe Tobias (born October 17, 1982) is an American sailor and CrossFit competitor. In 2008 she won an Olympic gold medal in the Laser Radial single handed sailing class. In 2009 and 2011, she won the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Lase ...

(Tactician), Mark Bulkeley (Mainsail Trim), Adam Piggott (Headsail Trim) and

Rick Peacock Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

(Bowman).

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild

A team from the

Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...

, the Gitana Team started in 1876, and entered the Extreme Sailing Series for the first time in 2009. Their team consisted of Pierre Pennec (Skipper/Helm),

Arnaud Psarofaghis Arnaud may refer to: People * Arnaud (given name), the French form of the German given name Arnold * Arnaud (surname), the French form of the name Arnold * Arnauld family, a noble French family prominent in the 17th century, associated with Janse ...

(Tactician), Hervé Cunningham/ Hervé Cunningham (Mainsail Trim), Romain Petit (Headsail Trim) and Bernard Labro/ Bernard Labro (Bowman).

Oman Air

This Oman Sail entry is sponsored by the national airline

Oman Air Oman Air () is the flag carrier of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Muscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights. History Background Oman was one of the four s ...

. Their team consisted of Morgan Larson (Skipper/Helm), Will Howden (Tactician), Charlie Ogletree (Mainsail Trim),

Andy Maloney Andrew Maloney (born 2 June 1990) is a New Zealand professional sailor born on 2 June 1990. Sailing career From the Murrays Bay Sailing Club, he finished third in both the 2005 and 2006 World Championships in the Splash class. He finished 13 ...

/ Max Bulger (Headsail Trim) and

Nasser Al Mashari Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

(Bowman).

Red Bull Sailing Team

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

, who have been in the series since 2009, finished 6th in the 2011 series. The crew consisted of

Roman Hagara Roman Hagara (born 30 April 1966) is an Austrian sailor who has won the gold medal in the Tornado class at two consecutive Olympic Games. Hagara, and his colleague Hans-Peter Steinacher won the gold medal in the Tornado class at the 2000 Summer ...

(Skipper/Helm), Hans-Peter Steinacher (Tactician), Matthew Adams (Mainsail Trim), Pierre Le Clainche (Headsail Trim) and Graeme Spenceras (Bowman).

SAP Extreme Sailing Team

A new entry to the 2012 series, SAP Extreme Sailing Team is also an event partner and is the only team to have co-skippers in 2012. The crew consisted of Jes Gram-Hansen (Co-skipper/Helm), Rasmus Kostner (Co-skipper/Tactician), Pete Cumming (Mainsail Trim), Mikkel Rossberg (Headsail Trim) and Jonas Hviid (Bowman).

The Wave, Muscat

This is the second team sponsored by Oman Sail. They won the 2010 series. The crew consisted of

Leigh McMillan Leigh McMillan (born 24 October 1980) is a British sailor who competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. McMillan has skippered ''The Wave, Muscat'' since the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series. In 2015, it was announced that McMillan was ...

(Skipper/Helm), Ed Smyth (Tactician), Pete Greenhalgh/ Rachel Williamson (Mainsail Trim), Bleddyn Mon (Headsail Trim), and Hashim Al Rashdi (Bowman).

Zoulou

Zoulou, a private entry to the 2012 series is skippered and helmed by a previous 2009 crew. The team consisted of Erik Maris/

Fred Le Peutrec Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frede ...

Loïck Peyron Loïck Peyron (born 1 December 1959 in Nantes) is a French yachtsman, younger brother of the yachtsman Bruno Peyron. He is particularly famous for winning many races in the 1990s on board his trimaran ''Fujicolor''. Among his notable achieveme ...

(Skipper/Helm), Philippe Mourniac (Tactician), Jean-Sebastien Ponce (Mainsail Trim), Patrick Aucour (Headsail Trim) and Bruno Jeanjean (Bowman).

Wildcard entries

China Team

The Chinese 'wildcard' entry was crewed by

Phil Robertson Phil Alexander Robertson (April 24, 1946 – May 25, 2025) was an American professional hunter, businessman and television personality who was the founder of hunting products company Duck Commander. A reality television star on the popular te ...

(Skipper/Helm), Garth Ellingham (Mainsail Trim), Kit Cheng (Headsail Trim), Nick Catley (Bowman) and

Song Xiaqun Song Xiaoqun (born August 22, 1977 in Shengzhou, Zhejiang) is a female PR China, Chinese sports sailing (sport), sailor who competed for China at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Team China at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Major performances *1999/2000/200 ...

Team Wales

Team Wales consisted of Dave Evans (Skipper/Tactician), Tudur Owen (Co-Skipper/Trimmer), Torvar Mirsky (Helm), Ed Powys (Bowman) and

Hannah Mills Hannah Louise Mills (born 29 February 1988) is a British competitive sailor and two-time world champion in the 470 class, having won in 2012 and 2019. Mills won a silver medal for Team GB with her crew Saskia Clark in the 2012 Olympics, she f ...

(Strategist) with Kate MacGregor as reserve crew.

Team Brasil

Team Brasil was the local 'wildcard' entry, crewed by

Torben Grael Torben Schmidt Grael (born 22 July 1960) is one of the most well known Brazilian sailors, renowned in international competitions. A descendant of Danes, he was taken sailing by his grandfather at the age of five years on the sailboat ''Ailee ...

(Skipper/Tactician), Alex Welter (Helm), Diogo Cayolla (Mainsail Trim), André Mirsky (Headsail Trim) and Marco Grael (Bowman).

Results

References

External links

*
Official gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extreme Sailing Series

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2012 in sailing 2012 in Omani sport 2012 in Chinese sport 2012 in Turkish sport 2012 in Portuguese sport 2012 in Welsh sport 2012 in Italian sport 2012 in French sport 2012 in Brazilian sport Sports competitions in Cardiff