Tommy Hilfiger wins overall victory in the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix
(Photos by Richard Blake)

June 14, 2006, Rotterdam, The Netherlands – After nearly 70 races, in five countries, during seven months it all came down to the last day to decide the winner of the Volvo Extreme 40 grand prix series. After a final head to head in Rotterdam, Motorola-CHR won the Rotterdam series while Team Tommy Hilfiger took the overall series trophy away with them.

Team Tommy Hilfiger takes the overall victory of the first Volvo Extreme 40 Series

On the final day it came down to three boats. Basilica, Motorola-CHR and Team Tommy Hilfiger battled it out for the top spot this afternoon in three exciting races. A gusty breeze of around 15 knots came in to please the catamaran sailors today but brought torrential rain with it making the spectators lives a little harder. The best wind of the week made for a fitting end to the grand prix series as the cats could really show what they were made of.

Tommy Hilfiger coming right at you.., WOW!

Day One
Motorola excels in tricky conditions
June 9, 2006, Rotterdam, The Netherlands – The Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam provided some tricky conditions for the first day of the Volvo Extreme 40 grand prix racing series.
Team Motorola-CHR helmed by British Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan successfully mastered the light winds and tricky tides to finish the first day of the final grand prix series in first place overall. A second place in the first race was swiftly followed up with two race wins to give the British team of McMillan, Conrad Humphreys, Will Howden and Hamish Oliphant an early regatta lead. Team Motorola-CHR leads by four points to their nearest rival Team Tommy Hilfiger.
Skipper of Motorola-CHR, Conrad Humphreys was very pleased with his team's performance, "It was a good day for us but it was hard to be consistent in the conditions. Plus it's nice to find some form after Portsmouth. I think the extra work on the foils has definitely made a difference. We have spent quite a bit of time on them. The other important thing is to keep your cool when you are out there in not a lot of breeze because even if you are last you never know what can happen to the others."

Team Tommy Hilfiger, the current overall series leaders also had a exciting day, skipper Randy Smyth commented, "It was a great work out today!". Crew member Jonathan Farrar spoke of the challenging conditions compared to the heavy weather they had in Portsmouth. "It was pretty fickle breeze out there so it was hard to showcase the boats but I think we did a good job of it. We are really looking forward to sailing tomorrow outside in the sea off the Hoek van Holland. We should have lots more breeze and a great spectator fleet."
Newcomer to the fleet Nigel Pitt, helming Volvo Ocean Race, is currently third today after scoring a 4-2-5 scoreline, followed by Basilica in fourth. James Grant skipper of the all British boat was obviously disappointed by their result today after winning the Portsmouth series. "We took the wrong side so we had to tack twice and lost out to Tommy Hilfiger with the lack of breeze. But really it was only three races and we have 15 left so it's all to play for. In Portsmouth we got full points on the first day and today we only managed 50% so if you average that out it's not too bad. It was real game of snakes and ladders out there."
Mitch Booth and his team on Holmatro came in fifth place despite getting the same points as Basilica. On count back Basilica beat Booth in the last race after having level peggings till that point. "It was a hard day for a sailor who wants to go racing today. Unfortunately the little wind made sailing very tricky out there. We saw a few good little rides at times which would have been good for the spectators and TV but for the sailors it was a tough day."
Tomorrow the fleet will head out of the Maas to Hoek van Holland on the North Sea where they will race on the Volvo Open 70 in-port race course and greet the arriving Volvo Open 70's. The Volvo Extreme 40s will be towed out of the Maas and will race a number of short races before making a ‘dash for cash' up the Maas where a 1000 Euro prize purse will be up for grabs.

Results, Day 1
1st Motorola-CHR (2,1,1) 28 pts
2nd Tommy Hilfiger (1,3,2) 24 pts
3rd Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,5) 17 pts
4th Basilica (5,4,3) 15 pts
5th Holmatro (3,5,4) 15 pts

Day Two
New playground for Volvo Extreme 40's
June 10, 2006, Rotterdam, The Netherlands – The Volvo Extreme 40's changed sailing venue today and moved from their inshore course on the Maas to outside on the open sea on the coast of the Hoek van Holland. Motorola-CHR came out on top today, five points clear of rival Team Tommy Hilfiger.
The day started with a light breeze as the catamarans were motored down through the Maas with a fleet of spectator boats accompanying them. By the time they reached the open water hundreds of boats were out to watch them race as well as see the last three of the Volvo Ocean Race yachts arrive from leg eight.
Sometimes you have to be an acrobat on these boats

Tommy Hilfiger (Randy Smyth) won the first race closely followed by Motorola-CHR (Conrad Humphreys) and then Team Holmatro (Mitch Booth) who all dipped under the maximum length of time a race can take. Unfortunately for Team Volvo Ocean Race (Nigel Pitt) and Basilica (James Grant) they were just out of time so were not awarded any points for the first race.
Randy Smyth skipper of Tommy Hilfiger, on the dock today spoke of a brilliant day on the water, "I've never seen so many spectator boats. At times they were wall to wall around us. It was such a blast sailing around in them. We loved sailing out in the ocean as it's a new venue and you can compare your speed against the other boats. We've never had so much room."
The second race got underway in a little more breeze, with Team Holmatro coming out on top giving them some much needed points. The Basilica boys came back to form and finished second after narrowly missing out on first as Mitch Booth on Holmatro gybed inside of them at the bottom mark.
By the time the third race came round the wind had picked up to a fresh ten knots giving the teams a little more to play with. Basilica finally came back and won the race with Motorola-CHR continuing to get good results making them the overall leader after two days of sailing in Rotterdam.
British Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan helming onboard Motorola-CHR felt the team was getting back to the standard they had before in the series in Rio de Janeiro: "We prepared a lot for this regatta and we have our heads together here. It's great to see our results are getting better."

Team Motorola goes round the mark

The final race of the day was going to be a ‘dash for cash' up the Maas in front of the thousands of spectators who had lined the shore. Unfortunately due to the weight of spectator boats on the Maas the race was forced to be abandoned before the finish.
Tomorrow sees a lay day for the Volvo Extreme 40's as the Volvo Open 70's will be back out in action for the Rotterdam in-port race.

Results, Day 2
1st Motorola-CHR (2,1,1,2,3,2) 50 pts2nd Tommy Hilfiger (1,3,2,1,4,3) 45 pts
3rd Basilica (5,4,3,DNF,2,1) 37 pts
4th Holmatro (3,5,4,3,1,4) 36 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,DNF,DNF,5,5) 29 pts

Day 3
Tommy moves on up
June 13, 2006, Rotterdam, The Netherlands – The Volvo Extreme 40's put on a show today for the crowds in Rotterdam. Both the warm weather and the fresh breeze gave the teams a chance to shine as the leader board mixed up and Tommy Hilfiger moved to the top.
A breeze of eight to ten knots with fluky gusts kept the crews on their toes for all five races today on the Maas. The first race started with Tommy Hilfiger taking line honours quickly followed by their close rivals Basilica and Motorola-CHR.
As the teams got used to the reaching course the second race got underway and Basilica and Tommy Hilfiger's fight ensued even more intensely with the British boys coming out ahead of the Americans. Holmatro came in third followed by Team Volvo Ocean Race and an unfortunate Motorola-CHR in fifth.
By the time the third race came through every catamaran team knew that, if they won the start then they had a good chance of winning the race. This was due to a reaching course being set for them because of space restraints in the river and the direction of the wind. Nigel Pitt the skipper of Team Volvo Ocean Race managed their best place of the series today with a win in this third race followed by Tommy Hilfiger and Holmatro with Basilica and Motorola fighting it out at the back.
Basilica headed up by James Grant took the lead in the fourth race whilst outpacing their rivals Hilfiger and Motorola-CHR. They had a great day but Grant believes it's all about the strength of your crew. "We did well today. We outsmarted our rivals and our boat handling was better. Once you get your nose out in front then it's had for people to get past you on this sort of course. We have a strong team both physically and mentally."

The starts were very important as they are in any race, but with the reaching starts and reaching course it was even more important

Holmatro pulled a first out of the bag in the fifth race with Basilica and Tommy Hilfiger following and Motorola in fourth. Conrad Humphreys was disappointed today as the team slid from first to third place by ten points. "It was a bad day for our team we were shy of the line a few times and that didn't help because if you didn't win the start you were stuck behind the others playing catch up. It was good to have the breeze though and get some pace on, with water over the deck."

Holmatro had a disappointing time of it in their home port and dropped out of contention for the overall lead

So with two more days left in the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix. It's all to play for. Randy Smyth skipper of Team Hilfiger certainly enjoyed his day as he moves to the top of the leader board again. "It was a big day and great to move up a spot. Basically today we were fighting against Basilica and Motorola-CHR. I liked the course that was set today.., it gave the spectators a great view and mixed it up for the competitors too. You have to be very quick thinking with this sort of course as a split seconds decision can make or lose you boat lengths. It was a great day."

Results, Day 3
1st Tommy Hilfiger (1,3,2,1,4,3,1,2,2,2,3,1) 85 pts
2nd Basilica (5,4,3,DNF,2,1,2,1,4,1,2) 78 pts 3rd Motorola-CHR (2,1,1,2,3,2,3,5,5,3,4) 75 pts
4th Holmatro (3,5,4,3,1,4,4,3,3,4,1) 68 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,DNF,DNF,5,5,5,4,1,5,5) 56 pts

Day 4
Lack of Wind Today
June 13, 2006, Rotterdam, The Netherlands – Tricky conditions made the Volvo Extreme 40s day on the water very hard today with a mix up of results in the first race and all to play for going into the last day of the round the world series.
Light winds below five knots plagued the fleet today, with races being abandoned and postponed all early evening. The first race saw Motorola-CHR skippered by Conrad Humphreys get their own back on their biggest rivals Tommy Hilfiger and Basilica by winning the race. Team Motorola-CHR were joined today by round the world navigator Andrew Cape who is currently sailing in the Volvo Ocean Race. Holmatro upped the anti and came in second, a great result for the Dutch team in their home country. They were followed by Basilica, Tommy Hilfiger and Team Volvo Ocean Race.

Basilica has been a tough competitor the entire series

Two races were then abandoned and a third postponed until finally the second and final race of the day started. This saw three of the cats fly off the start in a small gust of wind, leaving Holmatro and Volvo Ocean Race floundering for a minute or two. Tommy Hilfiger came back to win this race, shadowed by Basilica and Motorola.
With only one day left before the overall winner of the Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix series, the teams are feeling the pressure. A protest between Motorola-CHR and Tommy Hilfiger occurred today which will be decided in the morning and could effect the standings. Tommy Hilfiger leads by eight points with Basilica in second only one point clear of Motorola-CHR in the Rotterdam Grand Prix.
James Grant skipper of British cat, Basilica spoke of the tactical day, "It was so hard today and really tricky. We made the best of what we had and sailed hard. We're happy with a second and third. Tomorrow will be a big day."
Lee McMillan helm of Motorola-CHR certainly enjoyed his day, "We had the best day of the fleet with a third and a first so we are very happy. Every day seems to get harder and harder here but we are looking forward to the last day as it's all so close and it's all to play for."

Results, Day 4
1st Tommy Hilfiger (1,3,2,1,4,3,1,2,2,2,3,4,1) 100 pts
2nd Basilica (5,4,3,DNF,2,1,2,1,4,1,2,3,2) 92 pts
3rd Motorola-CHR (2,1,1,2,3,2,3,5,5,3,4,1,3) 91 pts
4th Holmatro (3,5,4,3,1,4,4,3,3,4,1,2,4) 81 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,DNF,DNF,5,5,5,4,1,5,5,5,(DNF)) 64 pts

Final Day
Tommy Hilfiger Takes it All
In the first race Basilica, Motorola-CHR and Tommy Hilfiger fought it out on the tactical race course, all covering each other but the Brits on Basilica came out on top followed by Tommy Hilfiger and Motorola-CHR. Conrad Humphreys skipper of Motorola-CHR commented, "We got nailed on the start of the race which was unfortunate but got ourselves back in there."
The second race of the day became the series clincher when two protests between Basilica and Tommy Hilfiger were lodged, which would eventually decide the overall grand prix leader board. These protests were taken to the jury after racing finished, who heard both parties and subsequently disqualified Basilica for an incident at a mark. The second protest was then thrown out for lack of evidence.
Tommy Hilfiger flies a hull over a competitor

The first disqualification lost Basilica not only the Rotterdam series but the overall grand prix trophy. James Grant skipper of the Basilica team was obviously very disappointed. "We have a great team and have really enjoyed this series. These are fabulous boats and we have achieved so much in these past months so we are really proud. We would have never got through it without our sponsors, our supporters and our families. We have been blown away by it all."
Motorola-CHR came back in the third race to win and before the protest the team thought they were second but after the hearing they moved up to poll position for the Rotterdam series. An ecstatic Conrad Humphreys thanked his whole team and the organization for all their help and support. "It went down to the wire today – it was the equivalent of a World Cup penalty shoot out. We put the cat amongst the pigeons yesterday, which meant that the final podium place as well as the Rotterdam series was up for grabs. After 70 races, you couldn't have written a better script for the last day. I'm really pleased for the Motorola team, Leigh, Will, Hamish and Vikki for all their effort and thanks to our sponsors for all their support."
Tonight Team Tommy Hilfiger with Randy Smyth at the helm were celebrating in style as they held the Volvo Extreme 40 overall grand prix trophy high on the podium. Smyth and his team won the series in Baltimore and in Portsmouth but it was still down to the last day and a protest room to give them their title. "It's been the biggest day. No one likes winning in the protest room, I like winning on the water but if that's what it has come down to and I am very happy that we have won. We have a great team and a fantastic sponsor plus we really enjoy ourselves; we have loved the last few months."

Final Results
1st Motorola-CHR (2,1,1,2,3,2,3,5,5,3,4,1,3,4,3,1) 114 pts
2nd Tommy Hilfiger (1,3,2,1,4,3,1,2,2,2,3,4,DSQ,2,1,4) 113 pts
3rd Basilica (5,4,3,DNF,2,1,2,1,4,1,2,3,1,DSQ,2) 112 pts
4th Holmatro (3,5,4,3,1,4,4,3,3,4,1,2,3,3,2,3) 102 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race (4,2,DNF,DNF,5,5,5,4,1,5,5,5,(DNF),5,4,5) 72 pts

Overall Series Rankings
1st Tommy Hilfiger 40 pts
2nd Basilica 36 pts
3rd Motorola-CHR 36 pts
4th Holmatro 29 pts
5th Volvo Ocean Race 24 pts