A VIP Experience at the Extreme Sailing Series

Cast your mind back to last month, and you’ll remember that we ran a competition with Zhik for one lucky winner and two friends to receive VIP tickets to the Extreme Sailing Series in Cardiff as well as an overnight stay in a hotel and a chance to ride onboard a competing GC32 during races.

Well, our lucky winner, Jess Huxley, had such a fantastic time that she wanted to share her experience with you guys!

You should always enter online competitions…

“Wetsuit Outlet have mentioned you in their story” was the notification I received to tell me I had won!

I am not the kind of person to ever win anything; let alone a VIP experience to the Extreme Sailing Series. The prize was three tickets, alongside £150 towards the cost of a hotel. I chose to take my brother, Ben, and my friend, Josh. I knew that they both had an interest in sailing; with Josh running the company, Josh East Photography, where he has taken photos at many sailing events.

What is the Extreme Sailing Series?

The Extreme Sailing Series is a series of sailing events held all over the world where the Flying Phantoms and GC32s are raced in a ‘stadium arena’. As these events are held so close to shore they allow the public and VIPs amazing views into the racing action! With the finish line just 20 meters away from the shore, you are guaranteed to see some nail-biting finishes! Both types of craft have a hydrofoil underneath, this means that they look as though they are floating through the air. In every event there is also a Wildcard Team, put in place to shake up the standings, they have the potential to win that Act of the series.

We arrived in Cardiff Bay and found our way to the VIP area where three security guards greeted us at the door. We enjoyed the complimentary drinks and breakfast buffet as we watched the flying phantoms start off the days racing. We then made our way down to the dock area and listened to a talk by Team Red Bull on how the GC32s operate and which role each member of the crew has. As the Flying Phantoms finished their racing, an awesome lunch buffet was brought out, whilst we listened to the Skippers debrief of the previous day. Then, we were given three different boats and race times and the option to choose which GC32 we would race on.

Josh instantly wanted Team Mexico as he had heard they had capsized during training and was secretly hoping for a swim! Ben claimed Alinghi as they seemed to be a strong team and he quite enjoys winning. This meant that I had the Wildcard Team Wales, who had been put together as a team just three days before the event.

Josh was up first with Team Mexico, which meant that I was on camera duty. Due to some delays with Race 1, Josh ended up sat on the pontoon for quite a while, but this was made up for as when Team Mexico came down the finishing straight they made a close and fast overtake of Team Wales, leaving the whole VIP area cheering and Josh looking terrified!

Ben was up next with Team Alinghi who managed to win that race! As Ben sped past the VIP tent, he managed to wave at the crowd, leaving the commentators laughing.

Next up was my turn with Team Wales. We were first taken into a side room and fully-kitted with Zhik waterproofs, helmet, buoyancy aid and gloves. After this we were given a quick video safety briefing and then sped away on a powerboat towards the Team Wales boat. I was greeted by the Skipper who helped me aboard and introduced me to the crew. My seat on the boat was on the netting at the very front. The skipper’s main advice was to hold on tight! There was a chance for me to talk to the crew as the other guest sailors were loaded onto their boats. Then began the countdown to the start of the race, we made a good start immediately getting up onto the foils. I cannot explain how amazing the feeling of hydro foiling is! It is so fast and feels like you are flying on the boat. With every tack and gybe, you gain so much height out of the water, it is a pure adrenaline rush. Unfortunately, during one of our manoeuvres something went slightly wrong, meaning that the bow (where I was sitting) was plunged into the water. Not only did that take away all of our speed, it gave me a head to toe dunking! We finished in last place, but for me this just meant extra time onboard!

Later in the day, the boys entered the Schiller Bike Race, they came a very close second in the relay behind Team Red Bull! Schiller bikes are two SUP boards attached together and driven by a bike powered motor. The boys were frustrated to not win as the prize was a Schiller Bike to take home. We went back to the VIP area for a prizegiving and managed to get a free giftbag by asking nicely! The giftbag itself was a Zhik Drybag and inside were lots of goodies from a small bottle of gin to a Zhik Keyring!

I can’t express enough how grateful I am to Zhik and Wetsuit Outlet for this opportunity. As a student with a limited budget accessing these events is near impossible and couldn’t have been done without support from Zhik, OC Sports and Wetsuit Outlet. This day was definitely the highlight of my summer and I will never forget the unbelievable feeling of hydro foiling!

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog post and if you ever get the chance to experience foiling, take it!