Contributed by Ronda Ng

Singapore, 2009 - Singapore will bolster its positioning as a leading venue for major sporting events when the city plays host to the second leg of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia from 11-15 December. Described as the Formula 1 of Sailing, this new series is modelled on the hugely successful European Extreme Sailing Series where teams of top international sailors compete against each other aboard super-fast catamarans, within metres of the shoreline in spectacular locations.

These 40-ft catamarans, designed by Tornado Sport in 2005, have taken the sailing world by storm. The boats are extremely light, weighing the same as a Mini Cooper, but hugely overpowered with a sail area the size of a tennis court, meaning they can race at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour and "fly" a hull in just eight knots of wind.

Mark Turner, CEO of event OC Events, owners and organisers of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia, commented, "After the success of the award-winning Europrean Circuit and our first event in Hong Kong, the Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the next step in the evolution of this dynamic and exciting new sailing format. We're extremely excited to be bringing the event to Singapore, a diverse city with a growing sailing community and to demonstrate to key opinion formers and potential stakeholders what a full scale Series could bring to Singapore in 2010/2011.

David Voth, Senior Director Sports Marketing Group of the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) said, "The SSC is excited about showcasing such a key sailing race for the first time in the Marina Bay area. We hope that this will set the stage for future watersports events to be potentially held in the area, which will bring exciting life, colour and activities into Singapore’s exciting annual events calendar."

The event will take place in Marina Bay against the dramatic skyline of the city and 24 of the World's very best sailors drawn from nine nations, will compete in Singapore for the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series in Asia. Drawn from a variety of sailing disciplines, these sailors have a wealth of experience between them including three double Olympic Gold Medallists, eight circumnavigations of the globe, they've attended 23 Olympic games, have 27 World Championship titles and have raced at 12 different America's Cups.

Leading the charge will be two double Olympic Gold Medallists, Andreas Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, onboard the Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team. Another double Olympic Gold Medallist, Shirley Robertson will be onboard Rumbo Almería while the winners of the European series and the first event in Hong Kong, Oman Sail's Masirah has skipper Pete Cumming onboard. Joining this line up will be another entry from Oman, The Wave, Muscat, skippered by double World Champion Paul Campbell James and Round the World yachtsman and record breaker Nick Moloney is the skipper of BT. Finally, the China team is skippered by Thierry Barot and will include local sailor, Tan Wearn Haw.

Double Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson, who finished 5th overall in the European series, will skipper one of the Extreme 40s in Singapore. She commented, "I am extremely excited about sailing in Singapore, a country which has developed itself into a sports hub. The boats are just incredible and with the tough competition on the water, I'm sure there will be some quality racing on show!"