Thanks to the folks from URA, I attended the final and ninth Act of the global 2011 Extreme Sailing Series held in the waters of Marina Bay. The finals was played by 10 Extreme teams between 7 to 11th December 2011. I was there on the last day at late noon.
Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sand in the background
The sky was cloudy with slight rain. There wasn’t much wind for the sail boats to ride with, hence the sailing teams did not get to show off their skills much.
This is the first time I attend a sailing event and it was a eye-opener to me; learning the jargons and competition details.
With a media pass, I was ferried around the water in a little motor boat together with three professional sports photographer. We were able to get really up close with the sail boats to catch the action as they execute their various maneuvers.
Sailing photography is serious business
I was a little intimidated when the other three blokes started shooting with their gigantic expensive cameras while I was armed with just a point-and-shoot compact. Nonetheless, I still managed to get some pretty decent shots, thanks to the close proximity:
Lining up for the race
Red Bull Extreme Sailing
Alinghi
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild
Team GAC Pindar
The Wave, Muscat
Up close with Team Extreme
Up close with Team GAC Pindar and Red Bull Extreme Sailing
There was a decent crowd at the event
Trampoline for kids
Some sailing-related ground games
Jeep vehicle for test driving
Inside the VIP tent
Here’s the results for the overall race and the race in Singapore for those of you who are interested:
Competition Results
The landscape of Singapore is changing really rapidly. Go back a decade in time, I would never have expected Marina Bay to be a venue for an international sporting event like this or the F1 races.
More exciting events and transformation are yet to come at Marina Bay in 2012. Visit their official website regularly for more details. 
