May 3, 2006, Baltimore, Maryland – The Volvo Extreme 40s made quite an impression during the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 stopover in Baltimore.

Nearly 350,000 people descended on the Inner Harbour for the waterfront festival in celebration of the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Baltimore and were treated to not only the sight of the mind-blowing Volvo Open 70s but also the amazing spectacle of the Volvo Extreme 40 catamarans.

The Volvo Extreme 40s are part of the in-port entertainment package for the Volvo Ocean Race and in Baltimore they certainly provided the entertainment as they whizzed around the inner harbour in front of crowds on the dockside and office workers hanging out of windows.

The racing, which started last Thursday, was a highly competitive affair and saw many lead changes, near collisions and protests.

After eighteen races, double Olympic medallist Randy Smyth and his all American team of Stan Schreyer, Jonathan Farrar and Richard Feeney took the overall victory, winning by nineteen points from Team Holmatro.

Smyth commented: “We have been racing together for a while now and I think this is what makes the difference but there is never a dull moment in these boats and especially when you are racing in the harbour like this – it is what these boats are made for.”

He continued: “I think the audience that we have seen over the five days that we have raced is one of the biggest that sailing has ever had in the United States and that is so exciting. These are just such cool boats and it is great to be able to show them off.”

Olympic medallist and class founder Mitch Booth steered Team Holmatro into second place, and despite being overtaken in the regatta halfway through, was delighted to be finish on the podium after a disappointing result in Rio de Janeiro.

Team Holmatro crew member and class Chief Executive Herbert Dercksen commented: “For me the most important thing has been to see so many people turn out to watch the racing. Sailing in this kind of arena has been fantastic and you get so much variety and lead changes and all of the sailors are thoroughly enjoying themselves out there. It has also been great to see the Volvo Ocean Race sailors competing and enjoying the class so much. This is what Mitch and I dreamt of, so it really is a dream come true.”

Dercksen concluded by saying: “At the end of the day the best guy won. We are pleased to have moved up the leader board and with how we raced but Randy and his team did a fantastic job.”

Filling the final podium position in Baltimore was Team Basilica skippered by James Grant and with British 49er sailor Alister Richardson at the helm. Team Basilica could not quite match their performance from Rio de Janeiro, but a third place in Baltimore still sees them second on the overall series leader board, six points behind Tommy Hilfiger.

The excellent improvement seen in Team Holmatro sees them move up from fifth place overall to third place after three events.

Whilst the Volvo Extreme 40 racing has come to an end, there is still plenty of activity going on in the Volvo Ocean Race Village. Tomorrow sees the Volvo Open 70s depart for Annapolis on a Parade of Sail, where they will remain until the leg six restart on Sunday 7 May which takes them from Annapolis to Portsmouth, England, via a three day pit-stop in New York.

The Volvo Extreme 40s will be unleashed again at the end of the month in Portsmouth, England. Racing in Portsmouth takes place from the 27 May to the 3 June and will conclude with the boats taking part in the Round the Island Race – a race 50 mile race around the Isle of Wight.

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