Update 1 August 2014 – Jack Griffin
Paul Campbell-James signs with Ben Ainslie Racing
Speculation about a challenge from Saint Petersburg Yacht Club ended in late July 2014 when Paul Campbell-James joined Ben Ainslie Racing. Read more.
First steps towards America’s Cup
February 2014 – Not yet announced, but clearly in the planning stages, Team Russia is affiliated with the Saint Petersburg Yacht Club and backed by energy giant Gazprom, with the objective of giving top young Russian sailors international opportunities. Igor Lisovenko, Russia’s Laser sailor in the London Olympics, will be skipper and tactician on their Extreme 40 in the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series.
Helmed by British olympian and former Luna Rossa AC45 helmsman Paul Campbell-James, Team Russia will race in the Extreme Sailing Series in 2014. Italian Alberto Barovier organized the Team Russia Extreme 40 campaign. His AC experience includes campaigns with Luna Rossa, Mascalzone Latino and Oracle. He helmed “Nice4You,” the Italian Extreme 40 in 2011. The winner of that season was Team Russia’s newly named helmsman Paul Campbell-James.
Vladimir Liubomirov, Commodore of the St Petersburg Yacht Club helms a Gazprom-sponsored Swan 60 and an RC44. Liubomirov has the stated goal of mounting a challenge for the 35th America’s Cup.
In addition to racing Extreme 40 catamarans in the ESS, Team Russia has a number of other elite sailing programs: a pair of RC44’s, a fleet of Swan 60’s and the Fastnet winning Esimit Europa 2 maxi. Esimit Europa 2 is skippered by Jochen Schümann, strategist on board Alinghi in 2003 and a key member of Alinghi’s leadership.
News, reports and rumors about potential America’s Cup challenger Team Russia
