British Sailing Boost for Team Aberdeen Singapore

Sailors Robert Greenhalgh, Andrew Walsh and Rick Peacock from Great Britain, the most successful nation in Olympic sailing history, will join forces with Singaporeans Scott Glen Sydney and Justin Wong to complete the Team Aberdeen Singapore line-up which will compete in the Singapore leg of the Extreme Sailing Series at The Promontory@Marina Bay from 11-14 April 2013.

Team Aberdeen Singapore will race as the invitational team, a concept that enables Singapore sailors to compete with and against some of the world’s best, including double Olympic gold medallists Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, defending Extreme Sailing Series champion and British Olympian Leigh McMillan, and two-times winner of the America’s Cup Ernesto Bertarelli.

Robert Greenhalgh, winner of the first-ever Extreme Sailing Series in 2007, who boasts three Volvo Ocean Races, seven Atlantic crossings, three World Championships titles and a host of European titles will helm Team Aberdeen Singapore. Most recently, he steered the invitational team at Act 1 Muscat, Team Duqm Oman, to fourth place in the opening Act of the 2013 Series. Singaporean Scott will skipper the boat andalso assume the role of tactician while Justin will take on the headsail trimmer position.

“I’m really looking forward to joining Team Aberdeen Singapore. The races are a great opportunity to showcase sailing to the Singapore public. With luck, we will have home support, and while it will be a challenge with a new crew in a new venue racing against established world class teams, we promise to put on a good show,” said Robert.

Joining the team as mainsail trimmer is Andrew Walsh, 31, who has four editions of Extreme Sailing Series under his belt, including a third position as helm in 2008. Andrew, who was part of the invitational team line-up with Greenhalgh in Muscat just two weeks ago, wasonce ranked in the top ten in the Olympic multihull class and is a former Laser European Youth Champion.

Bowman Rick Peacock, 27, is an accomplished sailor in the 49er Olympic skiff dinghy and a former 29er dinghy world champion who finished second and fourth in the 2009 and 2011 49er World Championships respectively. He came in runner up in the 2012 Olympic Games selection to represent Great Britain among the highly competitive Team GBR squad and sailed onboard the Aberdeen Asset Management sponsored Extreme 40 in the UK in 2011.

Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited Managing Director, Hugh Young, adds, “We are delighted to confirm the line-up for Team Aberdeen Singapore. Given our company background, it’s wholly appropriate that we have an all Anglo-Singaporean crew. This is exciting for us and I’m sure Singaporeans will quickly identify with our boat once the action starts.”

The Extreme Sailing Series visits Singapore from 11-14 April 2013, and will feature eight international teams competing in Extreme 40s catamarans in Marina Bay. Aberdeen Asset Management is providing a three-year sponsorship with additional support from Singapore Sports Council.

The action in Singapore will begin on the 11 April with the official media day before the free-to-enter public Race Village opens from 12 to 14 April. Fans and spectators will enjoy complimentary access to the Race Village at The Promontory@Marina Bay where they can enjoy all-day music entertainment, food and beverage and activitiesfor the family as well as exciting on-water activities such as the NeilPryde Windsurfing Racing Series, Optimist and dinghy sailing.

Team Aberdeen Singapore will be represented by:

Skipper / Tactician: Scott Glen Sydney (SIN)
Helm: Robert Greenhalgh (GBR)
Mainsail Trim: Andrew Walsh (GBR)
Headsail Trim: Justin Wong (SIN)
Bow: Rick Peacock (GBR)

ASIA Travel Tips will have high resolution pictures and some HD video from this event in Singapore, so do check back.