Robert Greenhalgh and Team Basilica sweep board winning final event and overall 2007 iShares Cup 17/9/07

The iShares Cup final in Amsterdam culminated in a fantastic demonstration of what Extreme 40 racing is all about – 40ft catamarans racing within inches of the spectators, who cheered and whooped as the crews raced past; pure on water drama – near capsizes, collisions, triumphs and disasters.

Robert Greenhalgh and Team Basilica swept the board winning the overall 2007 iShares Cup and taking the Amsterdam event as well holding off the challenge of the Dutch ‘home team’ Holmatro who were leading the event until race 16 out of 18 when Basillica wrenched back control.

Incredibly close racing for the eight teams on the ij Haven canal in Amsterdam and going into the final, 18th, double points race the series remained up for grabs with the final scores revealing a slim three point margin between third, fourth and fifth.

Home team Holmatro put up an excellent challenge at the event and certainly had the support of their fellow Dutchmen who cheered them around every mark and applauded each time they flew a hull. Skipper Carolijn Brouwer with her team of Greg Homann, Sebbe Godefroid and Gert Jan Poortman came off the water disappointed with their performance on the final day.

BT Better World cap off the event podium and the overall iShares Cup score in third. The team had a chance to better their result but in race 17 were called over the start-line early and never re-crossed the line giving them zero points for the race.