The Extreme Sailing Series is due to descend on Cardiff Bay this weekend as some of the world’s top sailors battle it out over three days of racing.
 
Cardiff Harbour Festival will once again welcome back the event; with the likes of Olympic and British sailing star Sir Ben Ainslie taking part.
 
The fifth act of this year’s Extreme Sailing Series will see an 11-boat fleet compete in high-performance catamarans between Saturday and Monday.
 
The latest race in the event marks significant crew changes for nine of the teams taking part.
 
UK home boat, J.P. Morgan BAR, will welcome on board Britain’s Paul Campbell-James, a two times winner of the Extreme Sailing Series, who is transferring from Team Russia, replacing Paul Goodison as mainsail trimmer.
 
Pippa Wilson will also be departing the line-up for Ben Ainslie’s team, with Welshman and Great Britain 49er sailor Bleddyn Mon from The Wave, Muscat, replacing her.
 
Looking ahead to this weekend’s racing Ben Ainslie said: “We are expecting some solid, challenging racing on a small, compact racecourse. It’s going to be a tricky venue for sailing but stadium racing at its best.
 
“It’s also bank holiday weekend so we are hoping for a strong turn out and are looking forward to racing amongst the home crowds in the heart of the bay.”
 
America’s Cup sailor Dean Barker will also be competing at Cardiff Bay as he returns to take over the reigns of Emirates Team New Zealand.
 
Team Alinghi lead the group heading into this weekend’s event, with J.P Morgan BAR currently in sixth place.