At 27, Seve Jarvin is the youngest captain at the Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) and it’s easy to see why he was chosen to lead the GAC Pindar team on his debut season in the competition.

He has all the attributes required for a skipper and, after all, he is a five-time 18-foot skiff world champion.

Composed and relaxed he leads from the front – giving instructions to his crew while remaining focused during races.

And backed by GAC Pindar, the official logistics partner of ESS and part of GAC Group headquartered in Dubai, the team looks set for a bright future after their strong leg in the second act of the series in Oman.

The team, which is made up of all Australians in Ed Smyth, Troy Tindill, Sam Newton, Alexandra South and David Gilmour, achieved two pdiums, two fourth places and two fifth place finished in the second leg of the seires. An improvement from leg one in Singapore.

And Jarvin is delighted to be competing against Olympic and world champions in the series.

“Not only is it exciting, but it’s also quite an honour given the calibre of the guys you’re racing against,” said Jarvin. “Most of them are world or Olympic champions with gold medallists left, right and centre. Someone like Ben Ainslie is a fantastic guy to learn from.”

Jarvin, who began sailing at the age of five, believes that the ESS will offer a steep challenge for him and his crew. 

“We are still learning. The racing here is not what we’re used to. The start of every race is really crucial to winning,” he said. 

“The racing is always in short sprints, and therefore always extremely challenging mentally and physically. So I find it important to try and switch off as much as possible before competition to make sure my head is in the right place when we get out there and start racing.”

The one victory that his team is aiming for is winning at home in Australia in December.