Credit : Lloyd Images
With the beautiful backdrop of the ancient city of Trapini situated in the western part of Sicily, the teams were greeted by very strong winds on the second day of racing, make controlling these extreme sailing machines extremely difficult, as the skipper of Masirah Loick Peyron explained. “It was a good day for us today, right up to the second to last race when we nearly capsized. I can’t remember the last time I capsized, but it was a long time ago and I don’t want to start now! We were just hit by a huge gust, but the team was excellent and we still finished the race in sixth position. We came back and won the last race though, which was a perfect finish to the day.”
It was The Wave, Muscat who excelled in the strong winds scoring three race wins out of a possible five, giving them an 11 point lead over the two chasing French teams. Omani, Khamis Al Anbouri, bowman on The Wave, Muscat shared the secrets of their success after racing. “We are a good team and we never change the way we sail together, whether that be the first race of an event or the last. We don’t stress out and we are good at keeping calm. We don’t get put off by difficult conditions and we aren’t scared of the strong winds. We prefer the strong winds because we can really test ourselves, that is definitely a strength. We sail as a team, as one person, and we are constantly talking to each other, every one listens to each other. It has been a really good day, I think the best day I have had on an Extreme 40. We will keep doing what we are doing and try to win the event here in Trapani.”
Credit : Lloyd Images
"On a day like today our skills in preparing the boats is really tested, luckily the boats performed well in the windy conditions with no breakages, but tonight we will spend a lot of time checking that everything is working 100%. We will replace anything that is damaged or we think may potentially be a problem for the boys onboard tomorrow. That’s our job, to make sure everything is perfect and to help the teams perform the best they can and get on the podium – just as a Formula 1 pit crew would!
The other part of the role is to provide support on the water when the teams are racing, just incase they get into trouble on the race course. Today for example the forecast was for big winds so we were preparing to have a lot on! Masirah had a really close call as they rounded the top mark. The boat nose dived and the stern (back) of the boat was high in the air! We really thought they weren’t going to avoid capsizing, but they managed it. That was a really close call.
I have been with Oman Sail for almost two years now and have had the opportunity to be involved in so many different projects already. First I worked on Oman Sail’s 75-foot trimaran Musandam - Ellen MacArthur’s old boat - for about five months. After that I worked on the build of Majan, the 100 foot trimaran that will carry Oman Air brand and will race in the Route du Rhum starting in France next month. It was assembled in Salalah in the South of Oman and from the project I gained invaluable technical knowledge about the build of these high performance boats, which was amazing.
Being part of Oman Sail has been a great opportunity for me. I have seen places I never would have otherwise, I have learnt new skills, and I have made new friends. But the most amazing thing is that Oman Sail has provided me with work as a boat builder – I have learnt skills which not many Omani’s have. The best part about the Oman Sail project is definitely the experiences they offer you. I feel really proud to be part of this project.
We are currently in Trapani and it is a beautiful place, there are a lot of Arabic people here from Morocco and Tunisia, and it is great to see them. They are really supportive of the Oman Sail race teams and are cheering on both Masirah and The Wave, Muscat. It is a great feeling for me and the other Omani’s in the team to have that support, it makes the team want to do well for them. I might be flying home tomorrow though because my wife is pregnant with our first child, and she is due very soon! I am so excited to be a father, the team has been really supportive and are really happy for me.”
Oman Sail’s Extreme 40s, The Wave Muscat and Masirah are racing in the Extreme Sailing Series. Trapani, Italy is the fourth event in the series having visited France, UK and Germany so far. The event finale will take place in Almeria, Spain on 9-12th October.
Results after 12 races
1st The Wave, Muscat 67 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 56 points
3rd Groupama 56 points
4th Oman Sail, Masirah 54 points
5th Ecover Sailing Team 49 points
6th Red Bull Extreme Racing 40 points
7th Trapani The Sailing City 14 points
From Oman Sail
