Credit : M Lloyd / Oman Sail
Oman is the only Arab country talking part in the world series, with two boats hailing from the Sultanate, and this year the level of competition is higher than ever, with an influx of world class sailors and teams. After six races and at the end of day one, The Wave, Muscat, Artemis Racing, Alinghi and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild find themselves tied at the top of the leaderboard on 49 points, with the second boat hailing from the Sultanate, Oman Air, just behind them in fifth.
Torvar Mirsky (Australia), the youngest skipper of the fleet, is the man in charge of The Wave, Muscat. “It’s good to have the first day out of the way! We had no idea going into today how we would shape up against the rest of the fleet and to know our training paid off is really rewarding. The competition is going to be tough, the results show how competitive the fleet is, if you have a bad race it can pull you back a long way and we suffered from that today – we finished 10th in the fifth race and it really affected our scores. The event is going to go down to the wire!”
Khamis Al Anbouri, the man who made history for Oman by winning the Extreme Sailing Series in 2010 as part of the team on The Wave, Muscat said “The first day was challenging for us and the racing is so close. The caliber of the sailors here is incredible. Finishing the day with a race win is amazing but we can do better tomorrow and need to ensure we are consistent. Spirits are really high in the team tonight. This is a really important event for me – to be competing on our home waters and show the Omani people first hand what we are achieving is incredible. I hope to be able to dedicate a win at the end of the week to all the people who have come to support us.”
As promised by the weather forecasters, Muscat provided some great sailing conditions for the sailors today with almost 20 knots of wind propelling the boats around the race course. Khamis commented “Muscat is a great place to sail and today it didn’t disappoint us! We had flat seas, good winds and good temperatures. It has been a great start to the event and it is great to welcome all the international teams to Muscat to see for themselves how great it is to sail here”.
Nasser Al Mashari today made his debut in the Extreme Sailing Series as part of the team onboard Oman Air. This is the first time in Oman’s history that they have had two Omani’s competing on an Extreme 40. “I was pretty nervous before the first race today but I am really pleased with the result. Sidney Gavignet, our skipper and experienced offshore sailor, has done a great job in the leading the team and our efforts have paid off today. I am really pleased with my performance and I am looking forward to the rest of the event.”
The Extreme Sailing Series Muscat, part of the Muscat Festival, remains the headline act with the boats racing in ‘stadium’ format close to shore over the public days, which will take place from the 22nd-24th February.
This week Oman Sail is not only hosting the first event of the Extreme Sailing Series, this is the first international regatta to be held out of their purpose built Head Quarters at The Wave, Muscat. During the course of the event Oman Sail will be hosting senior dignitaries, VIPs and Oman Sail Sponsors. The hospitality experience should prove to be exceptional as Amouage is supporting the VIP programme. David Crickmore CEO of Amouage commented ““Amouage, the luxury perfume House, is delighted to be associated with Oman Sail and to celebrate Oman’s rich maritime history, as Amouage celebrates Oman’s ancient heritage of perfume making and frankincense trading. Oman Sail is inspiring a new generation of young Omanis to take up sailing as a recreational and competitive sport, giving them a purpose and the excitement to achieve.”
With four days racing left in Muscat, you can expect the competition to get closer and closer. After leaving Oman the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series will head off to China. The Series consists of nine events on four continents over 11 months, ending in Singapore in December.
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Results after 6 races – Sunday 20th February – overall points
1) The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 2,1,4,5,10, 1 (49)
2) Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 6,5,3, 1, 1, 7 (49)
3) Artemis Racing (SWE) 1,6,2, 4, 7, 3 (49)
4) Alinghi (FRA) 5,4,1,6, 3, 4 (49)
5) Oman Air (OMA) 4,3,5,7, 2, 9 (42)
6) Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) 3,7,6, 3, 9, 5 (39)
7) Luna Ross (ITA) 7,11,7, 2,5, (38)
8) Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 11,2,8, 8 ,6, (31)
9) Team Nice (ITA) 8,9,10, 9,4, 8 (24)
10) Team Extreme (EUR) 9,8,9, 10, 8, 11 (17)
11)Team GAC Pindar (GBR) 10,10,11, 11,11, 10 (9)
From Oman Sail
