In the closest finish we have seen so far this year, Oman’s The Wave, Muscat has won Act 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Istanbul, after four days of tough racing and 29 races. Oman Air narrowly missed out on the podium.
Six races were sailed in the final day with the forecasters predicating big breeze this morning with gusts of up to 17 knots – and the weather didn’t disappoint. In the strongest breeze the fleet have sailed in all week, it was hull flying, water spraying action as the Extreme 40s charged around the race course in 15 knots of wind, completing each race in less than 14 minutes.
The Wave, Muscat, relished the windier conditions, keen to reclaim their place at the top of the leaderboard they were straight out of the blocks. By the end of the day’s first race, the Omani team had powered past yesterday’s leaders Austrian team, Red Bull Sailing Team, to move up into pole position.
The next three races saw The Wave, Muscat and Red Bull Sailing Team switch places at the top of the leaderboard before the Omani team took control in the fourth race of the day. An elated McMillan, whose smile said it all tonight, commented: “It’s been a really tough week. I am just over the moon with our result here. It’s been a heroic effort from all the guys on the boat – a fantastic performance, we are getting better all the time and learning how each other sail. We are already looking forward to the next Act in Porto, it is getting very close, so [the competition] is just going to be getting tighter and tighter, and more stressful. We are sure we will be battling it out until the end of the Series.”
Pushing it right to the end Oman Air who posted a succession of top three places, the Act 1 winner’s, were in contention for a podium place going into the day, they won the opening race of the day but just fell short of the podium, finishing the Act fourth.
Nasser Al Mashari, Oman Air’s bowman, reflected on the week in Istanbul for both Omani teams. “Istanbul has been really good for both Omani teams. It was great to see The Wave, Muscat win. For us racing was tough today with strong winds we worked hard but unfortunately just missed the podium, but we have learnt from this and hopefully next time we will get the result, we are looking forward to the next leg in Portugal.”
The Wave. Muscat win further consolidates The Wave, Muscat’s lead in the 2012 Series, with Oman Air still well in contention in fourth, just one-point off the podium.
Attention for the two teams now focuses on Act 4 in Portugal, The Wave, Muscat’s bowman Hashim Al Rashdai can’t wait. “It is great to be going into the next Act in first place overall. We have a five point lead over the other teams and we are confident we can continue to do well. We are really looking forward to Portugal.”
Istanbul has delivered the eight Extreme 40s with blue skies, warm weather and most importantly - great breeze. From racing on the stunning waters of the Bosphorus to the stadium racing against the backdrop of Istanbul’s old town and the famous Blue Mosque, Istanbul, it has been truly memorable for all. The next stop is Porto, Portugal, Act 4 5th-8th July.
Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 3, Istanbul, Turkey standings after Day 4, 29 races (10.6.12)
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 174 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 169 points
3rd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 159 points
4th Oman Air (OMA) 146 points
5th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 131 points
6th GAC Pindar (GBR) 113 points
7th Alinghi (SUI), 99 points
8th ZouLou (FRA) 86 points
Extreme Sailing Series 2012 – Overall Series Standings after 3 Acts
1st The Wave, Muscat 29 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 25 points
3rd Red Bull Sailing Team 24 points
4th Oman Air 23 points
5th GAC Pindar 18 points
6th ZouLou 13 points
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team 13 points
8th Alinghi 11 points
Credit : V.Curutchet/Dark Frame
Six races were sailed in the final day with the forecasters predicating big breeze this morning with gusts of up to 17 knots – and the weather didn’t disappoint. In the strongest breeze the fleet have sailed in all week, it was hull flying, water spraying action as the Extreme 40s charged around the race course in 15 knots of wind, completing each race in less than 14 minutes.
The Wave, Muscat, relished the windier conditions, keen to reclaim their place at the top of the leaderboard they were straight out of the blocks. By the end of the day’s first race, the Omani team had powered past yesterday’s leaders Austrian team, Red Bull Sailing Team, to move up into pole position.
The next three races saw The Wave, Muscat and Red Bull Sailing Team switch places at the top of the leaderboard before the Omani team took control in the fourth race of the day. An elated McMillan, whose smile said it all tonight, commented: “It’s been a really tough week. I am just over the moon with our result here. It’s been a heroic effort from all the guys on the boat – a fantastic performance, we are getting better all the time and learning how each other sail. We are already looking forward to the next Act in Porto, it is getting very close, so [the competition] is just going to be getting tighter and tighter, and more stressful. We are sure we will be battling it out until the end of the Series.”
Pushing it right to the end Oman Air who posted a succession of top three places, the Act 1 winner’s, were in contention for a podium place going into the day, they won the opening race of the day but just fell short of the podium, finishing the Act fourth.
Nasser Al Mashari, Oman Air’s bowman, reflected on the week in Istanbul for both Omani teams. “Istanbul has been really good for both Omani teams. It was great to see The Wave, Muscat win. For us racing was tough today with strong winds we worked hard but unfortunately just missed the podium, but we have learnt from this and hopefully next time we will get the result, we are looking forward to the next leg in Portugal.”
The Wave. Muscat win further consolidates The Wave, Muscat’s lead in the 2012 Series, with Oman Air still well in contention in fourth, just one-point off the podium.
Attention for the two teams now focuses on Act 4 in Portugal, The Wave, Muscat’s bowman Hashim Al Rashdai can’t wait. “It is great to be going into the next Act in first place overall. We have a five point lead over the other teams and we are confident we can continue to do well. We are really looking forward to Portugal.”
Istanbul has delivered the eight Extreme 40s with blue skies, warm weather and most importantly - great breeze. From racing on the stunning waters of the Bosphorus to the stadium racing against the backdrop of Istanbul’s old town and the famous Blue Mosque, Istanbul, it has been truly memorable for all. The next stop is Porto, Portugal, Act 4 5th-8th July.
Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 3, Istanbul, Turkey standings after Day 4, 29 races (10.6.12)
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 174 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) 169 points
3rd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 159 points
4th Oman Air (OMA) 146 points
5th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 131 points
6th GAC Pindar (GBR) 113 points
7th Alinghi (SUI), 99 points
8th ZouLou (FRA) 86 points
Extreme Sailing Series 2012 – Overall Series Standings after 3 Acts
1st The Wave, Muscat 29 points
2nd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 25 points
3rd Red Bull Sailing Team 24 points
4th Oman Air 23 points
5th GAC Pindar 18 points
6th ZouLou 13 points
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team 13 points
8th Alinghi 11 points
From : Oman Sail
