In classic Extreme Sailing Series style, it came down to the very last race on the final day of Act I in Muscat to decide the winner. Defending champion Leigh McMillan and his team on board The Wave, Muscat completed a picture perfect day to turn around a 15-point deficit and take overall victory ahead of the Red Bull Sailing Team on home turf.
MUSCAT (Oman) - Just two points separated the Red Bull Sailing Team and The Wave, Muscat going into the final double-pointer, and the maths was simple – whoever performed better in that race would win the Act. While Team Duqm took victory, it was The Wave, Muscat that did enough to claim top spot in the overall standings after a tense battle. “We have had a mixed bag this week but an exceptional day today. That’s just the way the sport is,” commented an elated Leigh McMillan, skipper of the victorious boat. “You can’t always get it right, but today we did it when it absolutely mattered. I’m not sure if we will be able to go and pull off something like that at every event! I’m just delighted that we just managed to have such a good day.”
Red Bull Sailing Team were one of the form teams in Muscat throughout the week, handling the big-breeze open-water racing on day one with equal skill as the light-wind stadium racing. But it was not to be for the double Olympic gold medal-winning skipper Roman Hagara as his pre-race concerns about falling at the final hurdle came to fruition. “In that last race we were good off of the start line, matching the The Wave, Muscat, but in the end we were not fast enough and couldn’t hold them off. There was no way to catch up – the courses are so short. I just hope we can do better in Singapore,” commented the Austrian. Third place went to America’s Cup winners Alinghi, who secured their first podium finish since 2011.
Next stop for the international sailing elite is Singapore, where the fleet will race within the world-famous Marina Bay Reservoir from 11 to 14 April. Whilst conditions are expected to be very light this year, there is no doubt that Act II will see a repeat of the close racing and nail-biting finishes witnessed in Muscat.
Extreme Sailing Series 2013 Act 1, Muscat, Oman. Standings after Day 4, 28 races (8.3.13)
Position / Team / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Musab Al Hadi, Hashim Al Rashdi 232 points.
2nd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Pierre Le Clainche, Graeme Spence 226 points.
3rd Alinghi (SUI) Ernesto Bertarelli, Morgan Larson, Pierre Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 218 points.
4th Team Duqm Oman (OMA) Robert Greenhalgh, Bleddyn Mon, Will Howden, Andrew Walsh, Nasser Al Mashari 185 points.
5th Team Korea (KOR) Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Mark Bulkeley, Sungwok Kim, Matt Cornwell 173 points.
6th GAC Pindar (NZL) Will Tiller, Brad Farrand, Stewart Dodson, Harry Thurston, Shaun Mason 164 points.
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Mikkel Røssberg, Nicolai Sehested 153 points.
8th Realteam (SUI) Jerome Clerc, Bryan Mettraux, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Cédric Schmidt, Thierry Wasem 147 points.
Source; Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Sailing Team were one of the form teams in Muscat throughout the week, handling the big-breeze open-water racing on day one with equal skill as the light-wind stadium racing. But it was not to be for the double Olympic gold medal-winning skipper Roman Hagara as his pre-race concerns about falling at the final hurdle came to fruition. “In that last race we were good off of the start line, matching the The Wave, Muscat, but in the end we were not fast enough and couldn’t hold them off. There was no way to catch up – the courses are so short. I just hope we can do better in Singapore,” commented the Austrian. Third place went to America’s Cup winners Alinghi, who secured their first podium finish since 2011.
Next stop for the international sailing elite is Singapore, where the fleet will race within the world-famous Marina Bay Reservoir from 11 to 14 April. Whilst conditions are expected to be very light this year, there is no doubt that Act II will see a repeat of the close racing and nail-biting finishes witnessed in Muscat.
Extreme Sailing Series 2013 Act 1, Muscat, Oman. Standings after Day 4, 28 races (8.3.13)
Position / Team / Points
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Musab Al Hadi, Hashim Al Rashdi 232 points.
2nd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Pierre Le Clainche, Graeme Spence 226 points.
3rd Alinghi (SUI) Ernesto Bertarelli, Morgan Larson, Pierre Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey 218 points.
4th Team Duqm Oman (OMA) Robert Greenhalgh, Bleddyn Mon, Will Howden, Andrew Walsh, Nasser Al Mashari 185 points.
5th Team Korea (KOR) Peter Burling, Blair Tuke, Mark Bulkeley, Sungwok Kim, Matt Cornwell 173 points.
6th GAC Pindar (NZL) Will Tiller, Brad Farrand, Stewart Dodson, Harry Thurston, Shaun Mason 164 points.
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Mikkel Røssberg, Nicolai Sehested 153 points.
8th Realteam (SUI) Jerome Clerc, Bryan Mettraux, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Cédric Schmidt, Thierry Wasem 147 points.
Source; Red Bull Content Pool
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