Extreme Sailing Series - Act 6 offers opportunity to fly for Oman Air
by Oman Sail on 9 Sep 2014
The Extreme Sailing Series 2014. Act two. Muscat. The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air. Lloyd Images
It is crunch time for The Wave, Muscat as their defence of the Extreme Sailing Series title, boosted by their win in Cardiff, is stepped up again for Act 6 in Istanbul, Turkey starting on Thursday.
And the crew on Oman Air, Oman Sail’s other Extreme 40 on the 2014 circuit, are looking to the racetracks on the Marmara Sea and the Bosphorus as opportunities to build on past successes with their sights set on more podium finishes.
With three Acts remaining in the 2014 series in Istanbul, Nice and Sydney, the pressure is mounting on skipper Leigh McMillan and his team on The Wave, Muscat to claw back the points on overall leaders Alinghi and dominate the rest of the season.
'This is the crunch time of the year with the last four events all packed closely together and we made a pretty good start at Cardiff so are happy with our position,' said McMillan, sitting in second place in the overall leaderboard two points behind Alinghi.
'We have not had the best year. Most would agree that Alinghi have been pretty dominant but as it stands, with a double points last event at Sydney, we might as well be on level points so it is all positive.'
In the five events so far in 2014, The Wave, Muscat have proved measured in the early rounds, which has earned them a reputation as ‘slow starters’ but both McMillan and crew member Sarah Ayton know that consistency is their strong point and key to their success.
'Sometimes we don’t come out of the blocks as fast as the others but we will keep plugging away so we are in with a shout going into the last day,' said Ayton.
'There are a number of things we can do better, quite big things that will make a difference and that gives us the confidence to continually be pushing forward and making fewer mistakes.
'The last event came down to the last race which was a reminder that every point counts. We need to approach every race, every point, as if it really matters.'
A forecast for light - but stable - winds in the early part of the four day event comes as no surprise to McMillan who is more than happy with his team’s growing expertise in the light breeze.
'We will push hard whatever the conditions but this year, we have proved ourselves in light airs. Just look at Cardiff but it’s true to say we like a bit of variety because it keeps everyone on their toes.'
For Oman Air skipper Rob Greenhalgh, Istanbul offers another opportunity to build on the progress made in Cardiff where they posted nine podium places from 33 races including an outright win in the opening race of the event.
'It was always going to be a tough year and it has taken a few events to get used to the fleet. Kyle only joined in China and Ted in Cardiff but we are finding our way much better now and were happy with our result in Act five,' said Greenhalgh who will have his two Omani sailors Hashim Al Rashdi and Musab Al Hadi and his two Australians Kyle Langford and Ted Hackney as crew again.
'Istanbul will be very tough, with all the teams constantly improving. Every place will be hard fought. Our aim will be to finish in the top six,' he added.
Racing in Act six of the Extreme Sailing Series Istanbul runs from September 11-14 with thousands of spectators set to watch the action from the free to enter public Race Village at Yenikapi Etkinlik Alani, in the heart of the city.
Entertainment includes live commentary in Turkish and English, a resident DJ, kite demos by Best Kiteboards, food stalls and a special zone dedicated to children.