Extreme Sailing Series – Oman Sail’s hometown heroes go head to head
by Oman Sail on 10 Mar 2015
Extreme Sailing Muscat - Extreme Sailing Series Act 2 Oman Sail
Extreme Sailing Series - Oman Sail’s Extreme 40 teams on The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air are anticipating a rousing reception from thousands of home supporters when Act 2 gets underway off the beach at Almouj in Muscat on Wednesday 11 March.
For Omani athletes Nasser Al Mashari and Ali Al Balushi, who last week became the first ever winner of the Volvo Ocean Race Rookie Award at EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour, the sense of national pride will be unparalleled as they pull out all the stops to scoop the Extreme Sailing Series Muscat crown in front of families, friends and sponsors.
'This is a very special event for us,' said Al Mashari who was a member of the triumphant The Wave, Muscat crew in 2014 that returns a year later as favourite to retain the Oman title.
'All my brothers and friends will be coming down to the beach at Almouj to cheer us on and we will love that especially if we win as we did last year. It will be a big challenge but that is exciting!'
The Wave, Muscat, skippered by Leigh McMillan have won the home event twice and are favourites to win for a third time, making the most of the home support and their familiarity with the light and steady Muscat breeze.
'We have won a couple of times in Muscat and really enjoy being on home turf but we saw in Singapore that both Red Bull and SAP have set the bar pretty high so we expect them to be strong again.
'It is really important for us to win here especially since we didn’t win in Singapore. Hopefully we can get off to a good start and stay on top for the rest of the event until the end.'
One of the teams McMillan expects to be in contention for a podium place in Act 2 is stable mate Oman Air, skippered for only the second time by British Olympic 49er sailor Stevie Morrison who has never raced in Muscat before.
'I’ve heard it is fantastic place to sail which is exciting though very different to Singapore. The steady breeze will suit us and we made some good decisions in the opening event so hopefully we can go fast and make sure there is everything to play for.
'The whole idea of Oman Sail is to inspire people to get out on the water and make the most of the fantastic heritage in sailing there so hopefully everyone will be excited to watch it done at such a high level and also see the Omani sailors do well. It will be awesome and we will be doing our best to make them proud.
'I am expecting Ali especially to be on a high after winning his Volvo Ocean Race Rookie Award. That was a major achievement and well deserved because he is an exceptional sailor.
'So hopefully Oman Air can win a few races and keep improving, put on a good show and leave The Wave, Muscat who won last year to deal with the burden of expectation!'
Both Oman Sail teams will be fully focussed on their performances but all the sailors have identified extra activities in the Almouj Race Village that they are keen to be part of, especially Try Sailing which proved a big hit at community beach events around Oman last summer where anyone can book a ride on a boat or participate in other watersports depending on what they fancy.
The Red Bull Wakeboarding show, featuring Nikita Martyanov a world class wakeboarding Red Bull athlete, will be thrilling the crowds and a pop up souq ‘Souq As-Sabt’ will provide a variety of food and beverage options plus an exotic spread of local handmade souvenirs.
Racing in Act 2 kicks off on Wednesday 11 March and finishes on Saturday 14 March and the public Race Village, set on the Almouj’s beautiful white beach and lush golf course will provide the perfect viewing platform.
Extreme Sailing Series Act 2 Muscat is hosted by Oman Sail in partnership with venue sponsor, The Wave, Muscat. There will be live coverage of the event at website
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