Extreme Sailing Series – Oman Sail teams look to finish high
by Oman Sail on 3 May 2015
Act three, Qingdao, China - Extreme Sailing Series 2015 Mark Lloyd
http://www.lloyd-images.com
Extreme Sailing Series – Skippers Leigh McMillan and Stevie Morrison will be aiming to sprinkle some magic dust on the racetrack tomorrow after both Oman Sail teams The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air experienced challenging days in Qingdao, China, today.
Two-time Extreme champion McMillan, who won the China events in 2012 and 2013, dropped one place in the rankings to third to sit 29 points adrift of leaders SAP, who were runners up in both Singapore and Muscat earlier this year, with Red Bull one point behind them.
The Wave, Muscat’s day, which started with the Omani boat in second place on the leaderboard, proved to be a game of two halves, admitted double Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ayton and both ended in frustration.
“It was very tough,” she said. “The first half of the day, our starts were off, then the second half we were better on the starts but struggling for speed on the upwind legs so we had quite a battle to get the boat round the course in the best shape we could.”
It was the form boat SAP who once again led from the front, consistently finding the breeze and stepping on the gas. “SAP are on fire at the moment – they are so quick,” Ayton said. “I have never seen a boat overtake us that fast before in my life. We are a bit frustrated that we were not faster today and not able to convert a good start into a first or a second.
“It’s the final day of racing tomorrow and we want a good day to end the event on a high going into Act 4 in Cardiff. We have a lot of races on Sunday and anything could happen. We will just have to wait and see.”
Omani bowman Nasser Al Mashari added: 'The wind today was trickier and tougher than yesterday which put some pressure on us. We tried to gain points and be consistent like other teams. We are hoping for a better performance tomorrow.”
Morrison and his crew on Oman Air also moved from fifth to sixth place and were reconciled to pulling something special out of the bag on the last day to overcome the unpredictably rogue conditions in Fushan Bay with eyes set firmly on the double points race.
“It was disappointing for us today,” Morrison said. “The breeze was very light and tricky and we didn’t seem to be able to get on the right side of the wind shifts. Hopefully tomorrow we can see an improvement and move forward.”
But with one day of racing left, over the national holiday weekend in China, and with the Omani teams renowned for saving their best until last, the competition is poised for an exciting finale.
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