Extreme Sailing- Emirates Team NZ retain second overall

by Warren Douglas on 14 Sep 2014 The stage is set for a thrilling but nerve-wracking final day tomorrow of the sixth round of Extreme Sailing Series at Istanbul.

It’s tight at the top but with a possible eight races, the last one scoring double points, there’s every chance the leader board could be in for a massive shakeup.

Emirates Team New Zealand with 147 points retained second place on the leader board, moving one point closer to regatta leader The Wave, Muscat on 149. Third, 14 points further back, is Oman Air on 133.

Racing started with a morning downwind passage race on the narrow Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe from Asia. The strait, straddled by the city of Istanbul, is one of the world’s busiest shipping channels. Traffic was stopped for the duration of the Extreme 40 race.

Dean Barker: 'It was a great experience to race the Bosphorus even though we didn’t have a lot of time to take in the sights.'

Then it was back into the 'stadium' for eight more races in the afternoon The fleet couldn’t have asked for better conditions with 20 knots on the course with boats, at times, on the edge of control.

The game plan was to stay out of trouble at the starts and get across the line cleanly, then stay out of the often costly scuffles at the mark. The Emirates Team New Zealand crew picking up two wins and two thirds to be handily placed for the final day.

Dean Barker: 'We had a good day. If we had been told at the beginning of the week that we would be only two-points behind the leaders going into the last day, we would have taken that. So we’re happy with the way it’s going, but we always want to do better.'



Extreme Sailing Series Istanbul standings after Day 3, 24 races
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 149 points.
2nd Emirates Team New Zealand 147 points.
3rd Oman Air (OMA) 133 points.
4th Alinghi (SUI) 130 points.
5th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 112 points.
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT 112 points.
7th J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) 110 points.
8th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 105 points.
9th GAC Pindar (AUS) 101 points.
10th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 100 points.
11th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 89 points.
12th TeamTurx (TUR) 72 points.