Extreme Sailing Series 2011 - The Wave, Muscat claim podium position

by Nicky Moore on 5 Jul 2011 The Extreme Sailing Series 2011 Act 4 was held in Boston from Thursday 30th June until Monday 4th July.

A thrilling final day of racing in Boston, USA, saw The Wave, Muscat claim their first podium position this Series, finishing the championship in third, under the guidance of new Skipper, British Olympian Leigh McMillan. After only one hour training prior to the event here, Leigh stepped onboard The Wave Muscat securing three race wins in his first day! Here he talks about the final day of racing in Boston before leaving to take part in the Tour de France à la Voile, also with Oman Sail.

'I am elated at the end of today! It has been a tough week as it was my first time back in the Extreme 40 after eight months, so I have just jumped straight in the deep end – we only had one hour training as a team before the event started here so it’s fair to say I was pretty nervous at the start of the week!

The level of competition here is incredible, the standard is very high. You have teams here that are going to be challenging for the next America’s Cup and to be competing against those guys and giving them a run for their money feels fantastic!

When we crossed the finish line and knew we had finished third, it was amazing. We didn’t come here expecting to be on the podium at all so it felt like we had won the whole Series!! We still have a long way to go and have a lot to work on before the next event, but we are up and running and off to a good start.

The next stop is Cowes. It’s my home town so I am really excited to be sailing there, in front of my friends and family. You can always expect extreme conditions from Cowes what with the tides and the sea breeze. It’s the event of the year and the one everyone is waiting for - it is seven days of full on racing so it is going to be epic!

I have so much confidence in the guys on The Wave, Muscat. They have been sailing so well this week and have had to carry me all week to be honest. I am still trying to get my head around being in these boats again and remembering all the things I have forgotten, so they have been amazing. I have confidence when we get to Cowes we can mix it up a bit more – we have a few days training so we can sort out the bits we have been struggling with here. Its going to be a big week in Cowes!

I am flying straight back out to compete on the Tour du Voile with Oman Sail – I did the first two races before flying out to Boston and now I’m heading back to finish off the rest of it. I basically have about 30 hours before I step into the longest offshore of the Tour! I am really looking forward to it and can’t wait to step back onto the boat with the team.'