For the first time in the three-year history of the Extreme Sailing Series, the race committee decided to opt for match racing instead of fleet racing. This pits the skills of one crew against another in one-on-one racing as opposed to the normal situation of having six Extreme 40s racing against each other in a fleet. With all six boats taking it in turns to face up to each other before going into the decider races there would be a total of fourteen races being held.
The Race Committee had a full on day as the matches were sent off in quick succession. First up was China Team and Red Bull Extreme Sailing with BT and Almeria ready to go straight after them. But it was the third race of the day that the spectators were looking forward to as it saw local teams Masirah and The Wave, Muscat try to get the better of each other. The starting sequence went well with The Wave, Muscat making the first gains with Paul Campbell-James, skipper of The Wave, Muscat and World Youth Match Racing Champion, using all his skill to cross the line first. But unfortunately disaster soon struck as the large blue mainsail ripped at the bottom corner and The Wave, Muscat had to concede the race and come back to shore to try and make repairs. A devastating blow for the Omani team who were hoping to use their match racing expertise to close the gap between them and first place Red Bull Extreme Sailing.
After the first stage of the round robin, Oman Sail's Masirah was the dominant boat having won every match, demonstrating clearly their smooth boat handling skills, particularly in these stronger winds. With The Wave, Muscat out of the competition and back on the dock preparing their boat for racing tomorrow, the teams drawn against them still had to race, cutting a lonely figure as they sailed safely around the racecourse to win the coveted point.
At the end of the first round robin, Masirah was at the top of the board with a clean sweep of winds, with Rumbo Almeria in second, having lost just to the red boat from Oman Sail, Masirah. Battling it out for third position was BT and Red Bull Extreme Sailing.
And so to the final. Oman Sail Masirah against double Olympic Gold Medalist Shirley Robertson's Rumbo Almeria. Shirley, an experienced match racer, dominated from the start, at one point sailing backwards to get out of the Omani team's clutches. She led over the line and kept in front all the way round, giving no room for overtaking and comfortably winning the match, and the day.
Nasser - Omani sailor on Masriah said: "Everything was OK, we are happy today thanks to Allah. We loved the wind because it was much stronger than the past days and this is what we were looking forward for. We beat everyone except Rubmo Almara but overall this is our comeback, we are happy and Inshallah we will win the next two days."
Shirley -Skipper of Runmbo Almeria said: "I'm the only girl out there but I have done quite a lot of match racing before and as have some of the other guys on the other teams. You need fair amount of aggression but also you have to be able to manoeuvre your boat into position and that takes a bit of team work It was great coming into the final, we felt pretty confident and we came out on top - it was a great moment."
Nick Moloney - Skipper on BT, said: "It was really good. Beautiful wind obviously made for awesome sailing. Muscat turned it on for the weather, what more would you want? Perfect hull flying conditions, flat water and beautiful blue skies. Everyone is really tired, but stoked. It's good to come off the water tired, you know you have done something worthwhile."
Perfect Conditions For Almeria On Day 3
Perfect conditions greeted sailors and spectators alike for the third day of the Extreme Sailing Series Asia held at The Wave, Muscat today. After a worringly calm morning, the wind rose to a perfect 16 knots as the first start of the day's racing got underway.
04/02/2010
Annual Campaign Magazine
Oman Sail is pleased to have published the second edition of the annual campaign magazine. The magazine, 64 pages of glossy colour, tells the story of Oman Sail's achievements over the last year.
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