Impressive sail day despite winds

Dubai: Oman Sail continued to impress in the UK leg of the Extreme Sailing Series with both boats impressing on the third day of the series in Cowes Tuesday.

Oman Air claimed their first race win of the event yesterday and then The Wave, Muscat, put up an equally good performance, with two race wins, much to the delight of Porsche Carrera GT Cup driver Ahmad Al Harthy, who turned out to support his fellow Omani sportsmen.

Cowes continued to test the fleet yesterday, with more extreme winds making for some thrilling racing. Gusts of up to 25 knots swept through the race course, and the sailors had to use all their skills to keep the boats upright.

Drama

The more seasoned Extreme 40 sailors had no problems controlling the boats in the strong winds, however it wasn't such plain sailing for the new edition to the Series, Aberdeen Asset Management (GBR) as it suffered a dramatic capsize during race six.

The Wave, Muscat's Khamis Al Anbouri commented on the conditions in Cowes: "It is really gusty on the race course which makes racing really unpredictable. You are sailing on the edge most of the time and when things start to go wrong, it is really difficult to control the boats. The capsize could have happened to anyone, and I hope the team will be back racing tomorrow — they put in a good performance today."

The fleet were split into four groups today, with two groups sailing per race to allow for more manoeuvrability on the race course in the strong winds.

Six boats raced at a time, giving all of the teams the opportunity to sail against each other.

The Wave, Muscat, were up first, and the team put in another impressive performance on the water, mirroring their results from yesterday, with two firsts and a second.

With Leigh McMillan, the team's Skipper from the Isle of Wight, and the team's great performance on the water, it hasn't taken them long to win over the crowds, who are cheering the team on from the shore.