The sailors have been arriving in Muscat over the past ten days, from as far afield as Hong Kong and Austria, Spain and Australia to prepare for the final round. Taking part in the circuit are two home-grown teams: Oman Sail’s Masirah is currently at the top of the leaderboard having won both the opening rounds, and its stablemate, The Wave, Muscat, is lying in fourth place. They’ll be up against an illustrious fleet of sailing talent that includes 3 double Olympic Gold Medallists, a double Olympic Silver Medallist, 29 World Championship titles, 32 European Championship titles and 10 round the World navigations.
Two of the Oman Sail core crew members have succeeded with their ambition of becoming professional sailors and are racing this week for the Sultanate. Khamis Al Anbouri will be the bowman onboard The Wave, Muscat and Nasser Al Mashari is the bowman for Masirah. "I've been racing these Extreme 40s in Europe for two years now and at last I get the chance to show the people of Oman these awesome boats up close," said Khamis. "We want everyone to come down to Al Hail beach on the 3rd and 4th and join us celebrate the final Extreme Sailing Series Asia at the Extreme Beach Party and cheer us on. We really hope to raise the trophy for our country!"

For Al Mashari, the Hong Kong round in November was his first as a professional sailor: "It is such an honour to race alongside sailing heroes of mine. There are World Champions, Olympic Gold Medallists and Round the World sailors and here we are racing amongst them. It’s a dream come true. And the boats are so impressive - really fast, and they come in so close to shore. You don’t need to understand the sailing tactics to be wowed by the spectacle of these colourful boats racing within centimetres of each other. It really is dramatic and I can't wait for the series to begin on Monday."
The teams have been practicing for the past ten days, refining their skills and teamwork before the five day series begins on 1 February. The first three days of racing will be for VIP guests - some of whom will be given the chance to race in the heart of the action in the coveted fifth man position on the Extreme 40s.
On the 4th and 5th February, Muscat Municipality and Oman Sail are hosting a two day Extreme Beach Party at Al Hail beach where there will be a five aside football competition, volleyball matches, 'try-sail sessions', family entertainment and the Muscat round of the Red Bull Street Style competition. Access to the event will be for free, so all residents of Oman are encouraged to come down and support their teams compete in person.

His Excellency Eng. Sultan Hamdoon Al Harthi, Head of Muscat Municipality said "The Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the first of a number of high profile sporting events that will be taking place in Oman this year and we are looking forward to watching some of the world's best sailors compete right on our shoreline. Oman has a rich maritime heritage and this event is a perfect tool to help showcase the potential of the Sultanate as a key sailing location internationally."

Facing up against Masirah and The Wave, Muscat on the start line are four other international teams. Red Bull Extreme Sailing is skippered by double Olympic Gold Medallist Roman Hagara (AUT), joined by his Olympic crew and double Olympic Gold Medallist Hans-Peter Steinacher (AUT). "It's been great to be here – the water is beautiful!" said Steinacher. "We’ve been training here for four days now, the first few days there was a nice breeze of 12-15 knots, but today it dropped to 6-8, with more swell, but good water. We trained yesterday with the two Omani boats, short races and it was good to practice the starts and mark roundings. The water is really brilliant, nice for sailing," he concluded.

Frenchman Thierry Barot will skipper China Team, alongside Singaporean tactician Tan Wearn Haw. Barot, fresh off the flight from Hong Kong was buzzing with excitement about his trip to the Sultanate. "It's very exciting to be here and I'm looking forward to the next regatta. It will be my first stop in Oman, one of the rare countries where I have never been. I spent a few hours Googling Oman, it looks a very interesting country with all its history and culture and I'm very impressed by the Oman Sail program. We are so lucky to be doing our passion and discovering the world!"
There are another four Olympic medals onboard Rumbo Almeria. Skipper Shirley Robertson (GBR) has two gold medals under her belt and she'll be joined by double Olympic Silver medallist, Ian Walker. “It is cool to come here because we have heard so much about the Oman Sail project, the naming of the Jewel of Muscat on Monday, Majan ready to leave on the 6th and to see the boys and girls from school sailing for the first time. It’s going to be a great week.” Round the World sailor and record breaker Nick Moloney (AUS) will skipper BT alongside upcoming talent Andrew Walsh, who will helm the boat.

Gilles Chiorri, the Race Director, is responsible for organising the races and laying the courses. "We are expecting a consistent 8 - 13 knots of wind from the North next week, perfect sailing conditions here at The Wave, Muscat. The sea breeze builds during the day, so by the time we are racing in the afternoon - we should see hulls flying and some dramatic action close to the beach. The sailing area here will challenge the skippers, it's tight and we'll be bringing them in close to shore so there will be no room for mistakes. One wrong move and these Extreme 40s will be riding up the beach!" he joked.
There are still spaces left for 5-a-side football teams to join the tournament, with a top prize of 400 OMR for the winners and 200 OMR for second place. For more information on the 5-a-side competition, call Nasra Dhiyab on 99102329 or email nasra@omansail.com.

Also, Tomorrow Monday 1st of February the Jewel of Muscat will be officially named in an inauguration Ceremony under the patronage of HE Abdel Aziz bin Mohamed Al Rawas Advisor to HM with the presence HE Jo Tchok Tong Senior minister of Singapore at the Wave, Muscat before the launch of the extreme 40s Asia Series – Muscat.
The Jewel of Muscat project is a historical accomplishment that adds to the Sultanate’s maritime heritage achievements.