Day three of Act 6 turned into a frenzied affair for the Extreme 40 fleet due to a lively 20 knot breeze on the Marmara Sea, which produced a spectacular show of high octane speeds and flying hulls as well as six different winners in eight races, a sure sign of how close and competitive Extreme racing has become this season.
Between them, the two Oman Sail boats landed five podium places keeping Leigh McMillan's The Wave, Muscat at the top of the leaderboard by two points over Emirates Team New Zealand and their hopes of victory in Istanbul very much alive.
A decision by the race committee that The Wave, Muscat was over the line at the start of Race 22 proved distracting and frustrating. The team went on to win the race and it was only when they crossed the line that they discovered they had earned zero points rather than ten. The decision is being appealed.
“It was a bit frustrating really. We were having an awesome day but then were called OCS after the first mark. No transmission came through throughout the whole of the reach, which they are supposed to do.
“We went on to win the race and to find out at the end that we had been over the line was difficult and it set us back a bit for a while. We had been on a roll and everything was going well. The performance onboard was fantastic and everyone was pushing hard and sailing really well.
“Hopefully we will get it resolved so we can come out tomorrow and concentrate on the racing,” McMillan said.
“You just have to forget about that race and move on. We are neck and neck with Emirates Team New Zealand so it is a big day tomorrow and should be exciting. We will be going out and giving it our all.”
The bigger breeze took its toll on all the crews with fatigue levels rising as the day wore on.
“It was very breezy, very athletic out there,” said Oman Air skipper Rob Greenhalgh who once again was very happy with his team’s performance.
“The last few races were a war of attrition but our speed was great and our boat handling was good. There were some good starts, some not so good, but overall we were happy with our day. We could always have done a bit better.
“Tomorrow is going to be close. We are in third place which is good but there are guys right on our heels so it will be close racing.”
Sitting three points behind Oman Air are Alinghi, the Swiss team who are customarily locking horns with The Wave, Muscat but according to Hashim Al Rashdi, self-belief on Oman Air is riding high.
“The conditions in Istanbul have helped us to put in a good performance so far. Over the last days, our motivation has been growing and confidence in our ability is good – we are hopeful of maintaining third position".
On Sunday, the fleet will once again race near the shore and the event is open to the public with free admission to the final day of Stadium Racing. Live video starts from 1530 local time (GMT+3)
