Oman Air’s search for consistency paid off in Qingdao today with a clean sweep of podium finishes edging them closer to the top of the leaderboard of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 2 with one day remaining.
Frisky winds in Fushan Bay once again made life difficult for the crews but it was Oman Air and their long time adversaries onboard Alinghi from Switzerland who dominated the action for most of the six races with some assured tactical calls and solid crew work from both teams.
Engaging in such a hard fought duel with his former teammates on Alinghi posed few difficulties for Oman Air skipper Morgan Larson, who spent the past three seasons helming the Swiss boat before switching back to Oman Air.
The challenge of closing the small four-point gap that separates the two teams vying for victory is one to savour for the final day, he says.
“Alinghi are a quality team with great people and I know their strengths and weaknesses and hopefully we can play a little bit on that,” said Larson, looking to add a second successive Extreme Sailing Series event win to their overall results for 2016 following their resounding win in Muscat in March.
“They are ahead of us tonight but their lead has been eroded a little bit and they can feel us breathing down their necks so tomorrow will be a day of great competition.
“This was another A+ day by the team. They were tough conditions and it would have been easy to stumble but we kept our heads and stayed in the game. Each day we have improved and tomorrow is about carrying on with those improvements.”
Teams from Oman Sail have gained a reputation over the years for pulling out all the stops on the final day to either make certain of victory or snatch a win from the jaws of defeat. Tomorrow will be no exception, added Nasser Al Mashari, Oman Air’s bowman who with teammate Pete Greenhalgh has been a stalwart member of the Omani squad since 2010.
“If we can sail tomorrow like we did today, we should be OK – this team loves a bit of pressure so it will be interesting to see what happens,” he said.
“Oman Air are a very strong team. We are still learning the boat but are improving every day.
“On the final day, we will be fighting for every point, for every bit of free space. There are six races forecast for tomorrow so if we sail well, we might still be able to win.”
Racing continues on Monday 2 May and the action will be streamed live online on the official event website at www.extremesailingseries.com from 1515-1645 (GMT+8)
