Day three at the Extreme Sailing Series Singapore had the crowds on the edge of their seats, as thunderstorms and on the water penalties made for some unpredictable racing. The final race of the day saw the closest finish of the event so far, and it was Oman Sail’s The Wave, Muscat who sailed away with the final win of the day – and their first win of the event.

 

Racing was delayed by over an hour with a lack of wind making it impossible to get a race started. Eventually, as the fleet was in the countdown for the first race of the day, and with just 30 seconds to go, a huge rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning crashed over the race course. After one race, the fleet headed ashore for safety reasons, as Khamis al Anbouri, The Wave, Muscat’s Bowman explained: “The third day was very exciting. The winds continued to challenge us and we witnessed a big thunderstorm before racing – it was as if the storm was actually the start gun for the race! These boats act like a conductor for the lightning and it can be very dangerous to sail in those conditions.”

 

The fleet completed five races, with the real drama taking place in the final race of the day. Oman Air were leading in the final leg as they approached the finish, and it looked like the race win was theirs for the taking. However, a late penalty given to the team for touching a mark earlier in the race resulted in a penalty turn, and it was their teammates, The Wave, Muscat and the French team Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who took full advantage of the situation, charging past Oman Air for the finish line. As Leigh McMillan, The Wave, Muscat’s British Skipper explained, there were just seconds between them and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild as they crossed the line, and The Wave, Muscat took their first win of the event.

 

“We have been working hard to make our way up the leaderboard and it was great to win the last race of the day, although it was at the expense of our teammates. On the water, everyone is competing and ultimately we all want to do the best we can. We will try to take that win through to tomorrow’s racing, stay out of trouble and continue that good form.”

 

The Wave, Muscat have climbed on the event leaderboard, and now sit in fifth , one point shy of their teammates, Oman Air who strongly remained in the fourth position.

 

At every event Oman Sail visit, they try to engage with the local community to educate people about the project and also to give the youth an opportunity to meet the sailors. Today, the Omani teams were joined by Singaporean youth sailors, Maximilian Soh and Andrew Paul Chan, who were given the opportunity to go head-to-head onboard the two Oman Sail boats. Both Maximilian and Andrew, who have represented their country, aspire for careers as professional sailors and were excited by the opportunity to learn from the Omani teams. After sailing with Oman Air, Andrew said:

 

“The Extreme 40s are very fast boats, and it is very demanding both mentally and physically for the sailors. This is a very exciting series and has a great concept. Being part of it and having the chance to sail with Chris Draper (Oman Air’s Skipper) and his team is a rare opportunity and I would like to thank Oman Sail.”

 

After racing, Oman Air Skipper Chris Draper attended a ‘Meet the Champions’ question and answer session with the Singapore Sailing Federation, which was attended by over 100 local sailors. The session provided a unique opportunity for the local sailing community to get close to some of the world’s top sailors, and during the session Chris Draper shared stories of how he earned an Olympic bronze medal, as well as talking about his involvement with Oman Sail.

 

“I have been involved with Oman Sail on different occasions since it first started – I spent the first winter of the project in Oman and have seen first-hand how it has developed. We even took the first recruits sailing in Pico dinghies! Oman Sail is doing a great job of attracting people to sailing at a grass roots level, and they are working to nurture their Olympic aspirations. In eight to ten years, I am sure there could be Olympic medals in sailing for Oman.”

 

Tensions are high and the pressure is building as we head into the penultimate day of both the event, and the Series, tomorrow. At the top of the leaderboard, Red Bull (AUT) who have led the event since day one, temporarily lost their lead today to the Italian team of Luna Rossa. However, in the final race of the day, a disappointing tenth place for Luna Rossa (ITA), saw Red Bullregain the lead. Luna Rossa are one of two teams in contention for the overall championship title, and currently have a lead over their French rivals, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.

 

Tomorrow’s racing will start earlier than planned, at 10am local time in Singapore, to try and make the most of the morning breeze. For live updates from the race course follow Oman Sail on Twitter – www.twitter.com/OmanSail