Musandam-Oman Sail held their course for an overall podium place in the MOD70 European Tour 2012 after a successful second day in the Marseille City Races lifted them to third place.

Learning from their mistakes on the start line on Friday, Sidney Gavignet’s mixed crew of European and Omani sailors were quick to change their tactics and after a delayed start to proceedings due to thunderstorms and torrential rain, succeeded in posting two second places in the two races completed.

“We are very happy with these results because it meant we finished with a good day having had a bad one,” said Gavignet, who will tonight be selecting his offshore team ahead of the short final leg from Marseille to Genoa starting on Sunday.

“It shows how far we have come because at the start of the event, we would not have known what we were doing wrong when we made mistakes but now, we understand where we go wrong and do our best to put it right.”

His next objective, he said, was to earn some bonus points on offer for the top three boats that pass through a scoring gate within the first 20 miles of the offshore leg.

“We are the only boat that hasn’t scored any points from these gates so clearly we misjudged the importance of them. That has been a mistake,” he said.

The 672-mile final leg will take the fleet from Marseille to Genoa via Menorca and Corsica with a light breeze expected at the start and stronger more erratic winds on Monday.

“The weather looks a bit messy but we like all conditions so whatever we get is fine. If the fleet splits we may well have to cover one of the other boats but mostly we will be concentrating on our performance and hopefully that will work for us.”

There is unlikely to be much opportunity to sleep, said Oman’s Fahad al Hasni who will be on helming duties for much of the 48 hour sprint to Italy.

“I think there will be no chance to sleep because this is our last chance to make sure of a podium place so we will be working hard all the way,” he said.

Al Hasni has forged a strong reputation during the MOD70 European Tour 2012 as a promising helmsman, having first been given responsibility for driving during the KRYS Ocean Race in July.

As part of the first intake at Oman Sail – the innovative programme that was conceived to contribute to the development of Omanis through the sport of sailing while rekindling the maritime heritage and raising the profile of the country as a tourist destination – Al Hasni has seized every chance to improve his skills as a key member of the Oman flagship.

“We have learned so much during this race – and now the other boats are having to keep their eye on us,” he said.

“Every time we try and do something new, we discover something new. It is all written down, mostly by Sidney and Brian Thompson and then discussed in the daily debrief sessions. As a result, we have made really good progress.

“But our focus now is on the podium place. We really want that for Musandam-Oman Sail and for Oman,” he said.

The start of the final leg from Marseille to Cascais is scheduled for 1500 on Sunday afternoon.