A long night is in store for The Wave, Muscat after their boat was ‘T-boned’ on the start line of today’s last race of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice.
“It was really exciting out there today – it was really windy, it is the first time in the series that we have raced in 20-25 knots,” commented crewman Hashim Al Rashdi of today’s tough conditions. “We had a good day up until the collision – it is going to be a busy night for the shore crew and probably tomorrow morning too, but we’ll be back racing tomorrow afternoon and will hopefully climb back up the ranking again with some good results.”
Coming into the start of the final race, Alinghi was attempting to duck The Wave, Muscat but didn’t succeed and as the Swiss boat accelerated their hull crashed into the stern of the Omani boat’s port hull, creating a hole from the deck to below the waterline in the delicate area between the aft beam and the rudder.
After pulling back into Nice’s Vieux Port, The Wave, Muscat was craned ashore. Meanwhile the Oman Sail shore team of Mohammed al Shukali, Hilal al Zidjali, Ghalib al Mamari and led by America’s Cup boatbuilder Joe Lees are embarking on a repair to the giant gash in the carbon/Nomex hull. This job will take all night and well into tomorrow morning.
“The damage is pretty severe,” advises skipper Leigh McMillan. “It goes well under the waterline and it is a fairly loaded area structurally. I don’t think we’ll have it ready for the morning, but fingers crossed for the afternoon. We have to leave that for the boatbuilders to see what they can do.”
To make up for this incident, The Wave, Muscat has been awarded average points for race 10, leaving them third overall behind Red Bull Sailing Team and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.
Until this moment McMillan’s team was within striking distance of the lead. “In these sorts of conditions it is tough for all the crew members,” said Hashim Al Rashdi. “I work on the bow and it gets a lot harder in strong winds. Leigh did a great job of keeping everything under control in the bear always. I prefer these conditions. It is exciting for us and for the spectators."
Oman Air got off to a slow start today, but finished well, winning the final two races, to leave them fourth overall behind The Wave, Muscat.
“It was a pretty hard day, quite windy,” said crewman Nasser Al Mashari. “But I enjoy these conditions. We are very strong in it. I hope tomorrow it will be the same.”
A former international swimmer, Al Mashari is the powerhouse of Oman Air and had his work cut out today with the wind gusting to more than 25 knots. “I am the machine of the boat! Everybody is doing a very good job. The main thing was the ends of our races were good, everybody was calm and quiet and we are thinking. We are using our brain more than our power. That is the reason why on this boat you can be more relaxed.”
While Oman Air suffered couple of scrapes today, they ended the day unscathed, but of the eight boats competing here, they came closest to capsizing. “There was a big shift coming and we were expecting it, but we didn’t really know how strong it would be and the boat tipped over to 45 degrees. Fortunately we managed to get it back and we took back boats and in fact we won the race!” said Al Mashari, who has previous experience of capsizing their boat, from the Extreme Sailing Series regatta in China last year.
In another incident Oman Air made a swift recovery when their ‘5th man’, New Zealand Olympic Laser sailor Andy Moloney, went swimming. “Andy missed the toe strap coming out of the leeward mark and went over the side,” recounted skipper Morgan Larson. “But it was good – he swam back and got back to board quickly and we only lost a couple boats.”
Damp and wind swept when he came ashore, Larson believes that today was the most dramatic his Oman Air team has experienced all season. “We didn’t always have control of the boat in the bear aways and when you are right next to someone else you don’t know if they do or don’t. All I can say is that if we get conditions like that in the future, it is going to be all on.”
Racing is set to resume at the Extreme Sailing Series Nice tomorrow at 1300 CET. Conditions are still forecast to be brisk, but a little less so than today.
