Oman Sail’s Extreme 40’s Oman Air and The Wave, Muscat took to the water on the Mediterranean sea off the coast of Nice for the seventh round of the Extreme Sailing Series today. Nice provided a beautiful backdrop for the racing and plenty of sunshine, but it was a frustrating day for the fleet, with some of the lightest winds they have experienced this Series.
With patches of no wind on the race course causing the boats to come to a complete standstill at times during racing, Nice made for some extremely difficult sailing. Oman Air had a frustrating day in the light breeze, managing to finish the day in seventh place, just two points adrift of the all Italian team onNiceforyou. Ben Ainslie, triple Olympic gold medallist and the teams’skipper commented:
“I think everyone found it difficult today. There were a few guys who had a good day but in general everyone was very up and down. It was a lot to do about getting a good break. For us it is all about learning and developing and we still have a steep learning curve to climb – today was a new challenge. Hopefully we will keep getting better and if we focus on how we can improve I am sure we can do better tomorrow.”
For Ben Ainslie, who made his debut as Skipper of Oman Air in Trapani, the support and training he received from his team mates on The Wave, Muscat was invaluable in helping the team prepare for their first event.
“We managed to do a week’s training with The Wave, Muscat before the event in Trapani. They are one of the most competitive teams in the Series and a really talented group of sailors and it was great to have them with us in training"
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