The seventh event of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice drew to a close today. Despite a challenging event for the Oman Sail teams, The Wave, Muscat put in their best performance of the event on the final day, while their teammates on Oman Air finished the event on a high, claiming a spectacular victory in the final race of the event.
Once again it was a sunrise start for the fleet, with the race management making the decision to race early to make the most of the morning breeze. The wind didn’t disappoint this morning, with 10 knots of breeze making for some of the best racing the fleet has had in Nice, however it didn’t hold out for this afternoon, and the teams found themselves racing in only 4 knots of wind.
It was a frustrating case of déjà vu for Oman Air today, who had a strong start to the day, scoring a second and third in the first two races. However, a penalty in race five as they approached the finish line resulted in an eleventh place in that race.
The team showed great reliance however, and came back strong, going on to win not only the final race of the day, but the final race of the event. Ben Ainslie, the teams Skipper commented: “It’s good to finish the event with a win. The team did really well to pull themselves back from the penalty and to go on and win that final race. It was a really strong team effort. ” Oman Air finish the event in Nice is fifth place.
In just over a week’s time the teams will travel along the Mediterranean coast to Almeria in Spain, for the penultimate event of the 2011 Series, for five days of racing between the 12th-16th October.
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