Extreme Sailing Series™ Act 2 Muscat - Day 2

by Extreme Sailing Series 12 Mar 2015 16:42 GMT 11-14 March 2015 SAP Extreme Sailing Team showcased a winning formula on day two at the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Muscat, Oman, taking four bullets out of eight races in the shifty 15 knot north-easterly breeze and lumpy two-metre swell, that put a premium on boat handling.

Co-skippered by Jes Gram-Hansen and Rasmus Køstner, the Danish team displayed a quiet confidence on the water and clearly had a plan: hitting the committee boat end of the start line with precision, avoiding any engagement with the seven other Extreme 40's and trusting the decisions of tactician, Køstner to secure the team's position as overnight leaders with 113 points ahead of the penultimate day tomorrow.

"We had a fantastic day," explained tactician Køstner. "Jes (Gram-Hansen) was starting really well, we had good acceleration off the line, we were able to put ourselves in a situation where we could choose the layline, and could sail fast around the track. Four out of eight race wins is a really great result. We are going to stick to the same game plan tomorrow and see if can keep improving. I know the other guys in the fleet will come back and make a few changes, but there are also things we can do better."

SAP Extreme Sailing Team took an average of 8.38 points per race from a possible 10, and were the average fastest around the track – find out more about their winning formula with the SAP Sailing Analytics here.

A team that struggled with consistency today was two-time Series winner The Wave, Muscat – a nerve-racking position for the home team, after beginning the day in the lead. Tactician Sarah Ayton gave her account of a tricky day on the water, "It was actually quite shifty, the pressure was up and down so you had to treat each leg differently. A great start was key, especially in the big sea state – by getting a good start you could create space to sail the angle you wanted, and that led to race wins. SAP were impressive, so we need to sort it out for tomorrow."

Rounding off the overnight podium, Oman Air stuck with their 'bigger picture' formula, chipping away in mid fleet and keeping out of trouble on the racecourse to finish the day just 10 points off leaders SAP Extreme Sailing Team.

The choppy conditions took their toll on the boats today as the swell from last nights storm caused a series of gear issues as the fleet ploughed through the troughs and peaks of the two-metre waves.

First to suffer was Gazprom Team Russia, who were forced to retire from racing after completing only half of the days races, as helm Phil Robertson explained: "Not a lot was going right for us and our speed was just gradually decreasing. We were fighting pretty hard to find out what was going on, then we realised our front beam was collapsing a little under the mast. When we finally figured it out we had to call it a day and get the boat out of the water to minimise any more damage. It is going to be a hard fix, there is a quite a lot of laminating to do on the beam, and then we have to see if we have the spare parts to get it back together." The team from Russia will have a night in the pitlane as the fight to get back on the water tomorrow.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for Red Bull Extreme Sailing Team either, who were battling issues with their mainsail halyard for most of the day. Coming into the final race, the problem almost put paid to the teams day on the water, but a quick fix by bowman Shaun Mason at the top of mast got the job done in a race against the clock, and after a sprint to get to the startline, the team posted a third place putting them in fourth overall.

Finishing off the overnight leader board GAC Pindar, Lino Sonego Team Italia and Team Turx powered by Kaya Ropes all achieved podium positions throughout the day but like The Wave, Muscat struggled with consistency in the tricky conditions.

Tomorrow the forecast is for the wind and swell to subside as Oman once again throws a new set of conditions and challenges at the world class sailors of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 2 Muscat.

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Standings after Day 2:

1st SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Mads Emil Stephensen, Brad Farrand 113 points.
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth, Nasser Al Mashari 106 points.
3rd Oman Air (OMA) Stevie Morrison, Nic Asher, Ted Hackney, Ed Powys, Ali Al Balashi 103 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Jason Waterhouse, Shaun Mason, Stewart Dodson 96 points.
5th GAC Pindar (GBR) Seve Jarvin, Ian Williams, Marcus Ashley-Jones, Tyson Lamond, James Wierzbowski 84 points.
6th Lino Sonego Team Italia (ITA) Lorenzo Bressani, Enrico Zennaro, Gabriele Olivo, Tom Buggy, Stefano Ciampalini 82 points.
7th Team Turx powered by Kaya Ropes (TUR) Mitch Booth, Edhem Dirvana, Selim Kakýþ, Diogo Cayolla, Matteo Auguadro 79 points.
8th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Alexander Bozhko, Aleksey Kulakov 53 points.

Sarah Ayton inspires Omani women sailors

The Wave, Muscat's trademark consistency proved difficult to nail on the second day of racing at the Extreme Sailing Series in Muscat but Oman Air claimed four podium places to affirm their growing status in the Extreme 40 fleet. Ashore pre-racing, double Olympic Gold medallist Sarah Ayton took time out to chat to seven girls from the Oman Sail Women's Sailing Programme, inspiring them to keep pushing boundaries and giving them an up close look at The Wave, Muscat Extreme 40.

It was frustrating to close the day in second place, skipper McMillan said but a different approach to their starts would make a difference to their results on day three.

"We were going well until the last two races then had a couple of shockers when we made really bad starts that cost us heavily," he said.

"Before that we were leading overall, making good decisions mixed in with a couple of bad ones but generally racing really well. We are frustrated with the last two races - they have cost us a lot of points.

"Tomorrow I have to get some better starts to give us the best chance. Be more aggressive in the start area to get the starts we want."

Oman Air skipper Stevie Morrison, lying in third place, was relishing the conditions in Muscat since the shifting breeze meant more manoeuvres and for a crew competing in their first Extreme season, that was good for their development, he said.

"We are seeing some really nice wind here in Muscat and perfect sailing conditions," he said.

"Occasionally it was shifty which meant more tacks and gybes but that is good because it gives us a chance to get better at our tacking and gybing so we can race our opposition a bit more."

As Britain's leading 49er sailor with two Olympic campaigns under his belt, Morrison was always going to be quick out of the blocks and his talented young crew of Nic Asher, Ed Powys, Ted Hackney and Ali Al Balushi have forged some strong bonds which they hope will fast track their progress in 2015.

"We had a good day and are happy with our performances but we have to make sure we are more consistent so the things we are learning, we are able to repeat and repeat," said Morrison.

"If we can do that, we should be able to improve and become stronger."

Oman Air's bowman Ali Al Balushi is making his debut on the Extreme Sailing Series in 2015 and will get the chance on Friday, the first day of the weekend in Oman, to perform in front of his friends and family who are all coming down to the village to cheer on the Omani sailors.

"The plan on Oman Air for tomorrow is to be all over it because we are performing in front of the Omani public and it will be very exciting.

"We had a very good day today and are looking forward to getting a good result tomorrow."