Muscat: The Wave, Muscat — Oman Sail’s Extreme Sailing Series team — held their nerves all the way to pull off a remarkable victory in Act V in Cardiff on Sunday. At the start of the final race of the day, they were at the top of the rankings, leading closest rivals Alinghi and J.P Morgan BAR till the Oman team prevailed from a three-team tangle.
“It has been a roller-coaster ride here in Cardiff — pretty emotional,” admitted a team member. “We battled all through the day and we tried to race well as a team and after a couple of bad races at the start, we regrouped and we did it. It came down to the wire as always in the last race. We don’t do things the easy way so it was pretty touch and go.”
“There were three of us fighting for the wind all right next to each other and none of us were laying the windward mark but it ended up playing into our hands. It was light and we were trying to push Alinghi the wrong side of the mark so we all got into a tangle which worked in our favour.
The victory, their second in the series after a win in Muscat earlier this year, reduces Alinghi’s overall lead in the series to just two points with three Acts in 2014 remaining including the next Act in Istanbul.
“We’ve been solid all year and are winning events but in Istanbul, we can take it back to Alinghi and it will continue to be a big showdown as the year progresses.”
The Wave, Muscat crew of Nasser Al Mashari, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh and Kinley Fowler attracted a large and loyal following among the local crowds in Cardiff and they were thrilled at the support.
“To win an Extreme 40 event especially in Cardiff is a big deal so we are very happy,” said Al Mashari. “It was good to hear the spectators cheering for us as we came through the finish line. It made it more powerful and exciting.”
