Oman Sail's Masirah leads The Wave, Muscat. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Oman Sail.
by Nicky Moore
It was all to play for going into the final day of the European Extreme Sailing Series in Sète, on the South coast of France this weekend. Both of Oman Sail Extreme 40’s were in contention to win the event going into the final day.
Winds were expected to be strong, with the forecasters predicting up to 40 knots. Oman Sail’s The Wave, Muscat began the day in second place overall, just four points behind the leaders, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, with their team-mates Masirah just four points behind them.
Five races were completed before the Mistral conditions kicked in bringing the event to an early conclusion. Yann Guichard and his team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild proved unstoppable winning the first round of the 2010 Extreme Sailing Series.
Battle commenced between the two Oman team’s on the water. It was Masirah who finally came out on top, finishing in second place overall, overtaking their team-mates on The Wave, Muscat who took third.
Loick Peyron the skipper of Masirah paid tribute to their team-mates. “Maybe our experience helped a little in taking second from The Wave, Muscat. Paul and the team on The Wave, Muscat did a tremendous job out there.”
“I am very happy with the outcome; this is exactly what we were looking for, both teams on the podium. It is a perfect finish. Second place was the right place for us. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild were really consistent throughout the event and they deserved to win. We are still a new team and it wasn’t easy but every day we got better, we will be looking to improve for the next event in the UK. ”
Winners on the podium in Sète: Yann Guichard's team (centre), flanked by Oman Sail's Masirah (left) and The Wave, Muscat crew (right). Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Oman Sail.
There was close combat between the two Omani boats throughout the weekend, even resulting in The Wave, Muscat crashing into Masirah and nearly taking their rudder off. “We are still two separate crews, we have fought hard all weekend on the water, but we are still friends. To stand next to each other on the podium today was the main goal and we have done that!” Loick Peyron.
Paul Campbell-James was the youngest skipper on the track at this event and although disappointed with the result is looking forward to the next event. “This week has been tough. We would have liked to retain second place overall, but we didn’t get much luck on the final day; it just didn’t go right for us. We got caught on the wrong side of some big wind shifts in every race! I didn’t think we had finished on the podium at the end of the day, so was pleased we managed to hold on. It is still only the first event and we will make sure we put in the training to come back stronger at the next event in Cowes.”
The racing kept crowds in Sète truly entertained; an estimated 16,500 spectators watched the first event. The next event of the European Extreme Sailing Series will be hosted in Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK starting on the 31st July. The two Oman Extreme 40 teams will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the leader board.
The European Extreme Sailing circuit is arguably the most exciting and fiercely competitive spectator sailing series on the planet. Fresh from winning the winter Asian Series during the event held in Muscat back in February, Oman Sail’s two boats, Masirah and The Wave, Muscat have moved to the European Series where they will be competing not just in France but the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain. Masirah skippered by France’s most prolific sailor, Loick Peyron, is proudly displaying the new brand image of the Sultanate in order to promote the nation internationally as a tourist and business destination through one of the world’s premier international sailing competitions.
Racing took place between Thursday 27th - Sunday 30th May.
There are 8 participating teams, in each race the winning team receive 8 points, second place receive 7 points, last place receive 1 point – except on the final race that counts for double points.
Oman Sail
Extreme Sailing Series Europe
