2012 Extreme Sailing Series

[mpowlison]

2012 EXTREME SAILING SERIES™ CONTINUES ITS AWARD-WINNING GLOBAL TOUR, WITH 8 ACTS ON 3 CONTINENTS

After an extraordinary and nail-biting finish to what was another ground-breaking, and high quality racing year for the Extreme Sailing Series™, the award-winning Stadium Sailing event confirms its 2012 circuit.



The same award-winning format, but two new countries and three new venues will accompany five proven Host Cities from the highly-charged 2011 circuit. The ‘ISAF Special Event’ circuit continues its 9-month globe-trotting tour as it enters its sixth year of competition, with 8 events spanning 3 continents – once again in the GCC region, Europe, Asia and new for 2012, South America. The circuit will start in Muscat, Oman and this time conclude in Brazil, home of the 2016 Olympics. The host venues represent a mix of iconic cities, established sailing venues, and new markets where professional sailing remains in its infancy. “The circuit continues to represent perfectly the developments in the world at large, with its balance of east and west, different cultures and languages, and variety of conditions,” said Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of the organising company OC ThirdPole. “Year on year the commercial value of hosting the event for the Host Cities has increased, and this is reflected in the 2012 developments.”

The costs for a competitive team will, once again, be squeezed down in 2012 yet the return is expected to increase for their sponsors. A core objective of the circuit remains to be the most commercially sound way for brands and host venues to benefit from the great offer that professional sailing can present. This philosophy has been at the heart of the product since its inception in 2006, with the majority of teams since 2007 being sponsorship funded.

In addition to the host venue partnerships, and local sponsors for each event, Marinepool continue as Official Lifestyle and Technical Clothing Supplier having now launched an outstanding Extreme Sailing Series merchandising collection which is sold at events, online and in Marinepool’s extensive network of retailers, and GAC Pindar, recently confirmed as Official Logistics Partner to the 2012 circuit. GAC Pindar will bring their expertise and global footprint to help the organisers and teams deliver what is an exacting schedule and logistics operation spanning the planet. Further partners at both series and local level will be announced in the New Year along with a complete team line up which will be at the very highest level in sporting terms, and draw sailors from more than a dozen countries. Some wildcard entry slots remain for new teams building towards a full 2013 season.

2012 circuit spanning Europe, Arabia, Asia and South America

The 2012 Extreme Sailing Series™ will start in the Sultanate of Oman in February before heading back to Qingdao, China for Act 2. Istanbul, Turkey, the gateway between Europe and Asia, will host Act 3 before the Extreme 40 fleet heads to Porto, Portugal, a new host venue in 2012. After the habitual visit to the UK in August, the circuit will return to the Sicilian port of Trapani for the third consecutive year. The iconic city of Nice will be the final stop in Europe before the 2012 finale to be staged in Brazil for the very first time (there will be an official media event in January where the precise location will be unveiled).

OC ThirdPole has worked hard to manage dates around other major events in the complex professional sailing calendar, and have been in regular contact with the America’s Cup organisers to try and co-ordinate these complementary events. Not an easy task for either party, and with some ACWS events still to be confirmed, Extreme Sailing Series has had to publish its final calendar without being able to ensure zero clashes.

Event Format: the highest level of sporting integrity in the short, sharp and simple Stadium Sailing format

As in 2011, at every Act, three of the racing days are staged in the Stadium open to the public and VIP guests. This game-changing professional sailing circuit attracted over 287,000 spectators in 2011 with its unique blend of ‘stadium’ short-course racing, including all the various disciplines and courses used already from fleet racing to match racing and straight line duels, whilst maintaining its high-level of competition which was borne out by producing 6 different winners from the nine events. 2011 saw a big step in the evolvement of the public entertainment, with an extended mix of entertainment on the public days that included supporting on water acts like the Olympic 49er class racing, Moth demo sailing, the NeilPryde Windsurfing Series and kids racing Optimists. On shore family-orientated entertainment from kids activities, dance and music took place within the Extreme Race Village. Alongside this event formula, stood the premium VIP facilities that is a vital part of the Extreme Sailing Series offering, that includes the unique guest sailing experience onboard the Extreme 40s.

Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of OC ThirdPole, commented: “We’re proud to be going in to our sixth year and proud to have delivered such a high level sporting competition– yet at the same time in a format that also entertains. It can be challenging to manage the needs of all our different stakeholders that include host venues and event sponsors, teams and their partners, some of the best professional sailors in the world, sailing fans and the general public that are seeing the sport for the first time. But it’s a challenge that a relatively small but dedicated team has risen to, and we look forward to delivering a great year in 2012, once again across numerous languages, cultures and landscapes. At the start of the 2011 season we took control of the Extreme 40 Class to allow us to develop the rules of both event and boat in unison to ensure a more equal chance to win, and also drive down many of the costs for the teams. I think we still have plenty to improve and develop, on site and in communications terms, even if we have seen a very significant increase in media value this year across all our channels and platforms, in particular quality TV coverage. We have to squeeze out a lot from a relatively small budget compared with all the three other ISAF Special Events (America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race and the World Match Racing Tour). We have made great progress in 2011 but there is more to do especially on the video front – we have a fantastic visual product with extraordinary characters involved.”

2012 Calendar & Host Venues:

Act 1 : Muscat, Oman 28th February-2nd March

Act 2 : Qingdao, China 19th-22nd April

Act 3 : Istanbul, Turkey 7th-10th June

Act 4 : Porto, Portugal 5th-8th July
Act 5: UK August

Act 6 : Trapani, Italy 13th-16th September

Act 7 : Nice, France 18th-21st October

Act 8 : Brazil 29th November-2nd December

In each case the event is open to the public and VIP guests on days 2-4 only.

2011 Key Stats:

9 Acts
3 continents
301 races
11 teams / 2 wildcards
6 different Act winners
287,000 spectators
5 capsizes
5 crashes
15 nationalities
42 TV broadcasters
1 million YouTube views

[mpowlison]

Jan 22 2012

Another top lineup in Muscat to kick off the 6th Extreme Sailing Series



With the sixth edition of the Extreme Sailing Series™ kicking off in just five weeks in Muscat, Oman, a top quality team lineup has been announced from the Dusseldorf Boat Show where Marinepool, official clothing partner to the Series, unveiled their very cool new range of merchandise.

An impressive set of sailors from all over the globe with an extraordinary set of CVs including skippers Ian Williams (GBR), Roman Hagara (AUT), Pierre Pennec (FRA), Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) and Morgan Larson (USA) and a host of strong commercial brands, will set out on their quest to win the Extreme Sailing Series. Eight pro teams, meeting the objective of organisers OC ThirdPole for 2012, will be on the starting grid in Muscat on 28 February. An impressive high level fleet that will face additional strong competition event by event from several wildcard entries during the year, including Artemis Racing, and local ‘home’ teams, meaning the grid will be full with 8 to 10 boats at all the Acts.

Whilst the economic situation inevitably makes it harder to raise sponsorship funds for new and existing teams, the interest in the award-winning stadium sailing global circuit has never been stronger with many potential teams for 2013 already working actively to kick off their campaigns during the 2012 season – a mark of the maturity of the event as a high quality commercial sports property.

Seven of the teams on the start line in Muscat are returning teams - Alinghi, Oman Air, The Wave Muscat, Red Bull Sailing Team, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, ZouLou and GAC Pindar have competed in one or more seasons already. “It is a very positive indication of the sporting integrity and commercial value of the circuit to see so many of the highly competitive and high-profile teams sign-up again for 2012,” said Mark Turner, Executive Chairman of OC ThirdPole, the organising company and creators of the Extreme Sailing Series. “Going into our sixth year, the level of competition will step up yet another gear, and we can expect the racing to once again be incredibly tight with Act winners only known in the closing minutes at each venue. As organisers, our mission will be to also continue to increase the commercial return for all the stakeholders, and whilst ensuring the very best racing, develop further the fan entertainment package and media value which already stepped up markedly in 2011.”

A new name for 2012 is ZouLou, headed up by Frenchman Erik Maris. It is not Maris’ first Extreme 40 experience though as he competed in the same boat as ‘Luna’ in the 2009 series, and this time will be ably supported by an experienced multihull crew with the added caché of French sailing superstar Loick Peyron, recently returned from setting a new Jules Verne round the world record, as helmsman for at least the first two events in Muscat and Qingdao.

The all French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, runners-up in both 2011 and 2010, will return for a fourth season of competition, and will again be led by skipper and helmsman Pierre Pennec: “We finished last season 2nd overall and we missed victory by a whisker,” said Pennec who is a seasoned campaigner and a skilled multihull sailor. “We are coming back to the circuit more motivated than ever and with the objective of winning the championship. This is not going to be easy considering the line-up announced for 2012 and to be able to do it we must keep improving. This season will also mark the arrival of a new talented crew member on board Groupe Edmond de Rothschild."

Two teams will be representing Oman – The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air – at the helm of The Wave, Muscat is Olympic Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan whilst newcomer American Morgan Larson, with three America’s Cup campaigns under his belt, will take the helm of Oman Air. “This year I have had the chance to put my own team together which is a great opportunity,” said McMillan who took over the helm of The Wave, Muscat from Torvar Mirsky after Act 3 last year, to finish in 4th place overall with Omani sailor Khamis Al Anbouri on bow. “It is exciting to be sailing with a new team, and I think we definitely have the potential to get some good results. Our aim is to try and win the Series this year. We are looking forward to some great racing this year, and in some really exciting new venues – it’s going to be a fantastic year.”

The Swiss team of Alinghi return again for a third season (winners in 2008) after finishing in 5th place overall last year, but this time there will be a new man at the helm. Ernesto Bertarelli will be both skipper and helmsman in his first full season of Extreme 40 competition.

The Austrian duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, the successful Olympic Tornado partnership that brought home two Olympic gold medals to Austria, will once again be leading Red Bull Sailing Team: "We are looking forward to the new season,” said skipper Roman Hagara. “It was a short break and we have just been training in the gym. Our shore crew will work hard on the set up of our Extreme 40 in the next weeks to get ready for the first Act in Oman.” The team finished 6th overall in 2011 and will be happy to repeat their opening performance of 2011 that saw them take the 3rd spot on the Muscat podium.

British skipper, Ian Williams, and three-times ISAF World Match Racing Champion (2007, 2008 and 2011) will lead his team for a second season on GAC Pindar. Williams came to the Extreme 40 circuit fresh last year, swapping one hull for two, and was on a fast and sharp learning curve from capsizing in Act 2 in China to leading Act 8 in Almeria up until the penultimate day. The British team will be out to prove they can cut it with the ‘big boys’ this season.

In addition to the strong line-up above, an eighth entry will be announced separately by the team sponsor early February, and a number of wildcard entries will also be accepted in 2012 as per the Notice of Race, which allowed for up to 8 teams for the season plus a maximum of 4 wildcards at each Act. At all the Acts, there will also be local ‘home team’ entries, meaning that each Act will have a minimum of 8 to 10 top teams competing to win.

Five weeks and counting – the 2012 Extreme 40 battle will commence…

Extreme Sailing Series 2012
Team / nationality / skipper /nationality

Alinghi SUI / Ernesto Bertarelli SUI
GAC Pindar GBR / Ian Williams GBR
Groupe Edmond de Rothschild FRA / Pierre Pennec FRA
Oman Air OMA / Morgan Larson USA
Red Bull Sailing Team AUT / Roman Hagara AUT
The Wave, Muscat OMA / Leigh McMillan GBR
ZouLou FRA / Erik Maris FRA
8th team TBA early Feb

Full crew lists for each team will be announced in the coming weeks in the build up to Act 1.

[mpowlison]

Feb 16 2012

All-star 9-nation lineup for Extreme Sailing Series 2012

With less than two weeks to go until the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Muscat, Oman, the Act 1 team line-ups have been confirmed, revealing a stellar cast of top professional sailors including 21 Olympians, 36 AC campaigns, 7 circumnavigations and 47 World Championship wins. Following the final event of 2011 in Singapore last December, the team managers and skippers have spent the last two months securing the best crews possible to help take them to overall victory in 2012.

Once again, the team rosters include world-renowned sailors from a multitude of backgrounds representing 9 different nationalities. French sailing superstar Loick Peyron, Britain’s three-times ISAF World Match Racing Champion Ian Williams, Austria’s double-Olympic Gold medalist Roman Hagara return to the circuit, whilst American Olympic Silver medalist Charlie Ogletree and five-times America’s Cup sailor, Bernard Labro from France are two new faces gracing the roll-call. The teams boast an array of Olympic, America’s Cup, match racing and round the world credentials, as well as a sprinkling of ocean racing record setters. The two key cornerstones for success in this highly competitive circuit are experience and consistency and to this end 2011 runners-up Groupe Edmond de Rothschild from France and the Swiss team of Alinghi are keeping their crew changes to a minimum, whilst the two Oman Sail teams are sporting a near new line-up with only Leigh McMillan and Nasser Al Mashari retaining their places. And there are plenty of new team combinations for this season to spice up the competition!

Key Stats:
21 Olympians
4 Gold Medalists + 1 Silver
50 Trans-Atlantics
36 America’s Cup campaigns
47 World Championships
28 European Championships
11 records
7 round the world circumnavigations

A new team for the year is ZouLou who will have the current superstar of sailing, Loick Peyron at the helm for Acts 1–3 prior to team owner Erik Maris taking over. One of France’s most well-known sporting exports and a legendary multihull expert who recently shaved almost 3 days off the non-stop round the world Jules Verne record, Peyron will return to the Extreme Sailing Series. In 2010 he was the skipper and helm of 4th place Oman Sail Masirah.

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All-star 9-nation lineup for Extreme Sailing Series 2012

16th February 2012

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With less than two weeks to go until the Extreme Sailing Series™ in Muscat, Oman, the Act 1 team line-ups have been confirmed, revealing a stellar cast of top professional sailors including 21 Olympians, 36 AC campaigns, 7 circumnavigations and 47 World Championship wins. Following the final event of 2011 in Singapore last December, the team managers and skippers have spent the last two months securing the best crews possible to help take them to overall victory in 2012.


The 2012 cast of the Extreme Sailing Series

Once again, the team rosters include world-renowned sailors from a multitude of backgrounds representing 9 different nationalities. French sailing superstar Loick Peyron, Britain’s three-times ISAF World Match Racing Champion Ian Williams, Austria’s double-Olympic Gold medalist Roman Hagara return to the circuit, whilst American Olympic Silver medalist Charlie Ogletree and five-times America’s Cup sailor, Bernard Labro from France are two new faces gracing the roll-call. The teams boast an array of Olympic, America’s Cup, match racing and round the world credentials, as well as a sprinkling of ocean racing record setters. The two key cornerstones for success in this highly competitive circuit are experience and consistency and to this end 2011 runners-up Groupe Edmond de Rothschild from France and the Swiss team of Alinghi are keeping their crew changes to a minimum, whilst the two Oman Sail teams are sporting a near new line-up with only Leigh McMillan and Nasser Al Mashari retaining their places. And there are plenty of new team combinations for this season to spice up the competition!

Key Stats:
21 Olympians
4 Gold Medalists + 1 Silver
50 Trans-Atlantics
36 America’s Cup campaigns
47 World Championships
28 European Championships
11 records
7 round the world circumnavigations

A new team for the year is ZouLou who will have the current superstar of sailing, Loick Peyron at the helm for Acts 1–3 prior to team owner Erik Maris taking over. One of France’s most well-known sporting exports and a legendary multihull expert who recently shaved almost 3 days off the non-stop round the world Jules Verne record, Peyron will return to the Extreme Sailing Series. In 2010 he was the skipper and helm of 4th place Oman Sail Masirah.


The Extreme 40 fleet racing in Muscat (2011) © Lloyd Images

Peyron contrasts his recent experiences: “I can’t wait to go back to the Extreme Sailing Series with ZouLou crew, and especially to Muscat where I already spent a few weeks with the local team in 2009 and 2010. After two round the world tours in one year [Barcelona World Race and Jules Verne] I am really looking forward to going back to this intense racing amongst these top level crews.“

Groupe Edmond de Rothschild has retained their core team of Pierre Pennec on helm and Hervé Cunningham introducing two new faces on bow in the form of Bernard Labro and Jean-Christophe Mourniac who raced for another team in Singapore last December. The Swiss team Alinghi will be helmed by Ernesto Bertarelli supported by the regular Extreme 40 Alinghi crew including Tanguy Cariou, Nils Frei and Yves Detrey. Meanwhile, the renowned Austrian duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher on the Red Bull Sailing Team have confirmed that Matthew Adams will be part of the regular racing crew and introduce ‘newbie’ Graeme Spence on bow who makes the step from shore team to race team.

GAC Pindar skipper Ian Williams has gone the extra mile to secure a crew who can race with him for the season: “We have assembled a really strong team this year with a great mix of different skill sets. The only real opportunities to practice will be before the first event in Oman and before Act 5 in Cardiff so having a consistent team will be crucial to improving from event to event.” His crew includes Mark Ivey, Mark Bulkeley, Adam Piggot and Andrew Walsh – all have raced with GAC Pindar for at least one event in 2011 – and this combination will be integral in continuing their upward trend on the leaderboard.

The Oman Sail teams of The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air return this year with only Olympic Tornado sailor Leigh McMillan and Nasser Al Mashari retaining their roles from last year. McMillan who skippered The Wave, Muscat into fourth place overall in 2011, has handpicked a team that includes previous Extreme 40 sailors Ed Smyth from New Zealand, Pete Greenhalgh who with his brother Rob won the inaugural 2007 Extreme Sailing Series, and they will be joined by newcomer Omani sailor Hashim Al Rashdi who has come up through the Oman Sail programme.

Oman Air, will be led by record setting America’s Cup sailor Morgan Larson: "I've followed the Extreme Sailing Series since its conception and to now be competing on the tour with such a talented group of competitors is a dream come true." The team that last year had 3 different skippers including Britain’s Olympic star Ben Ainslie, will benefit from the Extreme 40 experience of Olympic sailor Will Howden and Omani sailor Nasser Al Mashari who raced in 2011 with Oman Air on bow, whilst double Olympic gold medalist Charlie Ogletree brings a fresh skill set.

In a test aimed at keeping opportunities open for new talent, the teams will race Act 1 with five sailors rather than four, plus a VIP guest or media person when appropriate. This additional 5th sailor must be either female or under 23, or be classified as an amateur by ISAF. Both The Wave, Muscat and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild will sail with female sailors as a result – Rachel Williamson and Adeline Chatelet respectively – the first girls to race since Olympic gold medalist Shirley Robertson skippered 'iShares' in 2009.

An 8th team for Muscat is still to be announced.

[mpowlison]

Feb 28 2012

Best Ever Start for An Extreme 40 Debut Skipper on Opening Day of Act 1

Losing a crew over the side hardly broke the stride of Oman Air, sharing the top of the leaderboard with French favourites Groupe Edmond de Rothschild...

American Morgan Larson, new skipper of Oman Air, had an incredible start to his Extreme Sailing Series career on the opening day of Act 1 in Muscat, Oman. The forty-year-old, a passionate surfer, who lives in Oregon, USA, has an outstanding sporting CV including 3 America’s Cup campaigns and 6 World Championship titles but few pundits would have predicted the outcome today which resulted in Oman Air sharing the top of the leaderboard after 6 races alongside pre-season favourites Groupe Edmond de Rothschild: “I didn’t really know what to expect to be honest. I knew there are a lot of talented teams but I think the format of the sailing suits my style. I believe we can win this, we need podium positions at every event.”

Tomorrow the 8-boat Extreme 40 fleet will race in stadium mode inside the breakwater, surrounded by the outstanding residential development known as The Wave and home to Oman Sail. Watch the racing live online from 1130 GMT for the next 3 days.

The question everyone is asking here – who will win this season? The French team skippered by Pierre Pennec is renowned for their form and have been overall runners-up for the past two years. “We won the event last year and it’s always good to ‘mark’ your territory so to be competitive 100% on day one is good,” said trimmer Hervé Cunningham. On paper, this is the team to watch. Available online tomorrow, Daily Sail editor, James Boyd’s, 2012 form guide.

It was Leigh McMillan and his crew on The Wave, Muscat who scored first blood in the first race of the day. The conditions may not have been challenging with the breeze ranging from 6-10 knots throughout the afternoon and it wasn’t long before Pennec’s team took control to win the next 2 races. Race 4 delivered the drama of the day when Oman Air 5th crew member Max Bulger went over the side. “He somehow hung on to the rudder! I have seen a lot of people fall over board but I have never seen anyone hang on the way he hung on, it was quite impressive,” said Larson. He was quickly retrieved and Larson’s team of Will Howden, Charlie Ogletree and Nasser Al Mashari managed to regain their lead to win the race.

The new team on the Extreme Sailing Series circuit, Team Trifork, had their taste of their first real Extreme 40 competition and the Danish-led team loved it: “Difficult, lot of learning but lot of fun! We finished 3rd in one of the races and we were in the fight all the time,” said co-skipper Jes Gram-Hansen.

GAC Pindar, skippered by match racing supremo Ian Williams, were the new kids on the block last year but a year on and they are now contenders, ending the first day 3rd on the leaderboard.

Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 1, Muscat, Oman standings after Day 1, 6 races (28.2.12)
Position / Team / Points

1st Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec / Jean-Christophe Mourniac / Hervé Cunningham / Bernard Labro / Adeline Chatenet 36 points
2nd Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson / Will Howden / Charlie Ogletree, Nasser Al Mashari, Max Bulger 36 points
3rd GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams / Mark Ivey / Mark Bulkeley, Adam Piggot / Andrew Walsh 34 points
4th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Hashim Al Rashdi, Rachel Williamson 30 points
5th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 26 points
6th ZouLou (FRA) Loick Peyron, Philippe Mourniac, Jean-Sébastien Ponce, Bruno Jeanjean, Antoine Joubert 22 points
7th Alinghi (SUI), Ernesto Bertarelli, Tanguy Cariou, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, Pierre-Yves Jorand 17 points
8th Team Trifork (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Simon Hiscocks, Jonas Hviid 15 points

[mpowlison]

2 March 2012

Omani double at home kicks off closest ever start to Extreme Sailing Series

Massive Omani celebrations at The Wave, Muscat as Oman Air and The Wave score a one-two, squeezing out the French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild who had finished every day but the last on top.

Going into the first Act of the Extreme Sailing Series 2012, the all-French team of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild led by Pierre Pennec were favourites on paper and few would have predicted the final outcome that saw Morgan Larson’s team on Oman Air triumph in their debut here in Muscat, Oman. Four teams were in contention for the podium going into the final double-points race – the new Danish entry, Team Trifork, won the race, but Oman Air did enough to secure victory after an intense battle with the favourites. Leigh McMillan’s team on The Wave, Muscat muscled their way into the two-way fight and raced brilliantly on the final day to finish 2nd overall ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with Austria’s Roman Hagara (Red Bull) in fourth, having been just one point behind the French going into the final race.

“It’s an amazing feeling! It was a challenging week and obviously our learning curve was quite steep,” said Larson. “But this was really hard racing and any team could have won going into those last couple of races and we were just lucky they went well for us.” Morgan Larson’s team that includes four-time Olympian Charlie Ogletree and Max Bulger from the States, Britain’s Will Howden and Omani Nasser Al Mashari competing in his second Extreme 40 season, held on to a marginal lead from the opening race today but in the fourth race of the day the pressure mounted… Pushed over the line at the start, Oman Air had to restart and trailed the fleet, Larson’s team finished 7th leaving them on equal points with The Wave, Muscat and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 2 points adrift. In the next race, won by Loick Peyron’s team on ZouLou, McMillan’s team finished ahead of their teammates and pulled ahead by 1 point. By the end of the penultimate race the two Oman Sail teams were back on equal points going into the final double-point decider and Pennec’s team had to win the final race with Oman Air and The Wave, Muscat finishing no better than 6th place. It was too tall an order for the French favourites who managed to get ahead of their rivals to finish the race in 2nd but Oman Air crossed the finish line in 3rd to clinch overall victory after 4 days and 29 races.

“Surely I feel disappointed about not having sailed well today,” said Pierre Pennec, skipper, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. “But this is the nature of the sport and even if this sounds strange, I feel very happy about this week’s competition. I really enjoyed being on the water and despite the fact that this is my fourth year in the Extreme Sailing Series, we have learned a lot in these last few days. My new crew sailed here for the first time and they have shown great human, mental and technical potential.
I think it’s fantastic that the two top crews here in Muscat are the local teams. They are going to be seriously competitive this season.”

It proved to be a thrilling opening Act to the season and, after five years of Extreme Sailing Series competition, there is a feeling that 2012 is going to be one of the closest yet. “It’s up to us to catch up and be competitive in China because the goal is to win overall. Third is still a good result – it could be worse! It’s a warning for us,” said Hervé Cunningham, tactician Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. Next stop China – Act 2, Qingdao 17th-20th April.

Extreme Sailing Series 2012 Act 1, Muscat, Oman standings after Day 4, 29 races (2.3.12)
Position / Team / Points

1st Oman Air (OMA) Morgan Larson / Will Howden / Charlie Ogletree, Nasser Al Mashari, Max Bulger 165 points
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) Leigh McMillan, Ed Smyth, Pete Greenhalgh, Hashim Al Rashdi, Rachel Williamson 159 points
3rd Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) Pierre Pennec / Jean-Christophe Mourniac / Hervé Cunningham / Bernard Labro / Adeline Chatenet 155 points
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) Roman Hagara, Hans Peter Steinacher, Matthew Adams, Graeme Spence, Pierre Le Clainche 148 points
5th GAC Pindar (GBR) Ian Williams / Mark Ivey / Mark Bulkeley, Adam Piggot / Andrew Walsh 138 points
6th ZouLou (FRA) Loick Peyron, Philippe Mourniac, Jean-Sébastien Ponce, Bruno Jeanjean, Antoine Joubert 111 points
7th Alinghi (SUI), Ernesto Bertarelli, Tanguy Cariou, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey, Pierre-Yves Jorand 109 points
8th Team Trifork (DEN) Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Kostner, Pete Cumming, Simon Hiscocks, Jonas Hviid 95 points