Ben Ainslie’s Oman Air thrives in close race to hit 4th spot - 2011 Extreme Sailing Series Act 6
Region of Trapani again delivered superb sailing weather conditions to the participants and they had some tremendous races on Day 3 of 2011 Extreme Sailing Series Act 6. The Wave, Muscat was worth watching as they grabbed five race victories but on the other
hand, Ben Ainslie pushed Oman Air brilliantly to break The Wave, Muscat’s winning streak in the sixth race to finish fourth in the standings.
The forecast showed around 15 knots wind speed which was enough for a sound sail on Trapani waters. Oman Air has been convincing in the event under Ainslie’s leadership and now, they have taken the fourth spot in the overall standings of the tournament.
Ainslie was quite satisfied with his team’s performance during the series and hopes to do well in the upcoming days.
While speaking to local media after the end of Day 3, Ainslie said, “Today was amazing. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. I couldn’t quite believe it before the racing and I said to the guys ‘Is this really the size of the race course?’
and they said that this was quite a big course!”
He further added, “It was great racing, lots of incidents and good breeze. This is a great opportunity for me as I have been sailing the Finn now for eight months and it’s great to have a break.”
The overall standings at the end of Day 3 are given below:
1. The Wave, Muscat 2, 5, 4, 6, 4, 1, 5, 5, 6, 2, 6, 1, 1, 1, 7, 1, 5 - 142 points
2. Alinghi 3, 1, 2, 5, 1, 5, 1, 2, 1, 6, 7, 2, 4, 8, 8, 9, 3 - 136 points
3. Luna Rossa 4, 4, 6, 4, 9, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1, 2, 5, 9, 4, 2, 10, 7 - 129 points
4. Oman Air 1, 8, 1, 8, 7, 8, 9, 4, 7, 5, 4, 3, 6, 2, 1, 3, 2 - 124.5 points
5. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 7, 3, 7, 9, 2, 6, 4, 3, 5, 4, 1, 9, 5, 5, 4, 2, 4 - 124 points
6. Red Bull Extreme Sailing 5, 7, 9, 2, 6, 4, 7, 6, 9, 3, 8, 4, 3, 3, 3, 5, 1 - 119 points
7. Emirates Team New Zealand 9, 6, 3, 3, 5, 8, 8, 7, 4, 8, 5, 10, 2, 7, 6, 4, 8 - 100.5 points
8. Team GAC Pindar 10, 2, 10, 10, 3, 7, 6, 9, 8, DNF, 3, 7, 7, 6, 5, 6, 9 - 84 points
9. Niceforyou 8, 10, 8, 7, 8, 3, 2, 8, 3, 7, 9, 6, 10, 10, 10, 7, 10 - 78 points
10. Team Extreme 6, 9, 5, 1, 10, 10, 10, 10, DNF, 9, 10, 8, 8, 9, 9, 8, 6 - 64 points
11. Artemis Racing DNC - 0 points
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