(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) It is crunch time for Oman Sail's campaign in the ongoing 2014 Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) as the action moves to Istanbul Turkey for Act 6 which begins on Thursday.
Boosted by its win in the previous Act in Cardiff Wales last month The Wave Muscat will be looking to dominate its Extreme 40 opponents as it vies for its title defence.
The crew on Oman Air Oman Sail's other challenger in the 2014 ESS is also eagerly looking forward to the racetracks on the Marmara Sea and the Bosphorus as opportunities to build on past successes with their sights set on more podium finishes. With three Acts remaining this season - in Istanbul Nice and Sydney - the pressure is mounting on skipper Leigh McMillan and his team on The Wave Muscat to close in on the 2014 overall leader Alinghi.
'This is the crunch time of the year with the last four events all packed closely together. We did well in Cardiff so are happy with our position' said McMillan sitting in second place in the overall leaderboard and just two points behind Swiss team Alinghi. 'We haven't had the best year. Most would agree that Alinghi have been pretty dominant. But as it stands with a double-points last event in Sydney we might as well be on level points.'
In the five Acts so far in 2014 The Wave Muscat has proved measured in the early rounds which has earned it a reputation of 'slow starter'. But McMillan and his teammate Sarah Ayton know that consistency is their strong point. Sarah said 'Sometimes we don't come out of the blocks as fast as the others but we will keep plugging away so we are in with a shout going into the last day.'
A forecast for light but stable winds in the early part of the four-day event in Istanbul comes as no surprise to McMillan who is more than happy with his team's growing expertise in light breeze. 'We will push hard whatever the conditions are. And this year we have proved ourselves in light winds; just look at Cardiff. It's true to say we like a bit of variety because it keeps everyone on their toes.'
For Oman Air skipper Rob Greenhalgh Istanbul offers another opportunity to build on the progress made in Cardiff where the team posted nine podium-place finishes from 33 races including an outright win in the opening race.
'It was always going to be a tough year and it has taken a few events to get used to the fleet. Istanbul will be tough with all the teams constantly improving. Every place will be hard fought. Our aim will be to finish in the top six' said Greenhalgh who will have his two Omani sailors Hashim al Rashdi and Musab al Hadi and his two Australians Kyle Langford and Ted Hackney as crew again.
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