Thanks to Suzanne and Alan for this latest update. Ed
Light winds dominated the opening day of Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Nice, France. This called for precision from the teams as the battle at the penultimate Act of the 2014 global tour began on Mediterranean waters.
Newer teams on the circuit called the shots and Realteam from Switzerland had all the right tactics and boat speeds. The Swiss team scored two first and two second places finishing day one in pole position.
Despite not scoring in race two, after sailing the wrong course whilst leading, Gazprom Team Russia sailed an impressive day, scoring two race wins to claim second place overall, on equal points with the all-French team on Groupama.
Good start for British team
Meanwhile Ben Ainslie and the British team on JP Morgan BAR did well in the opening races, but a penalty in the third race followed by a start line collision with Alinghi in the fourth race cost them valuable points. However the Brits finished the day in a credible fifth place, three places above Isle of Wight sailor Leigh McMillan and his Oman team on The Wave, Muscat.
After day two Realteam were still at the top of the leaderboard with 92 points followed by Emirates Team New Zealand with 84 points and Gazprom Team Russia on 82 points.
Uncomfortable position for Leigh McMillan
The battle behind the leaders was now raging with JP Morgan BAR and GAC Pindar tied on 75 points, and the defending Series champions The Wave, Muscat a point behind but in seventh position. This was an uncomfortable position for Leigh McMillan who is gunning for his third consecutive Series win this year.
However as Leigh pointed out after racing on day two, there is a long way to go and plenty more points for the taking.
He said,
“We have got plenty of game left in us for the next two days – we did a lot right today, although it may not look like it on the leaderboard. We did a lot of things well, but unfortunately the mistakes we made were big ones and cost us a lot of points. We’re working well as a team, the consistency onboard is really good – we’ll keep pushing.”
Defining day of the season
The third day of racing on the French Riviera proved to be one of the most defining days of the whole 2014 season. Most significant moves came from Alinghi, who came to Nice with a slender one-point lead in the Series rankings, between them and the team challenging them for the season title, Leigh and his team on The Wave, Muscat.
For the defending champions from Oman it was a day of sailing they will want to forget.
Although the team are down, they are by no means out and when the pressure is on, Leigh McMillan has more than enough ability to rise to the challenge and bounce back.
Sarah Ayton (tactician) said,
“It was a really tough day – the conditions were such that if you had a good start then you could lead either into the left or into the right and that’s where the gains were. As a team we are solid, our roles, routines, the synergy on the boat is good – so we’ll just take a bit of time to reflect on our performance.”
Alinghi took 54 points from a possible 70, while the Omanis could only add 21 to their tally, and this result showed that Alinghi was now in the lead whilst Leigh’s team were now planning their damage limitation strategy being in last position.
One hand on the trophy
Day four and the Swiss team Alinghi snatched victory from the hands of their fellow countrymen Realteam in the final race in Nice, to take victory on French waters in front of thousands of spectators and with that they now have one hand firmly placed on the 2014 Series trophy.
With only one Act to go this year, Alinghi have extended their lead at the top of the Series leaderboard to eight points over The Wave, Muscat, but with 20 points up for the taking in Sydney, and five teams capable of a podium position, there will be some good battles at the last Act of 2014.
McMillan: “We’ve really learnt from these lessons”
Leigh’s team showed early signs of recovery, winning two of the first four races, but the team’s hopes were dashed when a penalty took them from third to last in race five, from which they never recovered.
Leigh commented,
“We said we would push hard, we did and we won some races. We’ve really learnt from these lessons.
“We’ve had a pretty good run for the last two and a half years and it’s only a matter of time before you slip up and make mistakes. You learn from those, and we’ll be going into Sydney very much looking to win.”
Result for Nice:
1st Alinghi (SUI) 183 points
2nd Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 171 points
3rd JP Morgan BAR (GBR-Ben Ainslie)161 points
Leaderboard for Series:
1st Alinghi (SUI) 65 points
2nd The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 57 points
3rd Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 49 points
4th Realteam by Realstone (SUI) 45 points
5th JP Morgan BAR (GBR) 37 points
6th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 30 points
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 28 points
8th Oman Air (OMA) 24 points
9th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 24 points
10th Groupama sailing team (FRA) 22 points
11th GAC Pindar (AUS) 11 points
In Sydney the fleet will race on one of the world’s most famous waterfronts with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge providing the backdrop. Over 30 races are left to decide the 2014 Series with racing taking place from 11th-14th December.
