Thanks to Suzanne and Alan for this latest news on Isle of Wight sailor, Leigh McMillan. Ed
Isle of Wight sailor, Leigh McMillan, and his crew on The Wave, Muscat (OMA) opened the Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 in Istanbul in style with a string of back-to-back race wins on day one.
Tipped as the Act in which Leigh would make a definitive move for the Series title, the opening performance certainly reinforced that claim. Leigh and his crew were on the podium in all seven races, to finish at the top of the leaderboard at the end of day one on 65 points, with SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) in second place and Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) third.
Leigh said,
“We came out with our heads in the game and knew how we wanted to play it, there are always going to be challenges and difficult races but we love sailing in the heat of the moment.”
Serious competition
However, it wasn’t without a serious challenge from the chasing fleet with a number of other teams applying the pressure to break Leigh’s stride.
Day two and the Red Bull Sailing Team made a dramatic and unexpected exit at the Extreme Sailing Series Act 7, after their mast broke in the second race.
With the wind fluctuating from 12-20 knots, the mast snapped in spectacular style across the top third of the rig, damaging the sails, but with no one onboard hurt the Austrian team limped back to shore to begin overnight repairs.
Three more wins
Meanwhile Leigh continued his winning ways, executing smooth gear changes in the gusty conditions adding three more race wins to his already impressive score-line.
The Wave, Muscat finished the day on 132 points and extended their lead by a further six points over chasing rivals SAP Extreme Sailing Team in second place who also added three race wins to their score and ending the day on 117 points. Third on the leaderboard was Oman Air (OMA) on 107 points.
“Bosphorus Race”
Day three and cargo ships and tankers were brought to a standstill as the Extreme 40 fleet raced down the Bosphorus Strait through the heart of Istanbul.
Taking line honours for the five-mile sprint – also known as the “Bosphorus Race” – was Leigh’s in-form team on The Wave, Muscat. They put in an outstanding performance, clinching the win with just metres to spare over second-placed Red Bull Sailing Team and with Oman Air in third place.
Exhibition race
In classic ‘Stadium Racing’ style, the eight Extreme 40s then lined up for a non-points scoring 1.7 mile exhibition race from Europe to Asia ending in spectacular style in front of the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque. Local boat, Team Turx, crossed the finish line at 25.5knots, beating The Wave, Muscat much to the delight of the cheering local crowd. However, as this was a non-points race, Leigh was not too worried.
Adding four race wins to his already impressive score, Leigh and his crew had now won half of the races sailed in Istanbul and therefore remained at the top of the leaderboard going into the final day. The battle was now on for the remaining podium places.
1st (after day three), The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 203 points, 2nd Oman Air (OMA) 168 points and 3rd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN)159 points.
Dominating Act 7
By Day Four The Wave, Muscat’s total domination of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 7 came to a crescendo with one of the most impressive results in Series history.
After 31 hard-fought races over four days, British helm and two-times Series champion Leigh, led his crew to an impressive 25 podiums. Leigh’s team of Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Ed Smyth and Nasser Al Mashari averaged 9.1 points per race, the highest at an Act since the beginning of 2013.
Even with a broken jib halyard in the penultimate race the rest of the fleet could do nothing but watch, as Leigh and his team took the Act victory with an outstanding two races to spare.
“It’s so satisfying when it gels and it all works so nicely. When the conditions are this good you can’t help but love winning,” said Leigh on the dockside after scooping up the Land Rover ‘Above and Beyond Award’ for the team’s efforts as well as Act 7 title with 273 points.
Runners up
Stepping up to the mark for second place (239 points) was Oman Air, with skipper Stevie Morrison on the helm, and third place was taken by SAP Extreme Sailing Team with 230 points.
Going into the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series double-points final Act in Sydney, The Wave, Muscat has an 11-point cushion at the top of the ranking after winning five events on the eight-Act global tour.
Hoping to challenge them for the Series title, SAP Extreme Sailing Team and Red Bull Sailing Team will need to find another gear as Leigh McMillan and his crew continue to demolish the opposition.
Extreme Sailing Series 2015 overall standings
1st The Wave, Muscat (OMA) 67 points
2nd SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) 56 points
3rd Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) 54 points
4th Oman Air (OMA) 44 points
5th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) 41 points
6th GAC Pindar (GBR) 37 points
7th Lino Songeo Team Italia (ITA) 34 points
8th Team Turx (TUR) 32 points
Image: © Lloyd Images
