(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Defending champion The Wave, Muscat and Oman Air return to action after a break of nearly two months for Act 4 of the 2014 Extreme Sailing Series (ESS), to be held at the Russian city of St Petersburg from June 26-29.
At the halfway stage of the 2014 season, Act 4 is expected to offer challenging conditions for the sailors, with strong tidal currents and a compact race course demanding maximum concentration. Oman Sail's The Wave, Muscat trails behind season leader Alinghi (28 points) by two points in the overall standings, while Oman Air is placed tenth (8 points) in the 11-team competition.
Three Omani sailors will be in action in Russia with Nasser al Mashari on board The Wave, Muscat, while the duo of Hashim al Rashdi and Musab al Hadi will race for Oman Air. A good start will be the key on Neva river, according to Leigh McMillan, skipper of The Wave, Muscat.
He said, ''The river has tidal currents and we are expecting light winds with choppy waters, so it could be interesting. With the number of boats we have in the fleet, it will be tricky, with lots of ups and downs. We need to get off to a good start."
At the previous Act in Qingdao, China from May 1-4, McMillan finished fourth to be displaced from the top by Swiss team Alinghi. Oman Air finished sixth in China despite suffering a collision on the first day of racing.
Skipper Rob Greenhalgh said, ''The last event was good for us. We will try and do as well as we can here and keep on improving as the series goes on.''
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