(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Leigh McMillan, skipper of the 2012 Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) winning team, The Wave, Muscat, is upbeat about the Oman Sail team's chances ahead of the start of the 2013 edition in Muscat from March 6-8.
The Olympic Tornado sailor led The Wave, Muscat to four wins out of seven Acts in 2012 and is hungry for success this year as well. ''We are very excited about putting together The Wave, Muscat again for the coming season, and hope to continue with the same level of performance as last year,'' he said.
''We are keeping the same core team to hopefully keep improving and maintaining consistency,'' McMillan told the ESS website.
With Oman Sail entering only one team for the 2013 series, McMillan indicated that his team may add one more Omani crew member.
Last year, Hashim al Rashdi was the Omani bowman on The Wave, Muscat, while Nasser al Mashari was the bowman on board Oman Air.
With Oman Air to feature only as a wild card team in the opening Act in Muscat, Mashari's future in ESS is uncertain.
McMillan said, ''We are adding a new challenge with the introduction of a second Omani crew member on board, and we will take him through the challenges of the Extreme 40 circuit.''
Rashdi is set to be part of the core crew on board The Wave, Muscat, but it remains to be seen whether Mashari will make it as the second member for the remaining part of the series.
Meanwhile, Kiwi Will Tiller will make his debut in Oman as GAC Pindar skipper after the team announced a new line-up for the 2013 Series.
The Austrian duo of Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, who won two gold medals in the Olympic Tornado, will once again be leading Red Bull Sailing Team.
The team narrowly missed out on a podium place in 2012, finishing overall fourth.
Alinghi returns for its fourth season with team principal Ernesto Bertarelli on board as both skipper and helmsman. Best known for clinching and defending the America's Cup, Alinghi had won the Series in 2008.
The dynamic Danish America's Cup pair of Rasmus Kostner and Jes Gram-Hansen return as co-skippers of SAP Extreme Sailing Team in what will be their second year on the circuit. The team finished sixth in its debut season last year
