On the eve of the outcome of this Act 1 of the 2017 Extreme Sailing Series in Oman, the competition between the top three is fiercer than even yesterday. After 21 races, only four points separate SAP Extreme Sailing Team, Oman Air and Alinghi. We shall find out tomorrow, when, after the last race, the winner's name will be etched on the trophy. Things are so close that it could be a tie, but there's a rule for that: The boat best placed in the last race wins. It could come down to it... Alinghi's youngest sailor, Tim Lapauw, joined the team's coach to shed some light on this busy day, and the tactics for tomorrow. Tim Lapauw, foil trimmer: "It was super conditions in Oman for this penultimate day. The wind blew between 10 and 13 knots, which enabled us to do nine races, a record for one afternoon. I think we're all going to sleep well tonight! "We are third overall, ready and waiting for SAP and Oman Air ahead of us. Red Bull are now a bit further back after a disqualification for a false start under the black flag rule, the equivalent of 12 points lost, and also suffered of less consistency at the front. In terms of Alinghi, we had a great start to the day, moving to the top of the general standings after a couple of wins. They were then followed by a few fourth and fifth place finishes, which dropped us down the table, but we're still only three points off Oman Air in second, and four behind SAP, who lead. As always, it's tight and it will be decided tomorrow. We will give everything, because we are here to win!" Pierre-Yves Jorand, coach: "Consistency, consistency, consistency – that's the key to success tomorrow. The team that finishes in the top three in the races most regularly will be the one that prevails. If the weather tomorrow is as favorable as it was today, there will be about 80 points on offer, which is a lot. It will be necessary to remain concentrated for three hours and leave no room for a possible slump. "For example, today, the challenge lay in the mid-afternoon change to the type of start and to the course. It was therefore necessary to review our starting procedure methods and our subsequent strategies. In this game you have to adapt, and fast. If you don't, as some teams found, points can be lost. "Finally, as we enter the fourth day, the physical condition becomes key, and not just the sailors, but the boat's materials too. As far as we are concerned, we arrived for some twenty days of sailing here in Oman. As we approach the end, the muscles are on fire and the boat's materials are getting close too. You can see the proof of this in how many teams needed maintenance periods in between each run. These GC32s are absolutely fantastic boats, but their complicated mechanics require a lot of maintenance. Tomorrow it will be a matter of having sailors well rested and a boat perfectly prepared. The team is already in bed after dinner at 6:30 pm and with João and David our boat is in excellent hands." For tomorrow Saturday, check back at 1:30pm (local time) for the final day of this Act 1 broadcast live video on Facebook and Youtube. The awards' ceremony will be held at 5:30 pm (local time). After 21 races, the overall standings of Act 1 of the 2017 ESS in Oman (12 points are awarded for a 1st place, 11 points for a 2nd, 10 points for a third etc.) read: 1st - SAP EXTREME SAILING TEAM (DEN): 116 points after the 2nd day + places today of 1st + 2nd + 4th + 3rd + 2nd + 6th + 1st + 4th + 2nd> 208 points 2nd - OMAN AIR (OMA): 117 pts + 4th, 5th, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 6th> 207 points 3rd - ALINGHI (SUI): 114 pts + 3rd + 1st + 1st + 5th + 4th, 4th, 5th, 3rd, 1st> 204 points 4th - RED BULL SAILING TEAM (AUT): 116 pts + 5th + 4th + 8th + 8th + disqualified for premature start + 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, 8th> 185 points 5th - TEAM TILT (SUI): 93 pts + 2nd + 7th + 5th + 6th + 5th + 1st + 4th + 5th + 4th> 171 points Find all the results at: www.extremesailingseries.com/results THE RECAP What: 1st stage of the Extreme Sailing Series ™ 2017 circuit comprising eight events, in eight host cities, on three continents Who: Nine international teams, each composed of five team members Where: Muscat, Oman
When: Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th March How: Teams compete over short courses in front of the public on a 32 foot foiling catamaran: the GC32 Tracking the racing Follow the Alinghi team from the 8th to 11th of March (up to 10 races each afternoon – but be aware of the time difference: GMT + 4 hours, + 3 hours compared to Swiss time): Online, via the Alinghi homepage (www.alinghi.com) or at www.extremesailingseries.com > Races modeled in 3D from 9th to the 11th of March > Live video on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th afternoon (from the beginning of the races, until the end) > Replays available at the end of the races On Twitter @alinghiteam > Thread after each race On Facebook @teamalinghi and Instagram @alinghi > Video and video interviews throughout the regatta Alinghi's GC32 Crew Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI) Headsail trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI) Foil Adjuster: Timothé Lapauw (FRA) Tactician and mainsail trimmer: Nicolas Charbonnier (FRA) Helm, co-skipper: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI) Technical team João Cabeçadas (POR) David Nikles (SUI) Coach and Team Leader Pierre-Yves Jorand (SUI) To find out more www.extremesailingseries.com Hashtags for the event #GoAlinghiGo #Extremesailing Photo credit
 © Lloyd Images

We start again once more and things are (almost) the same! The same flying boats as in 2016, almost the same opponents, the same type of racing format - tight and thrilling - but it is a new season where everything remains for Alinghi to achieve the double after the victory last December in Sydney in the Extreme Sailing Series. Nicolas Charbonnier, tactician and mainsail trimmer: "Here we are! After several days of work on the boat, two training sessions and, of course, the inaugural GC32 championship, today we began the first stage of a circuit that will take in eight venues on three continents." The format of the Extreme Sailing Series is unique in that combines high-level regattas with racing that is conducted close to the shore, meaning a spectacle for the public and for the teams' partners. It is also intended that it offers beautiful images and coverage for worldwide broadcast. To achieve this, we sailors sometimes have to travel a certain distance to reach a particularly spectacular backdrop, which ticks these boxes. That was the case today. "We had to make a long journey back and forth to sail in front of the Sultan's palace in Muttrah. Between the two, ran seven races in beautiful conditions that were typical of the Muscat region. The 15-17 knots of midday wind raised a lot of waves...waves that remained when the wind fell to 10 knots, to complicate our task! In the end, it is far from being our best day, but the positive point is that we are only five points off first place and, in the Extreme Sailing Series, five points can be made up in a single race!" Arnaud Psarofaghis, helmsman and co-skipper: "In terms of how we sailed there are some things we can improve upon. At times, we allowed ourselves, a little too much, to get caught up in traffic (when we sail amidst all of the other boats) and everything becomes more difficult. The manoeuvres we need to carry out are too dangerous, we have to deal with bad air from our opponents sails and we are naturally restricted by the presence of other vessels. "The strategy of choosing a side on the line and positioning ourselves was important. After having chosen to go port on the first two starts to phase out the issue of the fleet, we opted for departures to starboard, bringing us to the left of the race area and this is clearly what worked today. "Then we had to deal with a rather classic pattern. When you have a tough start in this compact fleet and at this high level, there are few opportunities to regain the advantage. You have to be patient and make the right choices. When we saw our position and the points difference at the end of the day, we were expecting worse, to be honest. So, yes we are disappointed not to have sailed better, but it was quite difficult for everyone. Tomorrow, we will adjust those few points I mentioned and everything will be better!" Check back tomorrow at 2pm (local time) for potentially 10 new races planned for the programme. After the first seven races (12 points are awarded for a 1st place, 11 points for a 2nd, 10 points for a third etc.) the overall standings are: 1st - SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN): 1st, 6th, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 5th, 6th> 69 points 2nd - Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT): 3rd, 3rd, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 4th, 4th> 68 points 3rd - Oman Air (OMA): 5th, 7th, 3rd, 4th, 3rd, 1st, 3rd> 65 points 4th - Alinghi (SUI): 6th, 2nd, 5th, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 2nd> 64 points Find all the results at: www.extremesailingseries.com/results THE RECAP What: 1st stage of the Extreme Sailing Series ™ 2017 circuit comprising eight events, in eight host cities, on three continents Who: Nine international teams, each composed of five team members Where: Muscat, Oman
When: Wednesday 8th to Saturday 11th March How: Teams compete over short courses in front of the public on a 32 foot foiling catamaran: the GC32 Tracking the racing Follow the Alinghi team from the 8th to 11th of March (up to 10 races each afternoon – but be aware of the time difference: GMT + 4 hours, + 3 hours compared to Swiss time): Online, via the Alinghi homepage (www.alinghi.com) or at www.extremesailingseries.com > Races modeled in 3D from 9th to the 11th of March
> 3hrs of live images on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th afternoon (from 2pm to 5pm local time) > Replays available at the end of the races On Twitter @alinghiteam
> Thread after each race On Facebook @teamalinghi and Instagram @alinghi
> Video and video interviews throughout the regatta Alinghi's GC32 Crew Bowman: Yves Detrey (SUI) Headsail trimmer: Nils Frei (SUI) Foil Adjuster: Timothé Lapauw (FRA) Tactician and mainsail trimmer: Nicolas Charbonnier (FRA) Helm, co-skipper: Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI) Technical team João Cabeçadas (POR) David Nikles (SUI) Coach and Team Leader Pierre-Yves Jorand (SUI) To find out more www.extremesailingseries.com Hashtags for the event #GoAlinghiGo #Extremesailing Photo credit
 © Lloyd Images