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America’s Cup Arrives In Sultanate Of Oman
Posted On Feb 28 2016
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Ainslie said winning the event in Oman was an important gauge for his team, which hadn’t won since securing victory on home waters in Portsmouth a year ago.
Team New Zealand have maintained their America’s Cup World Series lead with a podium finish at a nerve-wracking weekend in Oman.
There were wins on the day for Emirates Team New Zealand helmed by Peter Burling, Oracle Team USA and Groupama Team France.
The comprehensive Race 3 win wasn’t enough to take the Oman leg but Team NZ cling to overall series lead. “Yesterday, we were last to the reaching mark but I’m pretty happy with our start today”.
That saw them finish third behind regatta victor Ben Ainslie Racing (GB) and Oracle USA on a tight leaderboard as the series resumed for 2016 with the debut event in Oman.
The most eagerly awaited challenge is between the trophy-holding boat, Oracle Usa, and the New Zealand team Emirates, which leads the World Series standings after the first three events that were held in 2015.
The Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Oman marked the first America’s Cup sailing in the Middle East and was a milestone event for the host, Oman Sail.
“We’ve made some good steps forward, but we need to get going”, Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill. The fact is that it’s the same for everyone, so it doesn’t make it any easier for any one team and everyone has to deal with the same set of conditions.
“Oman Sail has been tasked with creating a generation of sailors, through an active equal opportunity youth programme; reigniting Oman’s maritime heritage; and raising awareness of the country as a high end tourism destination”, she said. “We could have light air in the America’s Cup and these are skills that we need to have”, Ainslie said.
“It was also tremendous to see the integration of our youth sailing programs with AC Endeavour”.
“The feedback from our guests, our partners, and all of the visitors who came to enjoy the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series Oman has been extremely positive”.
