Omani team keep up winning ways in Kiel

The Omani team kept up its winning ways in the iShares Cup regatta in Kiel but a win in the final race for Loick Peyron’s ‘blue’ boat denied the ‘red’ boat, helmed by Olympic bronze medallist Chris Draper, its third outright win in a row.

In the double-scoring decider, Draper had a regatta-worst eighth place, which meant that the Omani boats tied on 149 points each, but a countback based on Draper’s six wins to Peyron’s five still saw Draper at the top of the table.

Franck Cammas, who had been in a neck and neck battle with Peyron for second place throughout, could not match Peyron’s score of second, first, second, first in the final quartet of the total of 19 races, and was pushed into third, 15 points adrift.

Mike Golding had managed to put his broken Ecover back together again after a pitch-pole capsize on the first day had broken the mast and seen crewman Bruno Dubois taken to hospital for stitches to a gash in his head and kept overnight for observation suffering from concussion.

Dubois was replaced by Nick Hoochin and Will Howden was also replaced, by Sander Speet, as a precaution against any aggravation of a whiplash injury to his neck. But Golding had an unhappy day, bringing up the rear in most of the races.