iShares Cup Sailing Series - Countdown to final event

9:17 PM Fri 2 Oct 2009 GMT

'iShares Cup AMSTERDAM - Day 2. Start of Race 3. ?ThMartinez/Sea&Co / OC Events' ThMartinez / Sea & Co &copy Click Here to view large photo

The final event of the 2009 iShares Cup Sailing Series will reach its dramatic conclusion next week in Almeria, in the region of Andalucia, from Saturday, October 10th to Monday, October 12th.

The sixth event of the 2009 European circuit is set to be the biggest and best ever, with a huge public event village currently under construction, and a packed shoreside entertainment programme (more on that next week). But the biggest spectacle will be out on the water, as nearly six months of competition have set the scene for a nail-biting finale.

After five events and no fewer than 92 races, incredibly just one point separates the top three boats in the overall iShares Cup series. Current leaders Oman Sail Masirah, skippered by Pete Cumming, won three events in a row at Hy?res, Cowes and Kiel. They are tied on 43 points with French crew Gitana Extreme - Groupe LCF Rothschild, who are lying second after winning two events, the series opener in Venice and the penultimate event in Amsterdam. Just one point behind these two is Oman Sail's stablemate Renaissance - it simply couldn't be any closer!

'To have two boats tied on equal points is very interesting, and with the third crew just one point away the competition will be very, very intense, and we're going to keep that intensity up with 8-10 races a day,' commented Event Director Gilles Chiorri.

Franck Cammas' Groupama 40 lie in fourth on 33 points, and the overall results table is equally tight in the middle, with BT on 23 points, Team iShares on 22 and Holmatro and LUNA on 20 apiece. All of them will be fighting hard to finish the 2009 iShares Cup on a high. However, the Andalucian city could yet provide a few final surprises.

Day 1, Extreme 40' Groupama 40' (FRA) skipper Franck Cammas (FRA). iShares Cup, Kiel. ?ThMartinez/Sea&Co / OC Events - ThMartinez _- Sea & Co &copy Click Here to view large photo

'The racecourse is a more open stadium than Amsterdam, but it's still quite tricky as it's a commercial harbour with piers and jetties which the teams must bear in mind for their tactics,' explained Chiorri.

'The wind conditions seem to be quite strong in Almeria, we may be about to encounter the windiest conditions of the year, and we've already warned teams that they might need to use their storm jibs instead of full jibs. This might have an effect of the rankings too, perhaps the teams which have been strong in light winds won't fare so well in windier races?'

Almeria, Spain - Junta de Andalucia
Ten Extreme 40s - including a new Spanish team - will be racing on the harbour, with fantastic public viewing areas including a 'pit lane' to get up close to the Extreme 40s. With Monday, October 12th a public holiday in Spain and a packed shoreside programme, huge crowds are expected to come and cheer the crews as they fight for the title of 2009 iShares Cup Champion!

by iShares Cup media

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