The breakdown: SAP Analytics debrief for Act 7, Istanbul

Olympic coach and Series commentator Mark Rhodes gives his insight into what he made of the action on the Bosphorus, using SAP Analytics.

Friday 16th October 2015

With a crushing win at Act 7, Istanbul, The Wave, Muscat’s skipper Leigh McMillan and his crew produced one of their most impressive performances, securing victory with two races to spare. They now head into the final Act in Sydney in December with an 11-point lead over their nearest pursuer.

The underdogs, Oman Air, ruffled a few feathers with a consistently good performance throughout the four days in Istanbul to take second place. This was their first Act podium of the year, after a close fought battle with SAP Extreme Sailing Team in third.

Olympic coach and Series commentator Mark Rhodes gives his insight into what he made of the action on the Bosphorus, using SAP Analytics.

Highest number of manoeuvres:

201 tacks, 127 gybes: Oman Air

171 tacks, 99 gybes: The Wave, Muscat

“This Act was all about getting your head out of the boat and the biggest thing that stood out to me in the stats was the fact that Oman Air did the most manoeuvres.

“Skipper Stevie Morrison and his crew Nic Asher and Ed Powys all come from Olympic backgrounds. The shifty conditions and intense racing in Istanbul meant the boys were sailing the Extreme 40 much more like a dinghy and it really suited them.

“Playing the shifts, attacking when needed and playing it safe the rest of the time, Morrison’s crew didn’t mind taking the hit on a high number of slow manoeuvres as it meant they could hold the position they needed in the fleet to rack up the points.”

Highest average speed over ground:

16.11 knots downwind: GAC Pindar

11.68 knots upwind: Lino Sonego Team Italia

“What we see here is two teams gaining momentum. Fast around the racecourse and hitting the podium a handful of times throughout the Act, both GAC Pindar and Lino Sonego Team Italia have the ability to lead the mid-fleet group and go on to challenge the leading pack. However what they lack is consistency in their results and this goes hand-in-hand with consistency in the crew. Once both teams start racing consecutive Acts with the same crew line-ups, and get into a rhythm, it will really open up the leaderboard to them.”

The Winners: The Wave, Muscat

Highest average points per race at an event since the beginning of 2013: 9.1

Highest win ratio at an event since the beginning of 2013: 40% (12 wins and 25 podiums altogether)

Best starters: average rank at first mark - third

“The Wave, Muscat’s performance was phenomenal; no one could challenge McMillan. On day one he fired out three wins and then podiums in every race after that for the rest of the day. McMillan has asserted his authority and until someone comes close enough to challenge him the pressure is off. All he needs to do is sail safe.”

Back of the fleet: Gazprom Team Russia

Fastest on start signal: 11.81 knots average

Podium finishes: 4

“Considering they have had a complete reshuffle on-board with two new crew members joining the team and Igor Lisovenko taking over the helm, the Russians put in a strong performance with four podium finishes.

Dramatically changing the crew at this stage of the season will always be a risk, but if the team uses Istanbul as their learning curve, the new all-Russian team may be in reach of the podium in Sydney.”