Issue date
Liv Mackay and Micah Wilkinson are feeling confident ahead of their first major European event when they line up at next week's Princess Sofia regatta in Palma.
Liv Mackay and Micah Wilkinson were second in Oman. Photo: Red Bull.
The NZL Sailing Team members finished second behind Team France in the Flying Phantom in Oman at the weekend when racing alongside the Extreme Sailing Series. Racing for the Red Bull Sailing Team, they won 11 of the 24 races to finish nine points behind the winners.
"Perfect sea breeze sailing conditions in sunny 30-degree weather saw us smash out 24 races in the four-day regatta," Wilkinson said. "It became clear after the first day it was going to be us against the French for the title. They had a beautiful boat from the French Cup team and were lightning fast as they were able to foil upwind. In the 7-12 knot range they were untouchable but we managed to stay close enough that when the breeze built on the third day we took five wins from six races and closed the gap to two points.
"It was not to be on the last day as we got out-sailed in the light conditions. We pushed hard in the double-points last race and tried twice to get a penalty on them but were unsuccessful and had to watch them cross the line ahead and claim the regatta."
Mackay and Wilkinson were due to travel to Barcelona to rig their Nacra 17 alongside fellow Kiwis Gemma Jones and Jason Saunders in preparation for Palma.
"We are feeling boat-fit and have sharpened our racing skills this week so anticipation is high for Palma," Wilkinson said.
Full results can be found here.
