Pete Cumming and Oman Sail Masirah lift the iShares Cup (From Daily Echo)

Pete Cumming and Oman Sail Masirah lift the iShares Cup

10:35am Tuesday 13th October 2009 in

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HAMPSHIRE skipper Pete Cumming has made his dream a reality after winning the most exciting sailing series in the world.

But it went down to the wire in the last of more than 90 closely-fought battles on the water between the world’s top sailors in the iShares Cup.

The Warsash skipper led his teammates on Masirah, one of Oman Sail’s two state-of-the-art Extreme 40 catamarans, to victory in the final day of the sixth event in Almeria, Spain.

However title rivals Gitana Extreme, skippered by Frenchman Yann Guichard, mounted a last-minute attack which saw Cumming and crew cling on to the lead with just three points to spare.

Leaping for joy as Masirah crossed the finish line, Cumming, 31, said: “I’ve been dreaming of this for two years taking part and racing against the best in the world.

“I was choked up thinking about it this morning as I walked down to the boat and since Amsterdam I’ve been losing sleep because I couldn’t bear to think of not winning it.

“Finally, I’ve gone from the most stressed man in Spain to the happiest man in Spain! “It means the world to me, it is the highlight of my sailing career.”