HAMPSHIRE sailing ace Leigh McMillan has paid tribute to his behind-the-scenes team after becoming the first skipper ever to win the prestigious Extreme Sailing Series twice.

Former Olympian McMillan sealed overall victory in the seven-stage tour at the final round of racing in Florianopolis, Brazil.

Despite finishing the event second to arch rival team Alinghi, McMillan's crew on The Wave, Muscat took the 2013 title with more race wins.

It is the second consecutive year the Southampton sailor has led The Wave, Muscat to victory in the tour, which is raced on state-of-the-art 40ft catamarans.

McMillan had a near flawless year at the helm of his Extreme 40 boat, barely finishing outside of the podium places and leading his team to five wins in seven events.

But, on lifting the coveted series trophy, McMillan dedicated the historic win to the whole The Wave, Muscat team. McMillan, from Southampton, said: “All the boys on the boat were absolutely fantastic. The shore crew has kept the boat in top notch condition and fast, our coach of two seasons Rob Wilson always puts in a big effort and has played a massive role and thanks of course go to our sponsor The Wave, Muscat in Oman. “It has been a massive team effort. It is a fantastic feeling to have won the series again. “It was what we set out to do and it is a huge relief and elation at the same time. “It was been a really tough regatta in Florianopolis, a long tough season and I can’t thank our team enough.” The final stage of the event saw double points up for grabs and, as predicted, Swiss team Alinghi threw all they had at McMillan and his team in a bid to dislodge them from the top spot.

But the savvy sailor, who represented Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics, held his nerve, finishing on the podium 18 times in 26 races.

The Wave, Muscat and Alinghi ended the season tied on points but, with more race wins under their belts over the course of the series, McMillan’s crew were proclaimed champions.

McMillan added: “This is exactly how I thought the end result would go. “We haven’t been able to shake Alinghi all year, they haven’t really put a foot wrong.

“We knew they were going to do everything possible, the last few days they’ve been absolutely hammering us around the racecourse. “It’s a massive relief for what has been a couple of emotional days.”