HAMPSHIRE sailing star Leigh McMillan has one hand on the 2015 Extreme Sailing Series trophy as the season finale approaches.

But as the tour heads down under there will be at least one team looking to upset the balance.

McMillan’s The Wave Muscat crew goes into the final stage of the series in Sydney in pole position with five wins from seven events.

But he will have to be extra wary of wildcard entry Katie Spithill - sister of America’s Cup star James and one of Australia’s top female sailors - who will stand in his way when racing gets underway next week.

Spithill will be the only female skipper at the event and is backed by a host of stars from the sailing world.

Her team 33 South Racing, includes Volvo Ocean Race veteran Stacey Jackson, World Match Racing Tour sailor Henry Kernot and 505 Champion Luke Payne.

The crew have been training on home waters of Sydney Harbour ahead of the clash.

“After the boat was put together we were itching to get her in the water to see how she goes,” said Spithill.

“It’s great fun, but as a race team we’ve got a steep learning curve ahead of us if we are going to train enough in order to be competitive against such a high-level fleet.”

Southampton’s McMillan, who led his Omani backed crew to overall wins in 2011 and 2012, will leave the tour at the end of the season to join Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team.

He said: “I’m fully pumped up for this and I want to give it everything I can to make a difference. I want to push Ben as hard as I can, give the best possible input and feedback to the team and the designers.

“Having watched his success, I want to be a part of that over the next two years, and help bring the Cup home.”