Saturday morning wasn't the best start for Cowes Week. Competitors and visitors woke to a grey, drizzly day. Whilst attending the Extreme 40 Skipper's Briefing that morning, I overheard one of the French organisers call it "a very British day."

But this did little to dampen the spirits of the nine professional crews, who were clearly - after a practice, non-point scoring day on Friday - ready to race.

I was lucky enough to join the Oman Sail Team this weekend - The Wave and Masirah - as the 'fifth man', strictly NOT a member of the crew (a team of four), but a spectator. My only role onboard was to shift weight from one side to the other.

I have never sailed with a 'proper' professional crew before, and I was immediately struck by the calmness on board. The crew of The Wave were young (Skipper CJ, or Paul Campbell-James, is the youngest ever skipper of the Series at 27) but so impressive. All the time they were cleaning rudders, dagger boards, tweaking the rigging, raising/lowering the traveller, tightening halyards - and this was a relatively quiet race!

The offshore morning race from the Royal Yacht Squadron to the mainland at Calshot, got off to a shaky start. The pack clung to the shore for the first beat, my crew keeping a constant eye on the depth guage as they tried to grab every inch of water on each tack.

Read the full story here: http://www.yachtingworld.com/news/493760/extreme-series-a-real-crowd-pleaser