THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF OMAN SAIL
2. EXTREME 40’s - iShares Cup 2009 After six events and 118 races, the positions on the top of the leader-board all boiled down to the last race.
6. MAJAN, Tour of Arabia Majan’s tour of Arabia was a voyage of discovery.
10. MUSANDAM After a full refit and some training sailing alongside Majan in Salalah, Musandam returned to Muscat to compete in the first Muscat-Khasab race.
12. TRY SAILING Sixty-four students from four schools have now completed a six-week course at the Oman Sail Academy.
16. OMAN NATIONAL RACE TEAM The Oman Sail team dominated the racing at the Muscat Regatta with Omar Al Jabri and Hamood Al Harmy winning the overall prize.
18. CLIPPER RACE Ocean sailing is an integral part of the Oman Sail project.
20. SAIL MAKERS In early September, Saud Al Balushi and Said Al Hattali left Oman for the remote town of Vinnes in France.
22. THE JEWEL OF MUSCAT Jewel of Muscat, a reconstruction of a 9thcentury sewn-plank ship built on the beach in Qantab, was launched into the Oman Sea.
24. LOOKING AHEAD The finale of the Asian Extreme Sailing Series will take place at The Wave, Muscat.
Image: Mark Covell/Oman Sail
Welcome Image: Lloyd Images/Oman Sail
I recently was on a flight and refused a date offered to me. I quickly identified by the colour and texture that it was not an Omani date and nowadays I would rather pass, than consume a sub standard date; a litmus test on whether I am settling in to the Omani way of life? Dates are a great food source when sailing - an easily stored and tasty, healthy sugar hit when you need one. We have three boats going offshore in February next quarter; Musandam with a French Skipper, Majan - with a British Skipper and The Jewel of Muscat with an Omani Skipper, Saleh Al Jabri. I have been reliably informed that Saleh will be trying to load not less than 400 kilos of dates onto The Jewel! I will observe with interest the date strategy on the trimarans and report back next quarter. In the last quarterly newsletter I reported the infectious enthusiasm of our recruits, all of whom are now professional sailors. In the few months just gone by they have been racing dinghies and offshore impressively as well as integral parts of the Extreme 40 crew in the Asian circuit and instructing school children and assisting on our final selection program. In October our Extreme 40’s came first and third in the highly competitive European series
against some of the best sailors in the world. The points were so tight at the top of the table the series was decided in the last race – great team, great racing, great result. Our A100, Majan, has turned heads throughout its voyage in the gulf, which you can read more about inside. Many interested parties are enquiring about our plans with the boat which was our intent and hope. With a 50% Omani crew, on the 6th February she is setting off to establish records and trace out a new racecourse – The Five Capes of The Indian Ocean. Musandam will also be keeping her company and chasing her hard. It is a challenging, tactical course including a grueling southern ocean leg. The boat is fully loaded with media equipment, and you can keep track of her on www.omansail.com. Without doubt there will be great images, movies and stories coming back from the oceans. This modern, Nigel Irens design was specifically built to be sailed fast and driven hard, the course not only has the attraction of the sailing but also the commercially interesting region and stopovers for sponsors. The A100 class is now alive and the vision is a big one – 6 huge, one-design multihulls racing The 5 Capes of The Indian Ocean.
David Graham Chief Executive Officer
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Images: Lloyd Images/Oman Sail
Dr. Rajiha Bint Abdulameer Bin Ali and Eng. Sultan Hamdoon Al Harthi, with Masirah’s winning team
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MAKING WAVES - 4TH QUARTER NEWSLETTER
Image: Lloyd Images/Oman Sail
Extreme 40’siShares Cup 2009 -Victory for Oman! After six events and 118 races, the positions on the top of the leaderboard all boiled down to the last race held in the Spanish port of Almeria. With their Excellencies Dr Rajiha Bint Abudlamir bin Ali, Minister of Tourism; Sultan Hamdoon Al Harthi, Head of Muscat Municipality; and Shaikh Hilal Al-Maamary, Ambassador to Spain on location with the Oman Sail team, their support and encouragement was really welcomed by the teams: Masirah sealed the overall iShares Cup victory with Renaissance coming third.
In an awe-inspiring display of sailing, the Masirah team took eleven topthree place finishes in sixteen races. Never far behind was the highly experienced crew of Renaissance who was never out of the running and was often the team that put the most pressure on Masirah.
"It is a matter of pride for Oman that Masirah and Renaissance dominated the iShares Cup, not just in Spain but also the entire series. To win first and third overall is a result of unprecedented performance." His Excellency Eng. Sultan Hamdoon Al Harthi.
"I am so proud to have been able to watch Oman Sail's Masirah winning the series in front of thousands of spectators in Spain. I dedicate this victory to the wise leadership of His Majesty and his vision in bringing this project into fruition.� Her Excellency, Dr. Rajiha Bint Abdulameer Bin Ali. WWW.OMANSAIL.COM
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Extreme 40’s - iShares Cup 2009
Hong Kong Continued success for the Omani teams during the Asian Extreme Sailing Series Following on from their success in the summer, the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia saw Oman Sail's Masirah and The Wave, Muscat teams join four other teams to race in Hong Kong harbour and into the heart of Singapore. After two years of training, the Oman Sail trainees Khamis Al Anbouri and Nasser Al Mashari gained their full time positions on board the Oman boats against Olympic Gold Medalists, Round the World Solo Sailing Stars, America Cup Sailors and World Champions.
Image: OC Events
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“I think I'm the first Omani in history to sail in Hong Kong since Sindbad traveled here from Oman all those years ago. I'm so pleased to race as part of a professional series and race in front of these top sailors. It's been a great experience and I think I'm allowed to call myself a professional sailor now – two years of hard work have paid off. I'm so pleased!" Khamis Al Anbouri exclaimed after being part of the winning team on Masirah in Hong Kong.
Singapore Images: Th.martinez/Sea&Co/OC Events
Masirah has again shown that they are the team to beat under the leadership of Pete Cumming, having won Hong Kong and Singapore, with The Wave, Muscat finishing 5th and 3rd respectively. Masirah are 1st overall after the first two events and The Wave, Muscat is in 4th.
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Image: Lloyd Images/Oman Sail
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Image: Mark Covell/Oman Sail
Majan Tour of Arabia
Mark Covell joined the team in Kuwait as an onboard media man to capture the highs and lows of the team. “This was the first time I had set eyes on the mighty Majan. 105 foot of slingshot power, clean sharp lines made to eat up sea miles for breakfast, lunch and dinner.�
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“Racing is about standing up to be counted.” Mark Covell
Images: Mark Covell/Oman Sail
An extract from his report below:The set up was simple, a sailing crew of six plus me to run a route from the top of the Gulf back home to Muscat stopping off at Bahrain, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The first thing that we all discovered was that the Gulf is a challenging place to sail. All sailors know that we need to perform in a wide range of conditions, that’s what makes sailing
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so engaging. The first day of sailing was unfortunately lacking that important ingredient, WIND. When you step up to the plate to compete as a sailor you are asking mother nature to bring it on. Bring rain, bring sunshine, bring storms, bring waves the size of a house but just occasionally she brings a millpond. I think that why they made mother nature a woman, so she could change her mind at the last minute.
Each city welcomed and looked after us very well. Without exception, they were all impressed by Majan and even more inspired by what Oman Sail’s recruits had achieved. We celebrated Moshin Al Busaidi’s Birthday in Bahrain. He is a real credit to the team. He told me that he was being pushed harder and harder. I was pleased he thought this as advancing the overall skills of the team was real tour goal.
Majan, Tour of Arabia
DubaiMuscat Speaking of goals, the last job on the list was to win line honours of the Dubai to Muscat race. Against a record entry and a very tricky forecast we changed focus, put on our race face and took it on. Racing is about standing up to be counted and as Paul said in his race briefing, there would be plenty of opportunities to be passed. There would be many obstacles to negotiate; wind shifts by the millions, fishing buoys by the
thousands and islands by the hundreds. We won line-honours but sadly missed the course record by a tiny amount. It looks like we’ll have to come back for another go next year. Majan’s tour of Arabia was to be a voyage of discovery. Looking back we learnt new techniques for sailing Majan, we sailed the length of the Gulf, met new friends and raced home to Muscat for tea. From an
outsiders view, touring the Gulf was a showcase journey from A to B but for Oman Sail the Tour of Arabia has raised confidence and new ambitions to sail south into a bigger pond. A new route of the five capes of the Indian Ocean is waiting to be discovered…
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Musandam After a full refit and some training sailing alongside Majan in Salalah, Musandam returned to Muscat to compete in the first Muscat-Khasab race. Although the race started in very light conditions, Musandam crossed the line 27 hours after the start, doing 25 knots of boat speed, to take 1st place in the multi-hull competition. Round the world sailor Mohsin Al Busaidi joined the crew list alongside Haitham Al Ghannami, Nawaf Al Ghadan, Nick Houchin, Nick Black and Musandam’s long-time and highly experienced skipper, Loik Gallon.
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Images: Lloyd Images/Oman Sail
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Image: Herbert Fernandes/Oman Sail
TrySailing 12
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Image: Oman Sail
Image: Oman Sail
Sixty-four students from four schools have now completed a six-week course at the Oman Sail Academy and achieved their Level 1 certificate, enabling them to now sail unaided in light to moderate conditions. Nearly 20% of these students are girls and all the students will be carrying on sailing next year.
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Image: Herbert Fernandes/Oman Sail
Encouraging young Omanis to take up a new, exciting sport.
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Image: Herbert Fernandes/Oman Sail
Many of the teachers who have brought students have become very aware of the life skills their students are learning "We were delighted when Oman Sail invited us to come sailing. The girls have gained so much from doing this activity. Sailing has taught them leadership skills, as they are sailing their own boat under the close supervision of the instructors. The girls now work much better as a team, as when launching and landing the boats, it is essential that they work together" said Principal of the School, Sakina Al Harthy who has also been out sailing with the girls.
Try Sailing
The Academy will also be setting up a community club on Thursday mornings in 2010 where children that have sailed can carry on and bring their families with them. They will also be competing in the first schools regatta in March. Mohammed Al Mainai aged 16 from Rashid bin Al Nadhar School "It is one of the best Omani projects, reigniting our maritime heritage by encouraging the young Omanis to a new exciting sport, and I feel lucky to get the chance to sail".
Image: Lloyd Images/Oman Sail
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Oman National
Race Team
The Oman Sail team dominated the racing at the Muscat Regatta with Omar Al Jabri and Hamood Al Harmy winning the overall prize as well as the Laser Vago class. Sulieman Al Wahaibi and Abdullatif Al Wahaibi also won the Hobie 16 class. With support from the Ministry of Sport, the race-team then traveled to the National Day Regatta in Abu Dhabi. This was a great learning curve for the team and they had some excellent individual race results in the international fleet, which included Olympians.
The Laser and Hobie squad are now focused on successfully competing in the Asian Beach Games being held in Oman in December 2010. As part of their preparation, they will continue to participate in races across the GCC to develop their experience throughout the next year.
Images: Oman Sail
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“Sailing is the easy part. Cooking for 18 during a storm while the boat is being battered by huge waves is not easy!” Ahmed Al Maamari
Images: Oman Sail
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Image: Oman Sail
Clipper Race Image: OnEdition
Ocean sailing is an integral part of the Oman Sail project and the two crew members Ahmed Al Maamari on Uniquely Singapore and Abdullah Al Busaidi on Qingdao are both getting into the swing of racing across the oceans. The teams raced from France to Brazil and after a short stop to resupply, they began their recrossing of the Atlantic to the warmer climes of Cape Town. After slightly
more than two weeks at sea, Ahmed came in third with time to wait for Abdullah and greet him as he stepped off Qingdao. The teams have now just completed the longest leg of the race as they crossed from South Africa to Western Australia. During the racing, Ahmed and Abdullah sailed in temperatures well below zero and waves up to forty feet high. Part of the course saw the teams follow the
journey of Ahmed Majid, the Omani navigator who steered Columbus into the Indian Ocean in the late 1400’s. After a long battle, Abdullah on Qingdao overtook Ahmed on Uniquely Singapore to take fifth and seventh respectively.
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Images: Oman Sail
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MAKING WAVES - 4TH QUARTER NEWSLETTER
In early September, Saud Al Balushi and Said Al Hattali left Oman for the remote town of Vinnes in France. In the two months they were there they learned the skills required to design, cut and maintain the hi-tech sails used across the Oman Sail fleet under the guidance of Bruno Dubois, head of the North Sails loft in France, one of the busiest in the world. Both of them were trained with the state of the art machinery used in a modern sail loft, two of which will be installed in the Oman Sail shore support facility. On returning to Oman, Saud followed Majan as she completed the Tour of Arabia and Said worked on Musandam’s sails and rigging as she prepared for the Muscat-Khasab race. Both sail makers previously worked for the Royal Oman Navy on board Shabab Oman and bring a wealth of experience to the Oman Sail project.
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Launched into the Oman Sea Jewel of Muscat, a reconstruction of a 9th-century sewn-plank ship built on the beach in Qantab, was launched into the Oman Sea on 18th October after only one year of construction. The ship comprises over 40,000 stitches and is characteristic of those built in the western Indian Ocean. It represents a major feat of maritime engineering. With the Royal Navy of Oman assisting, Jewel of Muscat slipped into the water just before high tide on Sunday 18th October.
The next milestone was successfully completed when the masts were lowered into the Jewel of Muscat on the 12th of December and preparations are now underway for her first sea trials prior to her journey to Singapore in February 2010. “I was very happy to see her sitting so proudly in the water when she was launched. Nothing will make me prouder than steering her along the old trading routes from Muscat to Singapore via India and Malaysia, just as our forefathers did before us.� Saleh Al Jabri
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Images: Lloyd Images/Oman Sail
“With both masts standing she now looks like a true seafaring ship worthy of the journey ahead.” Saleh Al Jabri
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Image: Mark Covell/Oman Sail
Looking ahead to the next Quarter The finale of the Asian Extreme Sailing Series will take place at The Wave, Muscat between 1-5th February 2010, enabling the city of Muscat to view these Formula One’s of the sailing world racing meters from the shore. Public access to these boats is an integral part of the Extreme Sailing Series and Oman Sail will also be hosting a number of free try sailing sessions and beach activities for the public during the weekend 4-5th February 2010.
On the 6th February 2010 Majan and Musandam will also leave Muscat to set a route for a new Five Capes of the Indian Ocean race, which will start in 2011. The route will see the two trimarans stop in the Maldives, Cape Town, Fremantle and Singapore before returning to Muscat. In the middle of February 2010, the Jewel of Muscat will also be departing Muscat on her voyage to Singapore, re-tracing out the old trade routes. It is
Oman Sail is Making Waves Follow Oman Sail daily updates on: www.omansail.com You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
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anticipated that she will take between 4-5 weeks to reach her first stop in Cochin, India where she will be hoisted out of the water for a full inspection. The Academy will continue to remain busy during the first quarter of 2010 with more schools and community sailing planned, including the first annual Oman School's Sailing Regatta and the establishment of the community sailing club.
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