Making Waves 4th Quarter 2010

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FOURTH

QUARTER

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02. Route du Rhum 08. AsiAn BeAch GAmes 14. RenAissAnce tRy sAilinG 20. extReme sAilinG seRies AlmeRiA 24. FARR 30 26. omAn chARteR 28. lookinG AheAd

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Mark Lloyd, Bruno Bouvry, Ingmar Jense

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Welcome I have sailed Lasers. I have sailed lasers a lot and so I know what an incredible achievement it was for Musa’ab Al Hadi to come fourth overall in the Asian Beach Games. He won two of the qualifying races outright, against sailors with many more years sailing experience. The amazing result speaks volumes about Musa’ab and the team around him. Equally inspiring was the fifth place for Akram Al Wahaibi and Hashim Al Rashdi in the Hobie 16 class. All the sailors in the Oman National Team can look forward to their next challenges on the water safe in the knowledge that they were the first GCC sailors in both fleets.

At the end of October I was lucky enough to experience the start of the Route du Rhum in Saint Malo, France. In the five day run up to the start over 1.3 million people visited the race village, many admired the first ever Arab entry into the race - Oman Air Majan. Mohsin Al Busaidi was amongst the Omani contingency in France - many people were interested in finding out about Oman as their next holiday destination.

What happened next took us all by surprise.

Oman Air Majan, skippered by Sidney Gavignet, suffered damage. Oman Sail’s carefully prepared crisis plans meant that Sidney’s rescue was organised swiftly by the onshore team, and our management of the media won acclaim from the race organisers – they requested that we share our experience with other teams in case they ever happened to be in a similar situation.

A new 44’ luxury catamaran arrived in Muscat in November. She is the latest addition to the Oman Charter fleet and is available for charter, complete with a highly experienced skipper (if required).

She will take passengers on a route that provides a perfect taste of Oman’s stunning coastline and clear blue waters.

Oman Sail has started a 5 star sailing facility at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort. Senior Instructor Omar Al Jabri is running the centre that offers boat hire, tuition and a kid’s club from the resort’s sheltered sandy bay.

The progress over the past three months has been outstanding. What is really good to see is so many of our Omani sailors all in one place, back at home, and sailing together. Every day they are out training on the Farr 30s in preparation for the upcoming Sailing Arabia – The Tour and it is heartening to see Ahmed and Abdullah, both round the world sailors, shoulder to shoulder with Khamis and Nasser form the Extreme 40s and Saleh after his historic Jewel of Muscat achievement. Alongside these sailors are many of the Tour de France à la Voile sailors as well as Saud and Said, our onshore support team.

We have an extremely busy 2011 to look forward to. First we have Sailing Arabia – The Tour that will run for two weeks at the beginning of February. Immediately afterwards the Global Extreme Sailing Series will start in Muscat – the world’s eyes will

be upon Oman for the inaugural event of the series. The line-up already includes America’s Cup teams and once again Oman will have two boats lining up - Oman Air Masirah skippered by Sidney Gavignet and The Wave, Muscat skippered by up and coming star, Torvar Mirsky.

We invite everyone to come and watch the sailing at the Wave, muscat between the 22nd and the 24th of February.

David Graham Chief Executive Officer

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Oman Air Majan

Route du Rhum The race received a massive amount of public attention this year with over one million people visiting the racevillage in St. Malo before the Route du Rhum started on 31 October 2010. Many of these visitors took the time to stop by for a look at Oman Air Majan and talk to skipper Sidney Gavignet about his experiences and his expectations of the race.

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At the start of the race, more than 100 spectator boats were on the water to follow the 84 racing yachts as they set off. By the time they turned away from the coast and headed to their final destination of Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe, 350,000 people had lined the cliffs along the rugged coast to wave farewell to Oman Air Majan and Sidney Gavignet.

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The first two days of Oman Air Majan’s race to victory went very well, with Sidney alternating between second and third place on his northerly route. However, in the late afternoon of 2 September 2010, whilst sailing in 20 knots of wind, he suffered substantial damage to the leeward front beam that holds the outer hull attached to the main hull.

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Oman Air Majan’s robust build and Sidney’s cool demeanour meant that there was never any real danger to life. With on-going communications between Sidney, his shore crew and race organisers, he was soon picked up by a cargo ship, the Cavo Alexander. He was taken to Gibraltar where he was reunited with his family.

In the meantime members of the Oman Sail shore crew towed Oman Air Majan to the Azores islands, where she was loaded on to a bigger ship and taken to France to be repaired.

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Muscat Regatta

Fast & Furious this year’s muscat Regatta was an exhilarating high-wind affair that brought smiles to the faces of all competitors – including the national Race team sailors on the lasers and hobie 16s, as well as the omani school children who were extending their try sailing experiences on the race course, thanks to sponsors BAe systems.

In a photo-finish Musa’ab Al Hadi pipped Majid Al Mageni to the finish line in the last race to beat him by only half a point in the Lasers.

In the two-man Hobie 16 fleet it was the unrelated pairing of Abdulatif and Suleiman Al Wahaibi who took second place, narrowly losing out to a highly experienced crew from PDO.

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8th -16th

December

Clean & Green As part of their commitment to the wellbeing of future generations of young Omanis, three of Oman Sail’s top sailors joined a large group of school children in cleaning up the local beaches at the Asian Beach Games site.

Extreme 40 sailor Khamis Al Anbouri was joined by Clipper Round the World sailors Abdullah Al Busaidi and Ahmed Al Ma’amari.

Khamis also brought his wife and children with him, giving him the opportunity to show the next generation of his own family how to maintain the natural beauty of Oman’s thousands of kilometres of coastline.

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Muscat Asian Beach Games The National Team holds their heads high At the end of November Oman Sail held a press conference to announce the Omani sailors who would represent their country in the Asian Beach Games. Representing Oman in two classes, the one-man Laser class and the two-man Hobie 16 class, were: laser

hobie 16

Musa’ab Al Hadi Majid Al Mugheini

Abdulatif Al Wahaibi and Suleiman Al Wahaibi Akram Al Wahaibi and Hashim Al Rashdi

From 8 – 16 December 2010, Muscat hosted the 2nd Asian Beach Games with six of Oman Sail’s top dinghy sailors representing the Sultanate on the water. With the headquarters of the Games based

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in a newly-built facility in Musannah, north-west of Muscat, sailors from as far afield as Singapore, Kyrgystan and Lebanon were able to shine in perfect sea and wind conditions.

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8th -16th

December

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Despite having less experience than many of their rivals, the Omani sailors set out with determination to prove themselves from the very first day of sailing. In the Laser fleet it was Musa’ab who immediately slipped into a rhythm and took strong finishes in the first day to sit in 6th place overall. The Hobie 16 pairing of Akram Al Wahaibi and Hashim Al Rashdi who ended the day in 2nd place.

As the Games went on, Musa’ab recorded several 1st place finishes which kept him in touching distance of the podium until the last race when his main rival pipped him at the

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finish. He ended in an incredible 4th overall to make him, Oman Sail and Oman very proud.

Akram Al Wahaibi and Hashim Al Rashdi also had to push all the way to the last race with one-point separating 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place respectively. The pairing were matchraced by another team also looking for third and were ultimately pushed down to 5th place overall, still a very strong result and one which their coach is understandably happy about.

Let the Games Commence!

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8th -16th

December

laser

4T H

20 TH

5T H

8T H

hobie 16

musa’ab Al hadi

majid Al mugheini

Akram Al Wahaibi hashim Al Rashdi

Abdulatif Al Wahaibi suleiman Al Wahaibi

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Renaissance

‘Try Sailing’ The Kids Are Afloat The sailing school buzzed with activity during November and December as several groups of school children aged between 11 and 16 came to ‘Try Sailing’. In fact, 300 children took to the water in the first week - sponsored by Renaissance Services.

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Since childhood I have seen my father and uncles sailing. I have heard them tell stories of my grandfather and great grandfathers sailing for trading and discovery purposes. That made me love sailing and want to be part of it.

My family is an inspiration to me and one day I aspire to be a great sailor like them. um Kulthoom, 11 years old

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We are delighted to be a part of the ‘Try Sailing’ programme which gives students the opportunity to learn about the Sultanate’s maritime heritage as well as help build their team-work and decision-making skills.

Andy Carr, Managing Director, BAE Systems, Oman

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The Al Bustan School ‘Try Sailing’ with BAE Systems Over 75 students from Al Bustan School attended the BAE Systems sponsored ‘Try Sailing’ days held from 1-3 December 2010 at the Oman Sailing School at Marina Bandar Al Rowdha. The young sailors proudly waved the Omani flags while sailing as part of their tribute to the nation on the occasion of the 40th National Day.

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Shangri-La 5-Star Sailing In a partnership between Oman Sail and Shangri-la Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa, sailing is now being offered to all hotel guests. Three fully-qualified Omani instructors have taken up a permanent position on the resort’s white beach to rent out boats and give lessons to hotel guests The facility is an important step for Oman Sail on many levels as it is the organisation’s first commercial venture with qualified Omani instructors running an independent sailing facility for tourists.

Over the first month of operations, the instructors taught 15 people and hired the boats out 125 times.

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Khamis Al Anbouri holding the Extreme Sailing Series trophy

Glory on the Waves in Almeria In a spectacular finale to the Extreme Sailing Series, The Wave, Muscat sailed away with the crown and Masirah finished in fourth place. In an action replay of 2009, when Masirah won, the whole season came down to the last race with four teams battling it out for podium honours.

The racing skills displayed by the crew of The Wave, Muscat gave them all they needed to raise the trophy over the Spanish host city of Almeria.

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The win was especially sweet for Khamis Al Anbouri, bowman on The Wave, Muscat as it was the first season with a full-time Omani sailor on board. After two years of watching and learning in the shadows, he proved himself to be a truly able international sailor and a justified role model to the new generations of Omani sailors.

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The Sultanate of Oman has a great maritime heritage, this achievement of The Wave, Muscat is helping to reignite that heritage. Khamis Al Anbouri’s win is also evidence that any Omani who has the will and ambition can achieve for their country and the support has forever come from His Majesty to support the young Omanis to achieve their dreams.

His Excellency Hilal Marhoon Salim Al Ma’amary Omani Ambassador to Spain WWW.OMANSAIL.COM 23

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Farr 30 october 2010 saw the arrival of four new boats to the oman sail stable.

Four Farr 30 racing yachts were shipped from France at the finish of the tour de France à la Voile and sent to muscat where they now form an integral part of the offshore training programme.

Based out of The Wave, Muscat eight Omani sailors have been training for up to six hours every day on two of the new boats to prepare for the newly established Sailing Arabia-The Tour that will start at the end of January 2011.

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These boats are fast, technical, difficult and thrilling! I am learning something new every day and am looking forward to racing in Sailing Arabia – The Tour next year.

Abdullah Al Busaidi

Sailing Arabia-The Tour In a similar format to the Tour de France à la Voile, this 750nm tour will start at the end of January 2011 in Bahrain and follow the coast of the Gulf with stops in Qatar, the uAE, Musandam and Musannah before finishing at The Wave, Muscat in the middle of February 2011.

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Oman Charter Oman has hundreds of miles of beautiful coastline with warm, blue seas and colourful coral gardens. Oman Charter has been attracting sailing tourists for the last two years but November 2010 saw the arrival of a new luxury catamaran to offer a wholly new experience for visitors to Oman.

The Fountaine-Pajot Orana 44 is a ‘big little boat’ with plenty of space for eight people to live, eat and sleep whilst sailing at impressive speeds. Bookings are already being taken by groups from Europe wishing to escape the cold weather and enjoy the serenity of Oman’s islands and underwater world.

The Orana 44 compliments Oman Charter’s current line-up of a Bavaria 40 and a Nicholson 48.

For further details and enquiries, visit www.omancharter.com or call +44 8715 988 089.

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Looking ahead to the next quarter Majan After being towed to the Azores after her abrupt ending to the Route du Rhum, Majan has subsequently been returned to her base in Lorient, France. Ongoing surveys will provide a cause of the failure and repair work will be able to commence.

Extreme 40s The Extreme Sailing Series is now a global event and Muscat is very proud to be hosting the start event. From the 22nd to the 24th February all ten teams will be competing to win the first leg. Prior to that the two Oman teams will be training in Musannah with some of the other international teams.

The two teams representing Oman will be Oman Air Masirah with Sidney Gavignet as skipper. Joining him will be Nasser Al Mashari and David ‘Freddie’ Carr with

one as yet unnamed crewmember.

The second boat is again The Wave, Muscat and will be skippered by Torvar Mirsky with Nick Hutton, Kyle Langford and Khamis Al Anbouri.

Farr 30 Six Farr 30s will line up in Manama, Bahrain for the start of the inaugural Sailing Arabia – The Tour on February 30th. The race will take roughly two weeks and will stop off in Doha, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Khasab, Musannah and finish at The Wave, Muscat.

Archambaut 34 The brand-new boat for the 2011 Tour de France à la Voile has been delivered in France and will head to Lorient to start training for the race. A race team is being selected and will be announced early in the new year.

Follow us on facebook for the latest news, competitions and images. www.facebook.com/OmanSail

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New Office Oman Sail will have a new head office by the end of January. Located on the waterfront at The Wave, Muscat the new offices have been built to accommodate the current staff as well as leave space for future growth. It will also have an Oman Sailing School next door complete with slipway, classrooms and maintenance facilities.

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Oman Sail’s new website gives you the latest news and action-packed pictures as well as the most exciting videos in one easy to navigate place:

www.omansail.com The site also showcases the Oman Sail fleet as well as profiles the key sailors, instructors and shore crew members who make it all happen.

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