MAKING WAVES The Quarterly Newsletter of Oman Sail
- 2nd Quarter 2009 -
Oman Sail is a far-reaching project which aims to reignite the maritime heritage of Oman. It ios a long-term socio-economic project that helps creat Omani role models and inspire the next generation through sailing. Oman Sail aims to be a positive brand ambassador that helps attract high end inward tourism and investment into the Sultanate. It is a project by Omanis for Omanis.
ceo's message david graham
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Oman Sail's first quarterly newsletter in my first week on post as the new CEO. I have worked in the sailing industry all my life and having visited this beautiful country and learnt about the vision of Oman Sail, I was overjoyed to be given this opportunity to be part of this worthwhile and ambitious project. Oman Sail only celebrated it's first anniversary on 27 May and has already made history with the accomplishments of Mohsin Al Busaidi becoming the first Arab to sail around the world non-stop. This is only a tiny step in our ambitious programme: our mission is to create an enduring capability to inspire, teach and coach young Omanis to be able to succeed in the field of maritime endeavour nationally and internationally in order to restore the Sultanate to a position of maritime eminence. Oman Sail is already making a social and economic impact in projecting the Sultanate in a positive manner internationally and by inspiring the youth of Oman by demonstrating that determination and great effort in a competitive environment leads to success. In the process, we will also stay true to our cornerstone of developing the maritime leisure industry and attracting business and tourism to the Sultanate. It is an honour to join this team that has already achieved so much and I look forward to now helping the project move forward on behalf of Oman and the Omanis who have put their trust in us.
David Graham
- Team Renaissance celebrate 3rd overall in Venice -
iShares Cup 2009 - Venice, Italy 15th-17th May The first date on the iShares Cup 2009 circuit showed the race-winning potential of both Oman Sail boats. Venice proved to be a tricky venue for all crews but both Masirah and Renaissance showed true skill throughout the event and held second and third positions overall going into the last race. An unfortunate windshift at the start of the last race put both Oman teams on the backfoot and they never fully recovered enough and finished the regatta in a highly credible 3rd and 4th overall. Masirah recorded the highest number of first places of all the races which bodes well for them as they move to the next venueHyeres in the South of France. Khamis Al Anbouri and Mubarak Al Battashi both made their full race team debuts in Cowes during the Round the Iskland Race which saw 1,778 boats competing. Khamis was on board masirah and went on take line honours beating quadruple Olympic medallist Ben Ainslie into third and beat America's Cup defender Russell Coutts across the line by less than half a minute after 6 hours of racing! A magnificent debut!
Proud partners of the Extreme 40 Programme:
- Working on assembling the hulls of the Arabian 100 -
arabian 100 salalah, oman The main hull and the two floats of the first Arabian 100 left Boatspeed in Australia on the deck of a freighter and arrived, via India, in the build shed in Salalah on the 20th of April. Work began immediately on joining the 3 hulls together and installing the steering systems and internal structures. With an international crew training young Omani apprentices, the project is ahead of schedule and the next stage of painting, installing electrics and onboard systems is under way. All being well, the Arabian 100 will be put in the water near the end of August and an official launch will be done after initial sea trials and modifications have been made.
- Ahmed meets his skipper and crewmates for the ďŹ rst time -
Clipper 09--10 round the world yacht Race portsmouth, UK The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the only global competition where people from all walks of life can step out of their comfort zones and sign up to race 35,000-miles around the world. Oman Sail have chosen the Clipper 09 -10 Race because it increases Oman's exposure around the world at the same time as giving the highest levels of training and experience for the two Oman Sail crew members. Ahmed Al Ma'mari and Abdullah Al Busaidi were both selected from several hundred applicants to take part in the upcoming edition of the race. Ahmed was chosen to sail on Uniquely Singapore while Abdullah was chosen for the yacht raced under the patronage of Qingdao, China. With oman's involvement in the Jewel of Muscat project and the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 the choice of boats has been fortuitous. They will return to the UK for preparations before setting sail from Portsmouth, England, on the 13th September.
Sponsors of the Clipper Round the World sailors:
Ahmed and Abdullah with Sir Robin Knox-Johnson Musandam
Mohsin wo
Masirah at the iShares Cup
Masirah winning the Round the Island Race
Khamis with the line hono Round the Island Race
Renaissance competes in Venice- iShares Cup
orks on Musandam
Accuracy on the Arabian 100
Oman Sail win the TruckOman 4-Points Race
Oman Sail staff celebrate the 1st anniversary
Mohsin and Saleh visit the Jewel of Muscat project
ours prize in Cowes-
Masirah rounding the Isle of WightRound the Island Race
- Potential Recruits take part in overnight sailing -
Oman Sail Academy Muscat, oman The Oman Sail Academy has been a hive of activity as new boats arrive and an ever decreasing group of potential recruits were put through their paces as they competed for places on the Oman Sail team. Several new dinghies arrived, both one man and two man, which have been selected by the Academy for their practicality in teaching. The RS Tera's were perfectly suited for the selection process as the Omani hopefuls sailed them in Bandar Khayran under the watchful eye of the coaches. In local racing several of the Omani sailors took part in the two-day TruckOman 4-Points Race and subsequently took ďŹ rst and second spots on the podium. Out of a eet of over 20 boats their results were very impressive and they plan to continue their winning ways in the local regattas scheduled for the rest of the year. As a result of the selection process, 14 new Omani recruits will start training in July and will be chosen for the race team, the offshore team or the Academy team depending on their strengths and preferences.
- Ali and Mubarak training on one of the Oman Sail f18's -
boat profile nacra f18 The Nacra F18 was one of the first boats which was chosen by Oman Sail to help pursue their goal. The F18’s innovative control systems, self tacking jib, state of the art hull shape and race proven foils all have driven this boat to the top of the Formula 18 circuit worldwide. it also earned the honours of High Performance Day Racer for Sailing World Magazine’s Boat of the Year Awards. Two F18's currently grace the boatyard of the Oman Sail Academy and they are the boats which the team choose when they want high performance sailing and the most fun of all! It is Saleh Al Jabri's favourite boat- 'There is no comparison to the F18! An afternoon sailing one in 15 knots leaves you wanting more and really sharpens the skills you learn!'
• • • • • • • •
Adjustable Tiller Extrusion Coated Shrouds Hi-Aspect Carbon Daggerboards & Rudders Race Foam Battens Outboard Led Rotator & Downhaul Controls Mylar Main/Race Jib Self Tacking Jib System Asymmetric Spinnaker Package
• • • • • • • •
Hand Laminated Hulls Non-Skid Decks Race Equiped with Harken Gear Double Trapeze Diamond Spreader System Captive Mast Stepping System Olympic Style Trampoline Roller Furling Jib System
- 'technical' mohammed surfaces from the depths of the arabian 100 -
team proďŹ le mohammed Al shikaili Mohammed is 23 years old and comes from Rustaq- a long way from the sea! He joined Oman Sail in November 2008 as a trainee boat builder for the new Arabian 100 trimaran. Mohammed had some training at the Higher Technical College in Muscat before he joined the Oman Sail project. He has a passion for water-sports and when he heard of Oman Sail, he was keen to join the team and help it reach its goals. 'Oman Sail means a lot to me because it marks my ďŹ rst step towards taking up a unique profession in Oman and the Middle East. Oman Sail is giving me the opportunity to work with a lot of people, Omanis and international, which is a rare chance for someone who only started his career a year ago.' He's currently working with the international team of boat builders on the assembly of the Arabian 100 and he's looking forward to being one of the pioneers in building state-the-of-art off shore racing boats in Oman and the region. According to his managers, Mohammed shows a lot of talent and passion in what he is doing and would be welcome at any boat builders anywhere in the world once he has completed his apprenticeship on the Arabian 100.
The next 3 months July-august-september Extreme 40's Both X40's will be heading to Hyeres in the south of France from the 3rd-5th July. From there they will go to the Solent for the highly anticipated Cowes Week iShares Cup event from the 1st-3rd of August. Two more events, Kiel in Germany and Amsterdam, Holland follow in August and September. Arabian 100 The next three months will see incredible progress in the build process of the Arabian 100 and the shed in Salalah will be a hive of activity with electrical, painting, rigging and fit out teams arriving to do their work. She will be soft launched and a naming ceremony will be held at the end of August before sea trials and an official launch. Musandam Although she isn't in the limelight, Musandam is a hive of activity as she progresses in her full refit in Wudam Naval base. She is tabled to relaunch in Aug/Sep and a schedule is being drawn up as a training platform for the recruits who are chosen fo rthe offshore stream. Mohsin Al Busaidi Although Mohsin's round the world adventure has finished, he is still very busy keeping the feat in the press and passing on his experiences and lessons to Omani's young and old. He is currently a part of the refit team for Musandam and once she is relaunched will continue to inspire those who sail and train on her. He is also getting married so congratulations are in order! Watersports Academy The watersports academy is growing from strength to strength and the next 3 months will see the 14 new recruits going through their paces and learning not only how to sail, but maintenance and fitness programmes. In September all the recruits will go to the UK to attend a sailing academy where they will further their development and their paths; offshore, race team or academy. Clipper 09 -10 Round the World Yacht Race Ahmed and Abdullah will spend the next 3 months preparing for the race, much of it in the UK where they will get to know their Skipper and crew members. They will also spend a lot of time on their chosen boats in their assigned roles on board. They will slip their moorings on the 13th September and return in mid-June 2010 or thereabouts. Good luck to both of them!
For more details, please visit
www.omansail.com