- Weather
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Max |
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40°C |
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Min |
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30°C |
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Sunrise |
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05 : 30 AM |
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Sunset |
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06 : 30 PM |
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Humidity |
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50 to 80 per cent |
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- Prayer Time
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Fajar |
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03:56 am |
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Dhuhr |
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12:09 pm |
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Asar |
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03:30 pm |
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Magrib |
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06:51 pm |
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Isha |
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08:11 pm |
- Oil Price
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Price in RO
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24ct / gm |
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17.37 |
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22ct / gm |
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17.00 |
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Forex Rates vs R01
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US Dollar |
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2.60 |
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Euro |
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2.01 |
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Pound |
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1.72 |
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Indian Rs. |
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144.42 |
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Pak Rs. |
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255.85 |
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Bangla Taka |
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201.35 |
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The winner AISM along with the first and second runners-up teams celebrate on the podium with Chief guest Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministry and Oman Sail officials. Photo – Supplied photo
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Muscat: A superb performance by Team AISM throughout the 15 days and 760 nautical miles of EFG Bank Sailing Arabia–The Tour (SATT) has seen the Dubai-based crew sail to victory in convincing fashion in the third edition of the region's only long-distance offshore race, ahead of BAE Systems (2nd) and EFG Bank (Monaco) (3rd).
Nine world-class crews, including a host of elite sailors from the Middle East, completed the unique sailing challenge and showcase endurance race around the coastline of four countries, covering seven legs between Bahrain and Muscat.
The culmination of three years of development of offshore racing in the region, this season delivered on its promise of being the most competitive and successful, involving some of the world's and region's most accomplished sailors in a fight to the finish line in the ideal sailing conditions of the Arabian Gulf.
Yesterday, brisk downwind conditions took the entire fleet of nine Farr 30s home to The Wave, Muscat, providing the perfect conclusion to this year's SATT.
The fleet, after leaving Mussanah Marina at dawn, was up to full strength with the return of Adil Khaled and his Team Abu Dhabi, following their grounding and helicopter rescue during the second leg.
In a fitting end to the event, honours on the leg went to French America's Cup helmsman Bertrand Pacé and the crew of AISM, who have consistently dominated SATT 2013. Over the last two and a half weeks, they have won five of the seven offshore legs and set the tone for the in-port races, claiming the top spot in all three of the races in Doha. AISM won SATT 2013 by 10.25 points.
"We enjoyed this year's event a lot," said Pacé. "We have a good crew. Everyone was very focused on winning this race. It is much easier when the guys are working like that because we had good speed, good navigation, and good tactics. This tour was much easier than in previous years because there was less night sailing and more downwind sailing. Conditions were similar to the Mediterranean this year, with the thermal effect. But still, it is two weeks of racing, so it is still hard."
The pressure was full-on for Cédric Pouligny and the crew of BAE Systems, going into this final leg just 0.5 points ahead of a hungry Sidney Gavignet and EFG Bank (Monaco), especially since Bernard Pacé was known to aggressively defend his overall lead.
"We had more to lose than to gain, so basically it was a bit of a match race," stated Pouligny. "We had a very good start and were first at the upwind mark, and then Bertrand Pacé managed to pass us, but he was not really important. Sidney gained on us and was trying to make us go higher until we got separated from the fleet. We were in a difficult position, but we managed to have good speed and stay low."
The EFG Bank (Monaco) skipper had a few regrets about how the leg had panned out: "We had a good race, but we should have gone and got them before the start line," remarked Gavignet. "But it was a nice race, a nice fight with everyone."
After knocking on the door of the podium throughout SATT, Mohsin Al Busaidi and his Renaissance team finally made good on this leg, taking third place behind Messe Frankfurt.
Attending the final prize-giving at The Wave, Muscat, was event sponsor George Catsiapis, managing director of EFG Bank (Monaco), who has been following the event closely: "It was a stressful race with boats going aground. Abu Dhabi was the first victim, and in a way, they were the winners of the race because they showed the morale to come back and finish off the race. But it is the mixture of top international skippers and GCC sailors that is fantastic."
David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail and organiser of SATT, commented: "It has been amazing. The level of competition has gone up as has the overall standard of the event. I'm particularly pleased with the girls' boat and the fact that they have four Omani sailors on board and have shown moments of brilliance. We have had some really interesting conversations in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Qatar, so I'm looking forward to seeing who will be at the starting line next year. And the media aspect has gone amazingly well."
Graham believes that SATT next year will reach critical mass, with more Gulf countries entering, 12–15 fully funded boats, and a title sponsor.
Starlets of the show, regardless of the places they visited in the GCC, were Dee Caffari's all-female crew on Al Thuraya Bank Muscat.
Almost speechless with disappointment, hiding behind her sunglasses, was Al Thuraya's Intisar Al-Tobi. "I am sad, because we were so close and we did our best and we tried so hard to finish in the top three places," she stated.
Taking in four countries and eight ports of call, SATT is a showcase of everything that the Gulf has to offer in terms of state-of-the-art facilities and idyllic sailing conditions.
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