Muscat, November 18th 2018: Young Omani sailors have again demonstrated their emerging racing skills with wins in three of the four classes they competed in at a regional event in Abu Dhabi. A total of 17 sailors from the Oman Sail Youth Team took part in the National Day Sailing Regatta and came away with victories in the Laser Standard, Radial and 4.7 classes as well as several top-10 finishes in the Optimist fleet.
The successful racers had to contend with variable conditions over the course of the two-day regatta earlier this month, with light breeze giving way to strong winds of up to 20 knots which saw some races called off.
Team leader and chief instructor Musab Al Balushi said the Oman team would have been willing to race in any of the conditions they faced.
“We were happy with the results we got, though of course some of our sailors prefer the light winds and some the stronger ones,” he said.
And he added: “We wanted to be part of the national regatta as it is part of a developing long-term relationship with our counterparts. We can all learn from sailing and racing against each other, and in the future we would like to start training together as well.
The prize-giving at the Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club saw several of the Oman Sail team receive trophies. In the Laser Standard class Hussain Al Jabri won three out of five races to win overall, with Ahmed Al Wihabi taking two podium places to claim third spot in the 16-strong class.
Zakariya Al Wahabi took two wins on his way to class victory in the Laser Radial fleet. Ahmed Al Balushi also won a race to finish fourth, with Mansoor Al Mahroqi sixth in the competitive eight-strong fleet.
Two wins and top of the class also for Abdulmalik Al Hinai in the Laser 4.7s. Al Mouatasim Al Farsi was also on the podium in third ahead of fellow fleet racers Alaa Al Omrani, Ali Al Sadi and Husain Al Mansori.
In the large 24-strong Optimist fleet Elyas Al Fadhli secured Oman’s best result, coming fifth at the head of a string of top-10 finishes with Mahmood Al Gharibi, Malik Al Qartobi, Abalj Al Dughaishi and Salim Al Jabri filling all the places from sixth to ninth. In the Optimist Junior ranking Abdul Latif Al Qasmi and Saleh Al Balushi finished in 17th and 18th places overall.
The sailors were supported by coaches Rami Al Urimi, Khalid Al Urimi and Rashid Al Mughifri on their successful expedition to Abu Dhabi.
