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12.02.12

The Tour prepares to set sail from the Kingdom of Bahrain

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Against the beautiful backdrop of Bahrain’s Amwaj Marina, dignitaries, officials and sailors gathered to officially launch the start of the 2012 Sailing Arabia- The Tour. His Highness Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, President of Bahrain Olympics committee and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Daij Al Khalifa, Kingdom of Bahrain sailing team leader, were amongst those who joined Oman Sail CEO David Graham at the ceremony, to officially inaugurate the 2012 edition of the race.

Now in its second year, the race is a unique event, which not only joins the nations of the Gulf together, but is also a significant step towards establishing the region within the international sailing arena. For the second year, Bahrain has been chosen as the starting point for the Tour, and His Highness Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports and the President of Bahrain Olympics committee reflected on the significance of the race within the region.

“Sailing Arabia – the Tour, reflects the historic and cultural maritime heritage within the Arabian countries. The event is unique – it goes beyond the competitive sporting element and serves to highlight the strong relations between the GCC countries, and to preserve our maritime heritage that is driven from our past, connecting our strong history with the seas to the modern day.

“It is a great platform to reflect the amazing sailing talents within the region and to test their skills in a true international sailing test. The participation of the sailing team from Bahrain is also significant evidence of the development of sailing within Bahrain.”

“The launch of SATT in Bahrain comes at an exciting time for us and is in line with the announcement of the Kingdom as the Capital of Arabian Culture, which is something the Kingdom is very proud of.”

His Highness concluded by assuring his full support in establishing the Kingdom of Bahrain as a destination for organising and hosting world-class sailing events.

Oman Sail’s CEO David Graham went on to speak about the objectives of Sailing Arabia-The Tour and mirrored His Highness Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s thoughts on why SATT is such an important event for development our regional sailing talent.

“One of the main objectives of SATT is to develop a truly international event that provides an opportunity for sailing talents from within the region to compete on their home waters and develop their skills with international expertise. The addition of the Bahraini team is a perfect example of that, and reflects their commitment to developing the sport within the region and also in developing the talents of their young sailors.”

In addition to hosting the opening of Sailing Arabia – the Tour, the Kingdom of Bahrain, will for the first time enter a team into the race, Team Bahrain. They will go head-to-head with eight other teams representing six nations, including four teams sailing under the Omani Flag; Team BAE System, Al Thuraya BankMuscat, Team Renaissance and Team Muscat 2012.
The fleet were scheduled to set sail o the 12 February, but due to strong winds forecast within the region, the race start has been delayed to 0700 hours local time today (13 February). Once underway, the teams will race over 14 days visiting seven stopovers, and covering 1,408 kilometers on their way. They will race around the top of Qatar before heading south to the first stopover at The Pearl-Qatar. They will then undertake their longest leg to Abu Dhabi, before heading to Ras Al Khaimah, Musandam, Mussanah and the finish in Muscat.

Amongst the teams is the incredibly talented, and only, all women’s sailing Al Thuraya BankMuscat. At the opening ceremony, Dee Caffari the teams British Skipper and record breaking round the world yachtswomen said: “It is really exciting for me to be involved in SATT for the first time, and to be sailing with such a fantastic group of women. The other teams better watch out – the women on board are extremely talented and we are completely prepared for this race.”

Mohsin Al Busaidi, skipper of Team Muscat 2012, a team supported by the Oman Ministry of Tourism as part of their promotional activities related to Muscat’s selection as the Arab Capital for Tourism in 2012, spoke about how he has seen the race develop since its inaugural year. “In the 2011 edition I skippered Team CommercialBank Group and we finished in third place. The depth of talent in the fleet this year is much tougher, but we have an extremely talented group of sailors on board and we are aiming to be on the podium. Last year I sailed with Ahmed Al Ma’amari, who is an around the world sailor – this year he will skipper his own team, Team Renaissance! It is incredible to see so many talented Omani sailors from so many backgrounds competing in this race against some of best international sailing talent. It makes me very proud”.
Sailing Arabia – the Tour, will finish on the 27 February at The Wave, Muscat. Each boat will be equipped with live GPS tracking, which will be allow followers to track the teams as they traverse the peninsula, racing from port to port. The tracking will be streamed to both www.sailingarabiathetour.com and through the SATT Facebook tabs on www.facebook.com/OmanSail