Mohsin Al Busaidi, Oman Sail's Keelboat and Women Team Manager and the first Arab to sail around the world non-stop, and members of Musandam team: Fahad Al Hasni, Sami Al Shukaili and Yassir Al Rahbi, were honoured at the Royal Office for gaining a world record for Oman in the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race in August and for smashing the Kiel Week Welcome Race record from Kiel to Eckernforde in Germany in June.

A successful break into the Grand Prix offshore racing in May has established Musandam-Oman Sail team as a serious player on the international circuit. Their passion and commitment to succeed was highlighted in particular during the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race when they completed the 1,956nm course in just 3 days, 3 hours, 32 minutes, and 36 seconds. Renowned French skipper Sidney Gavignet, and the adrenalin-powered crew including Fahad Al Hasni, Sami Al Shukaili and Yassir Al Rahbi averaged 23.8 knots all the way round the course, and in doing so, they managed to trim 16m 38s off the previous World Record set in 2011 by Banque Populaire 5.

Prior to this, in June, the team set a new record in the Kiel Week Welcome Race record from Kiel to Eckernforde. Led by Irish offshore sailor, Damian Foxall, the mixed European and Omani team comprising Mohsin Al Busaidi, Yassir Al Rahbi and Sami Al Shukaili, completed the 27.5 nautical mile sprint in 1 hour 47 minutes and 22 seconds. The previous record was held by SAP Extreme 40 with a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 50 seconds.

The most recent MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail achievement was Sidney Gavignet’s epic 4,446-nautical mile single-handed Route du Rhum race across the Atlantic. Followed by millions of people around the world, Gavignet and his Oman Sail-powered trimaran raced single-handedly from St Malo to Guadeloupe, averaged 21.5kts, and completed the course in an impressive 8 days 19 hours 15 minutes and 24 seconds. The return leg of the Route du Rhum was taken over by a majority Omani crew to deliver it back to Lorient in France. Fahad Al Hasni and Yassir Al Rahbi were joined by two fellow Omani sailors, Abdulrahman Al Mashari and Sami Al Shukaili.

As well as their own personal achievements, Musandam-Oman Sail team’s success has highlighted Oman Sail’s goal of developing national racing teams, and strengthened its competitive reputation on the international Grand Prix racing circuit.

Mohsin Al Busaidi said he was delighted the team’s success on the world circuit this year had been recognised: “On behalf of the team, I feel very proud to be honoured by General Sultan bin Mohammed Al Numani for what we have achieved this year. We hope that by raising international awareness of the sport of sailing in Oman once again, other Omanis will be inspired to try out the sport because, through Oman Sail, there are so many opportunities on offer.”

As Oman Sail’s Keelboat and Women’s Team Manager, Al Busaidi says he is keen to use what the team has learnt this year to develop inspiring Omani sailors in the future. “Oman Sail is passionate about nurturing Oman’s rich maritime heritage through community activities and sailing school programmes. Although we already have training structures in place, it is important that the wealth of knowledge gained from our competitive season is shared with the students to help develop their skills, and give them an idea of what to expect on the international circuit.”

Chatting about the MOD70, Al Busaidi concluded: “These one-design racing machines are the cutting-edge of the sport and they do exactly what they were designed for. They are big, eye-catching, and extremely fast, but importantly they provide a good secure platform for training purposes. Once the Omanis sail these boats, they are inspired and they seem to instantly gel as a team, which is what it is all about. For us, for training purposes, they are the perfect option to help develop the rapidly growing sport of sailing in Oman and the perfect platform to present Oman to the world.”