Oman Sail’s Ibtisam Al Salmi, one of the Middle East’s first professional female sailors, was invited to join the only all-female Team SCA crew at the Volvo Ocean Race in Abu Dhabi. She was welcomed on board by her mentor and former Oman Sail coach, Dee Caffari MBE, and took her place in the exclusive ‘Jump Seat’ position for the start of stage three and inshore course race.
“It is great that Ibtisam managed to find time to come and meet us here in Abu Dhabi and having her as our ‘jumper’ at the race start is just a great way to end our experience here in Abu Dhabi,” said Dee. “I look forward to following the development of the Oman Sail Women’s Sailing team, the programme that Oman Sail has put in place is unique, and there has been a lot of progress with both male and female sailors."
Ibtisam has been a long-time admirer of Team SCA’s achievements and said it was a privilege to be a guest of the team and experience how one of the competition’s leading teams prepares for a gruelling race around the world. She was on board as Team SCA won the inshore race ahead of Team Brunel, representing The Netherlands, and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, before leaving the boat just before the fleet entered open water.
Ibtisam said, “Today was such a great experience for me. Female sailing is growing stronger in the Middle East, and Dee and all the other Team SCA women are inspirational role models to all of us. This all-female crew is a wonderful stepping stone to get more women into professional offshore racing.”
Oman Sail’s Women’s Programme was launched in 2011 with the aim of creating a women’s team that can represent Oman in international competition. Now in its fourth year, the programme has empowered dozens of Omani women to pursue their sporting ambitions and become coaches and mentors to the next generation. Ibtisam is part of the first batch of graduates from the programme and competes in the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour as part of the Middle East’s first all-female sailing team.
The Volvo Ocean Race, considered the world’s toughest ocean race, takes place every three years and covers more than 40,000 nautical miles over nine stages in nine months. Seven teams must traverse the world’s largest oceans and tackle some of the most notorious seas in a variety of testing weather conditions.
This year’s race began in Alicante, Spain, in October 2014, headed to Cape Town, South Africa, before reaching Abu Dhabi. The teams have now set sail for the tropical Chinese island resort of Sanya and will arrive in approximately 22 days. The fourth stage will start from Sanya to Auckland, New Zealand, before navigating around Cape Horn, the southernmost point in South America, to the Brazilian port of Itajai, and north to Newport, Rhode Island, USA. The race then crosses the Atlantic to conclude in Europe with stops in Lisbon, Portugal, and Lorient, France, before resting in The Hague, The Netherlands, ahead of the finale in Gothenburg, Sweden, in June 2015.
