The National Dinghy Team concluded a successful regatta in the forth GCC Sailing Championship in KSA yesterday (31 March), with Ahmed al Wihaibi winning a silver medal in the laser standard class, an improved result after winning the bronze medal in last year's championship hosted in Bahrain.
The final day saw a nerve wrecking challenge between Bahrain and Oman that has been going on since the start of the regatta and it all came down to the last race to decide the final 2 medal positions, with equal points between Ahmed Al Wahaibi and Abdulla Janahi from Bahrain, Ahmed won on count back scoring more first places throughout the series.
28 teams from the GCC participated in the Laser class:
Laser Standards: 9 Boats
Laser Radial: 10 Boats
Laser 4.7: 9 Boats
The forth GCC Sailing championship took place on Fanatir beach at AL Jubail in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during 28 -31 March. Over three days, the sailors experienced challenging conditions starting with low winds and going into huge wind shifts with 12- 30 knots gusts, thunder storms and huge lightning bolts. But Ahmed managed to maintain his position and get consistent results which led him to secure the second place over all positioning himself between Bahrain's Abdul Raheem Abdulla in the first place and his team mate Abdullla Janahi in third.
Oman's Hussain Al Jabri managed to secure the forth place over all, a good result for him after only 10 months sailing.
Al Jabri joined the the National Laser Team recently and has already proven to be an invaluable member of the squad, showing some promising talent after winning the second place in home waters at the second edition Mussanah Race Week, an international dinghy regatta organized by Oman Sail earlier this month, in a thrilling battle between him and the much experienced Michael Zittlau from Germany.
Oman's participation included competing in the 3 laser rigs (Standard, Radial & 4.7) With our team of 4 sailors
Laser Standard: Ahmed Al Wahaibi
Laser Standard: Hussain Al Jabri
Laser Radial: Mohammed Al Mashari
Laser 4.7: Mahfood Al Wahaibi
After consistently holding on in the top five positions, Al Mashari fought hard on the last day of the Laser Radial fleet finishing in the top three in the last few race , which was enough to move him from 7th to equal 4th displaying a great show of never giving up and fighting to the end. Al Mashari finished 5th overall after on count back scoring. A tough battle and a great learning experience for the young promising sailor.
Mahfood Al Wihaibi, the National Youth Team's 4.7 sailor coped very well with the challenging conditions. Competing his first ever regional event with much limited training, Al Wihiabi showed significant improvements within his racing and sailing skills. Mahfood finished 8th overall.
Mark Rhodes Corky, the National Laser Team's coach commented: " As a coach, I am very happy with the team's performance. I thank the team for their hard work and great attitude. The ongoing training and preparations for this event have paid off and much improvement has been seen in the team's performance overall." He added "The GCC sailing Championship is one of the biggest annual sailing events in the region, and our our boys have continuously shown improved results year after year. We look forward to seeing Oman host the event next year and we will ensure to give our level best to maintain and improve our level. I thank the Ministry of Sports and Oman Sail for providing the team all the support needed. It has played a crucial role in bringing back a medal to the country."
