Musannah’s sea breeze filled in at midday with a perfect 10-12kts, ideal conditions for the grand finale of the GCC Sailing Championships. Whilst Saturday marked the end of the fleet racing, it was the first time that Oman’s Optimist Team Racing has featured in this event, and the young sailors took to this mentally and physically challenging form of racing well, with Oman showing particular skill and taking 1st place. Oman take gold in the Optimist and Hobie fleet, and silver in the Laser Standard, whilst Qatar claim gold in the Standard, Radial and 4.7 class. Paying witness to the winners collecting their prizes were Minister of sports- Sheikh Saad Bin Mohammed Al Saadi and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, President of the GCC Sailing Organising Committee.
There were some close fought battles on the Optimist team racing course, where teams of 4 boats raced against each other. All of the sailors got consistently good starts, and it came down to boat speed and knowledge of the rules as to whom could get their team in front. The course was inside the marina wall, where the breeze was fickle, and the teams had to work hard to ensure that they were first to reach the gusts.
After a total of 15 races were sailed, it came down to Oman’s team (Ahmed Al Mujaini and Abdullah Al Bulushi, both aged 14, and Salim Alalawi, Marwan Al Jabri and Zakariya Al Waheibi all aged 13) versus the UAE team in the final showdown, whilst the boats sailed as a tight pack round the course, it was Oman’s team who finished first, giving them the GCC Team Racing title, with UAE taking a well deserved and close fought 2nd, Qatar claiming 3rd and Saudi Arabia finishing in 4th. Sameer Al Battashi is one of the dedicated coaches of the Oman team, he stated: “I’m so proud of them, speechless, they have raised the bar, and all of their hard work over the past year has paid off. This win shows that they have learned a lot, and it will give them new confidence for future events.”
Karst Hut, International Judge from the Netherlands, ISAF race official and America’s Cup Judge, who umpired the team racing stated: “I was impressed by the level of skill, there was good interaction between the team mates and they improved throughout the day, but most of all it was enjoyable for everyone.” The young sailors aged from 11-14 will continue to train hard and work towards their next event South Africa.
More impressive results came for Oman in the hobie16 class, taking both first and second podium places. The unbeatable pair of Oman’s Musab Al Hadi and Mohammed Al Wahaibi won both of today’s Hobie 16 races, and finished the regatta with gold. Al Hadi stated: “It was a brilliant day, it was a bit light at first, but we had our rig set correctly so we were out in front, the wind picked up in the 2nd race and it certainly paid to stay to the right hand side of the course. It feels great to win on our home waters. We’ve definitely improved throughout the regatta.” It’s been a very busy month for Al Hadi, beginning with the Extreme 40s opening act which was raced at the Wave, and which his team won, he then went straight into competing in the F18 in Musannah Race Week where he finished 2nd, and next week he flies to Singapore for the 2nd Act of the Extreme series, with a beaming smile on his face he stated; “Life’s busy, but it’s exciting!” Taking 2nd overall and only 4 points behind the leaders, is Oman’s team of Ahmed Al Hasani and Akram Al Wahaibi, finishing in 3rd is Qatar’s Rashid Al Muhannadi and Akram Al Wahaibi
Another medal for Oman in the Laser Standard fleet with Hussain Al Jabri finishing with a hard fought silver medal, he managed his first win of the regatta in the final race: “I had nothing to lose, so I just went for it and it and pushed, and it paid off.” Whilst Hussain put in a strong performance throughout the regatta, he recognises that he “learned a lot”, and is now ready to tackle the next event. Qatar’s Waleed Al Sharshawi finished in 1st place overall with 9 points, Al Jabri– 16 points, and taking 3rd place with 21 points, Adil Khalid from the UAE.
In the Laser Radial, Faris Al Bakri, 17, of Qatar took the GCC Championships title with a total of 11 points, with Dawood Salman from Bahrain in a close fought 2nd place with 14 points, and taking 3rd– Said Al Zaidi from the UAE with a total of 18 points. Al Bakri commented: “There has been a good level of competition throughout the event, I had to work hard, and play the shifts which seemed to work in my favour today. I’m really pleased to have won.”
There was some seriously close racing on the Laser 4.7 course, with sailors having to stay tuned in to the gusts and shifts at all times. Qatar’s Saleh Telfat, age 15, takes overall 1st place: “It feels great to have won, I found I had to cover other boats and work hard to keep boat speed. I’m feeling tired from having to concentrate for the whole regatta. It’s back to school and studying for me now though.” Telfat finished with a total of 13 points, close behind him on 15 points was Hmood Zaidi from the UAE, and with 18 points in 3rd place overall, Seif Al Naimi also from the UAE.
It was a fun filled and action packed end to an impressive and professionally run event, Rashid Al Kindi, Chairman of the Oman Sailing Committee commented: “Great successes for our athletes, this comes a result of a long period of hard work, they were all very well prepared. The youth demonstrated particular success, and for that we must thank the parents and coaches, we appreciate all who helped organise the event for their input, and we also thank all the GCC competitors, we’re looking forward to competing next year in Qatar.”
Whilst this marks the end to a busy season in Mussanah, the Oman Sail team will now turn their focus to the organisation of the Laser World Championships, which will be held, in the Mussanah Sports City later this year.
