The Oman Sail majority women's team campaigning the J80 this summer in Europe as part of their ongoing learning curve is improving regatta by regatta. At this stage of their sailing careers, every new lesson impacts their results; they have progressed through Spi Ouest and the Grand Prix Ecole Navale to finish Normandy Sailing Week yesterday in the top third of the 36-strong fleet. M34 male crewmember Yasser Al Rahbi has raced with the team for the last two events and has brought much needed strength to the team, he will now step off as the crew regroups ahead of the European Championships at the end of the month in Barcelona.
The team was joined and guided by British Olympic sailor Mary Rook, who, by end of the Normandy Week, expressed, “We had strong wind for Normandy Sailing Week and as we had practiced our boat handling during the training in these conditions, we were able to focus on tactics and close quarter sailing a lot more during the racing,”. “We had a high moment on Sunday when we passed 10 boats and caught right up to the leaders on one of the downwind legs, it was exciting for the team who got a taste for it! We are all very pleased with our 12th place, the team has made a lot of progress since the start of the season.”
The girls now return home to Oman for 10 days before heading to Barcelona to train in somewhat lighter Mediterranean conditions. “We really enjoyed the bigger breeze,” said Nashwa Al Kindi. “We were often in the top ten boats and can really say that the training is paying off, now we go home for a while before travelling to Barcelona to train for the Europeans.”
On another patch of water in Normandy, the Oman Sail M34 team was battling it out with the same top teams that will be racing French classic, the Tour de France a la Voile, next month. After a week of offshore, coastal and inshore racing that reflects the Tour format perfectly, Oman Sail skippered by Sidney Gavignet and crewed by a mixed French-Omani team finished third overall, out of seven participating teams.
The result is hoped to be a sign of what is to come in July, when the same crew will tackle the Atlantic Ocean in the first four legs of the month-long event that concludes in the Mediterranean.
Nasser Al Mashari, who is usually found at the pointy end of Extreme Sailing champion, The Wave, Muscat, was part of the crew for this final 'training' regatta and while he is due to travel to Russia next week for the St Petersburg Act of the Extreme Sailing Series, he is also looking beyond that to the start of the Tour de France a la Voile: “The level of the crew is excellent – we feel that we did a good job during this event, our boat handling is very fluid, the communication on board is good and we feel ready for the Tour de France. If we can keep these results going, then a podium finish is within our reach,” he said after the race.
The Tour de France a la Voile starts on 4 July in Dunkerque, France.
