Youngsters from Oman Sail’s Omantel Youth Programme, sponsored by Oman Shipping Company, joined thousands of sailors around the world as part of this year’s ‘Bart’s Bash’, a global sailing event to commemorate sailing legend Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson.
Established in 2014, Bart’s Bash is a global sailing event in aid of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation and brought together over 30,700 people from 52 countries worldwide to sail over 54,000 miles in its first year, setting the record for ‘largest sailing race in the world’, as verified by Guinness World Records.
This year, Oman Sail dedicated the first ranking race of the winter season on 19 September at Oman Sail’s sailing school in Mussanah to the cause and joined the worldwide sailing community in promoting the virtues of sailing. The group of 50 sailors aged 15 and under were out to impress and score points towards their national rankings in order to be selected for the Oman National Optimist Squad ahead of a busy winter season. Races took place in the Optimist, Laser 4.7 and, for the first time, Techno 293 windsurfing classes.
In the Optimist class, Al Moatasem Al Farsi finished first, with Mohammed Al Qasmi in second and Marwan Al Jabri completing the top three. Khamis Al Wahaibi triumphed in the Laser 4.7 class with Salim Al Alawi second and Abdul Aziz Al Wahaibi third. In the debut windsurfing ranking race, Abdul Majeed Al Hadhrami came out on top ahead of Abdullah Al Sarhi in second and Hammad Al Mujaini in third.
Overall, the school from Al Mouj Muscat topped the table with the best six results from all ranking races, the Mussanah Sailing School finished in second with Marina Bandar Al Rowdha in third and Oman Sail’s newest sailing school in Sur finishing fourth.
This was the first time that Oman Sail’s young windsurfers have taken part in a ranking race. The debut comes ahead of the RS:X World Windsurfing Championships to be held in Mussanah next month where 120 of the world’s best windsurfers will take to the waters from 17-24 October for an Olympic qualifier in preparation for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Oman Sail operates a windsurfing club with eight participants aged 12-15 currently part of the programme. The aim for Oman Sail is to train a squad capable of representing Oman at future Olympic Games and participation in ranking races will form a key component of performance assessment ahead of competition.
Rashid Al Kindi, Oman Sail’s National Youth Team Manager, said, “Our young sailors appreciate that they are part of something bigger than themselves, and the ranking races provide a platform to showcase their talents and take the next step in their sailing careers as part of the Oman National Squad in and compete in Optimist, Laser 4.7 and Windsurfing competitions around the world.”
He added, “Bart’s Bash is a wonderful opportunity to join the wider sailing community and show our shared passion for a sport that has transformed the lives of so many young people. Andrew Simpson was an Olympic Gold and Silver medallist, as well as an America’s Cup sailor. He believed that you should never give up on achieving your goals and through sailing, Oman Sail is able to create opportunities for young Omani sailors to fulfil their dreams, represent the Sultanate internationally and give back to their country.”
Bart’s Bash is one of the valuable fund raising events for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, which supports a wide range of sustainable sailing projects around the world. Eminent sailors including Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Sir Ben Ainslie, Tom Slingsby and former Oman Sail women’s programme mentor, Shirley Robertson OBE have joined forces in support of the event, and to help it to become the world’s biggest sporting event. More information about the initiative can be found online at www.bartsbash.com.
