Arriving in daylight for the first time since the tour began, the fleet entered Omani waters in the early hours of this morning. After sailing 278 kilometres from Ras Al Khaimah to Musandam, many of the teams found themselves match racing to the line.
Daniel Souben and his professional French crew on Courrier Dunkerque claimed their fourth consecutive leg win and with that are all but untouchable at the top of the Tour leaderboard. However, it was the local knowledge of the Omani flagged Team Renaissance and Team Muscat 2012 that was the most impressive in this leg. Souben said although he has confidence in his team’s abilities, he was wary of the Omani teams now they were in their home waters.
“This is another victory for us and we are very happy, especially since it was the hardest stage of the Arabian Tour. It is thanks to the good preparation of the boat, crew and excellent management team on shore.
“The Omanis have the advantage of knowing the water now and we have the advantage of knowing the boat, so the racing will be very interesting from now on.”
The fleet struggled to get racing underway yesterday morning (Wednesday 22) as they prepared to leave Ras Al Khaimah with only two knots of wind. After a general recall on their first attempt with too many boats over the line, it was second time lucky for the majority of the nine-boat fleet – only Team Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was penalised a second time with another recall – which ultimately proved costly for British skipper Robin Elsey and his crew.
As the fleet left the shelter of Ras Al Khaimah it sailed into rough seas and chose to sail inshore for some respite. After 35 miles, sailing along the spectacular mountains of the UAE coastline, they found better sailing conditions with a steady six-knot breeze.
Into Omani waters and with 55 miles left to the finish, the fleet battled strong tides in very light winds to make the only gate in the race in the Straight of Hormuz.
Courrier Dunkerque led the fleet home with Team Commercialbank nine minutes back and Team BAE Systems 15 minutes off in third. Team Renaissance and Al Thuraya BankMuscat passed in fourth and fifth respectively.
Dee Caffari summed up the conditions. “When we got to the top mark, the wind completely shut down and the whole fleet closed up. We found it very tough with shifty winds, boats really close together and really strong currents that weren’t doing what we expected.
“Then we all sailed through into daylight and found out where everybody was. We couldn’t believe that some teams had got in front of us and others were behind, so we were a little disappointed that we found ourselves in sixth.”
As the sun rose spectacularly over the fleet, it was all change, particularly for Team BAE Systems. The team, who have consistently finished in the top three, had a frustrating leg. A tactical error cost them valuable points off the leader board, as skipper Cedric Pouligny explained:
“We were third at gate and in a good position, but as we sailed through the narrow passage in the Straight of Hormuz we were fighting against strong currents and we were getting tired. We missed a big wind shift and that was it. We couldn’t regain our position.” Team BAE Systems went on to cross the line in eighth place.
Oman’s Ahmed Al Mamari and his Team Renaissance crew took full advantage of Team BAE Systems error and were thrilled by their first podium position.
“Leg three was a difficult leg and we feel very lucky to come in with the top three. It is not easy to secure a podium place against these professional sailors and skippers and we did our best so we are very happy.
“We are now in our home waters and I know this area well. Just two months ago I won the Musab to Muscat regatta and it think I know this area more than anyone here. I will try to use this experience to achieve more great results.”
Team Bahrain, who just two days ago claimed victory in the Ras Al Khaimah in-port racing, showed considerable improvement during this leg, narrowly missing out on a podium place by just one minute. Ebraham Abdullah, the Bahraini skipper for this leg was thrilled with the team’s performance.
“We did very well today, we had over 24 hours sailing and it was a great experience. We are very happy to finish in fourth but it wasn’t easy. We were right at the back of the fleet we passed the gate and we made some good tactical calls which put us in a good position and allowed us to climb to fourth.”
The battle for fifth and six was intense between the all-women Al Thuraya BankMuscat and Team Muscat 2012, and in a photo finish Team Muscat 2012 crossed the finish line less than one boat length ahead of the women.
“It was a really hard leg but it had moments of brilliance with absolutely everything in it,” according to Dee Caffari. We tried to work really heard down this stunning coastline with the spinnaker driving our way right to the line. We are disappointed by the result, but the battle with Muscat 2012 was fantastic after all that way.”
Less than 15 minutes separated the first to eighth placed boats as they crossed the line. Team Kingdom of Saudi Arabia secured their best result of the Tour, finishing five minutes shy of Al Thuraya BankMuscat in seventh, before an extremely disappointed Team BAE Systems, in eighth. Team Ras Al Khaimah brought up the end of the fleet, in ninth place.
The stopover in Dibba is hosted by Six Senses Resort and Spa Zighy Bay, which will tomorrow host in-port racing within the spectacular bay for the fleet.
The fleet has already covered 1,047 kilometres sailing from Bahrain to Qatar and the UAE over the first four legs, and has a further 362 to go, before they reach their destination at The Wave, Muscat on February 27.
Leg Four Results including finishing time: 1. Courrier Dunkerque 09:07:55; 2. Team Commercialbank 09:10:45; 3. Team Renaissance 09:13:35; 4. Team Bahrain 09:14:37; 5. Team Muscat 2012 09:18:15;
6. Team Al Thuraya BankMuscat 09:18:17; 7. Team Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 09:23:15; 8. Team BAE Systems 09:23:30 and 9: Team Ras Al Khaimah 10:12:25.