The participating teams in the Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT) were officially welcomed into Omani waters during the official prize giving ceremony for leg four of the tour.
The event was held under the patronage of Her Excellency Maitha Bint Saif Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism where the Omani flagged Team Renaissance, in their first podium finish, claimed third, which their skipper Ahmed Al Mamari attributed to local knowledge. The other two winning teams were the French team Courrier Dunkerque and the Qatari flagged Team Commercialbank claiming first and second respectively.
During the ceremony, the efforts of the local Team Muscat 2012 were also recognised, not only for their continually improving performance on the water, but also for their role as Ambassadors for Oman, promoting Muscat as the Arab Tourism Capital 2012.
“Our Ministry’s sponsorship for boat Muscat 2012 in Sailing Arabia-The Tour (SATT) stems from our strong belief in the importance of promoting Muscat capital of the Arab Tourism 2012. Before the beginning of the Tour, the ministry formed a team to promote the Sultanate in stopovers of the tour along the GCC states where exhibitions were organized and booklets about Oman and its tourist facilities distributed,” Maitha Bint Saif Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism said.
“The ministry will continue supporting and sponsoring SATT next year,” she said, “and we are happy to see young female and Omani sailors competing in the race. This will undoubtedly enrich sports and tourism together and this race encourages youth to learn and contribute to the heritage of their ancestors.”
David Graham, Oman Sail’s CEO mirrored Her Excellency’s words and spoke about the longevity of the Tour.
“Sailing Arabia – the Tour is still in its infancy, but it is becoming clear at every venue that the tour is here to stay. This coastline is one of the most beautiful in the world and Sailing Arabia – The Tour provides a sports platform through which we can promote it, as witnessed at Six Senses.
“50% of the sailors competing are from these Arab states. It was always one of our aims – to create strong and healthy sports competition between the Gulf States – to ensure the continued development of our regional sailors”
After almost 24 hours of sailing from Ras Al Khaimah to Six Senses in Musandam, the nine-boat fleet arrived in Zighy Bay on Thursday morning. Despite it being one of the toughest legs of the journey, during which the sailors had to navigate through the challenging Straight of Hormuz, the fleet arrived in awe of the stunning coastline, which Al Thuraya BankMuscat’s British skipper Dee Caffari described as “breathtaking”.
John Philipson Managing Director of Oman, Six Senses welcomed the sailors.
“We are very pleased to host Sailing Arabia – The Tour for the second year. We feel genuinely privileged to be the first port of call in Oman for the fleet and to welcome sailors of such calibre to Six Senses.
“The coastline of Oman is beautiful and Sailing Arabia – The Tour serves to highlight that beauty to the region.”
As the final stages of SATT draw closer, the level of competition has gone up a notch. The French on Courrier Dunkerque set a very high bar – but not an unreachable one – and any of the top five boats could now realistically finish on the podium. The latest leg saw a real shake-up on the leader board.
The fleet set sail from Six Senses this morning for Mussanah, before the short final sprint along the coast to Muscat and the official closing ceremony on February 27, 2012.