Oman Sail's Masirah practising at The Needles on Thursday. Image copyright Mark Lloyd/Lloyd Images/Oman Sail.
by Nicky Moore
This weekend the Oman Sail, Masirah team will be looking to defend their line-honours title at the annual J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, Isle of Wight, a 50 mile dash around the Isle of Wight, situated on the South Coast of England.
The race is the fourth largest participation sporting event in the UK, with 17,000 competitors expected. Masirah will be racing against 1,753 other boats, including their team-mates, Oman Sail The Wave, Muscat.
It took Masirah 6 hours, 39 minutes, and 40 seconds to be first across the line last year, finishing just 49 seconds ahead of Team Aqua, skippered by legendary America’s Cup and Olympic medal winner Russell Coutts (NZL).
Pete Cumming (GBR) who took the helm of Masirah in last year’s race said “For me coming to the Round the Island Race is the highlight of the year! There is so much history to the race and to be part of that is incredible. It is difficult race, especially on an Extreme 40. There are lot’s of challenges to catch you out”.
The race record currently stands at 3hours 8 minutes and 29 seconds which was set in 2001, and although the weather will decide if it will be a record breaking year, both Masirah and The Wave, Muscat will be pushing for line-honours. “The forecast is looking better by the day and it should be good conditions for the Extreme 40’s. Even if we only have 3-4 knots of wind it is enough to get a hull flying!” Cumming.
British talent Paul Campbell-James, helm of The Wave, Muscat is known for his aggressive tactics on the water; the last time he took the helm of an Extreme 40 during an event on the Solent he capsized! “We are really looking forward to the race. We are a young team but we have had good results so far this season and work together really well. Pete our team manager keeps telling me to make sure I keep the boat up the right way and don’t break anything!”
Joining Paul will be Omani National Squad member Khamis Al Anbouri, on bow. Khamis was part of the winning team on Masirah in 2009.
It will be an early start for the teams with the start gun firing at 0510am (BST). If it is a record breaking year then the teams will be home for breakfast! The teams progress can be tracked anywhere in the world via GPS tracking transmitted from a mobile phone onboard the boats. Follow their progress on www.roundtheisland.org.uk – or follow the Oman Sail twitter for updates throughout the day - http://twitter.com/oman_sail
Team lists:
Oman Sail, Masirah:
Loick Peyron (FRA)
Pete Cumming (GBR)
Mark Bulkeley (GBR)
David Carr (GBR)
Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)
Oman Sail, The Wave, Muscat:
Paul Campbell-James (GBR)
Nick Hutton (GBR)
Alister Richardson (GBR)
Khamis Al Anbouri (OMA)
Oman Sail
J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race
