Oman Sail M34. Image copyright Oman Sail/Lloyd Images
by Oman Sail media
Oman Sail’s multinational race squad, skippered by Sidney Gavignet and tasked with racing the M34 in the Tour de France a la Voile and the Sultanate of Oman’s flagship MOD70 this season, will line up on the start line of Spi Ouest France Intermarché on Thursday for a weekend of racing on the M34 and J80 in La Trinite-sur-Mer.
Sidney
will skipper the Oman Sail M34 for its first outing this season and
will call tactics, while fellow Frenchman Damien Iehl will helm,
Shane Hughes (IRL) will trim the mainsail, Gilles Favennec (FRA) will
be on headsail duty, Mohammed Al Mujaini (OMA) will run the pit,
Sebastien Rogues (FRA) will trim the spinnaker and Thomas Ruyant
(FRA) will do bow.
The
event will be a good shakedown for the new crew and a first
opportunity to race against 10 of the M34s currently being
campaigned, including 2013 Spi Ouest winner, Communauté Urbaine de
Dunkerque (Daniel Souben), Groupama (Fabien Henry, who has also won
Spi Ouest) and Bretagne Crédit Mutuel (Nicolas Troussel).
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| Sidney Gavignet. Image copyright Oman Sail/Lloyd Images |
“Our
goal with Spi Ouest is to train for the Tour de France a la Voile,”
explained Sidney. “One of the main focuses will be for Damien Iehl
and I to work on our communication. We do not have a performance
target for this event as it is too soon for that so our main
objectives are to focus on working together, boat handling and close
quarters racing – Spi Ouest is an ideal platform for that.”
The
M34 circuit is a key training platform for the Oman Sail development
programme and this year the pioneering national initiative that uses
the power of sport to contribute to the development of the Omani
people has taken a further step and will be campaigning a J80 for Spi
Ouest crewed by a 100% Omani team.
“We
have broad objectives for the wider race squad for 2014, and those
crewmembers that aren’t racing the M34 for Spi Ouest, are racing a
J80 as part of a 100% Omani crew, helmed by Fahad Al Hasni who
usually trims the headsail on the M34 and has also crewed the MOD70.
Taking on this role will teach him about the volume of information
that the helmsman needs from the trimmers for example and will give
him a good grounding of information to take forward for the rest of
the season.
“The
Omani crew members sailing on the M34 and J80 at Spi Ouest are
amongst some of the best sailors from the Oman Sail project and we
will be running a crew rotation policy on the M34 and MOD70
throughout the season in order to grow their ability further. We also
aim to strengthen this team outside of sailing, we will train
together as a squad every morning and after racing each day at Spi
Ouest the two crews will debrief and discuss boat handling, tactics
and the weather – this is when they learn the most” said Sidney.
Mohammed
Al Mujaini, crew on board the M34 for Spi Ouest has been sailing the
boat for two years and has raced Sailing Arabia-The Tour and Tour de
France a la Voile – he is a fast learner and the more he learns the
greater his ambitions: “Racing alongside such experienced
professional sailors is a huge challenge and a learning curve for us,
but it is also a real source of inspiration for the young Omanis back
home to see us evolve and grow in experience through racing against
teams like Groupama and Dunkerque,” he explained. “This year we
have a new crew configuration on the M34 and have had just two weeks
before Spi Ouest, we will be working hard on training towards the
Tour de France a la Voile and hoping to do well.”
The
Oman Sail J80 crew are equally motivated ahead of their first
European regatta as an all-Omani team – they will be racing in the
biggest fleet of the event with over a hundred boats expected on the
start line. Nasser Al Mashari, who races on the Oman Sail Extreme
Sailing defending champion The Wave, Muscat – recent winner of Act
2 in Muscat, will be trimming the mainsail and calling tactics on the
J80: “It’s my first time on these boats, but I am learning
quickly,” he said. “After a week’s training we are
communicating well onboard – we speak a mixture of Arabic and
English, but it is going well! It’s a huge opportunity for us to
race this boat and it will be my first time racing in such a big
fleet. I am excited to be taking such a big step forward in my career
thanks to Oman Sail and to be demonstrating to the young sailors in
Oman that if you work hard, you can achieve – especially this year
as we will be rotating onto different boats in the Oman Sail fleet
and will learn to perform whatever the platform. It’s very
motivating.”
Oman Sail's female M34 team. Image copyright Oman Sail/Lloyd Images
One
J80 will stand out from the 100-strong fleet in La Trinite: Al
Thuraya Bank Muscat, the Oman Sail all-female campaign is returning
to Europe for its second year and includes British Olympic sailor
Mary Rook and four sailors from the fledgling Oman Sail Women’s
Sailing Programme (WSP), including Raiya Al Habsi, Rajaa Al Uwaisi,
Ibtisam Al Salmi and Nashwa Al Kindi. The WSP was created in 2011 to
offer equal opportunity to Omani women in sailing and in the short
period since its inception, Raiya Al Habsi has experienced sailing a
MOD70 in the Fastnet, Rajaa has skippered a boat for two seasons and
Nashwa who is one of the sailing school instructors became the first
Arab woman to sail an Ocean passage alongside Hilary Lister from
India to Oman. Rajaa Al Uwaisi, skipper and helmswoman, and an
inaugural member of the WSP comments on the upcoming event: “My
overall goal is to grow as a sailor, to keep learning and to become
more rounded and my immediate goal at Spi Ouest is to improve my
tactical ability. This will be my second Spi Ouest and I am
tremendously proud to represent my country – we have been training
on dinghies in Oman and working on our physical strength ahead of the
European circuit. It is a huge opportunity to be able to compete in
Europe again and I hope we will set a good example to young Omani
girls who want to sail.”
Oman
Sail Elite Sailing Squad Summer Programme 2014
MOD70
programme
- 2-5 May: Grand Prix Guyader, Douarnenez, France
- 30 May-1 June: Armen Race, La Trinite sur Mer, France
- 21-29 June: Kiel Week, Germany
- 2-9 August: Artemis Challenge, Cowes Week, UK
- 10-14 August: Seven Star Round Britain and Ireland Race
M34
programme
- 17-21 April: Spi Ouest, France
- 8-11 May: Grand Prix Guyader, Douarnenez, France
- 9-15 June: Normandy Sailing Week, France
- 4-28 July: Tour de France a la Voile
J80
programme
- 17-21 April: Spi Ouest, France
- 28-31 May: Grand Prix Ecole Navale, France
- 9-15 June: Normandy Sailing Week, France
- 27 June-4 July: J80 European Championships, Spain (TBC)
Oman
Sail race squad for Spi Ouest
M34
– Spi Ouest
- Sidney Gavignet (FRA)
- Damien Iehl (FRA)
- Shane Hughes (IRL)
- Gilles Favennec (FRA)
- Mohammed Al Mujaini (OMA)
- Sebastien Rogues (FRA)
- Thomas Ruyant (FRA)
J80
– male – Spi Ouest
- Fahad Al Hasni (OMA)
- Nasser Al Mashari (OMA)
- Ali Al Balushi (OMA)
- Sami Al Shukily (OMA)
J80
– female – Spi Ouest
- Rajaa Al Uwaisi (OMA)
- Mary Rook (GBR)
- Raiya Al Habsi (OMA)
- Ibtisam Al Salmi (OMA)
- Nashwa Al Kindi (OMA)
