| Musandam-OmanSail finish second |
COWES (UK) The two MOD70’s - Musandam-OmanSail and Fonica – made a flying start hitting 17 nautical and excelling to 20 nautical plus conditions to set record breaking finish in the sixth edition of the Artemis Challenge on Friday in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, UK.
Musandam-OmanSail took the lead as they approached the Needles, but Fonica edged in front as they moved past west of the Island and fought neck and neck until the finish, a press release from Oman Sail said on Friday.
After sailing in speeds in excess of 30 nautical, Fonica took line honours and the new round the Isle of Wight record finishing in a time of 2 hrs, 21 min and 25 second (subject to ratification), with Musandam-OmanSail finishing just 1 minute and 30 seconds behind in a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, 53 seconds, 10 minutes ahead of the previous record.
The 50-mile (93km) course multihull speed sailing reco-rd for sailing around the Isla-nd had been held by Playstation in a time of 2 hours, 33 minutes and 55 seconds and has stood for 11 years.
For the two Omani sailors who were selected to compete in the race through Oman Sail’s innovative training programme it was a once in a lifetime experience,
“It was good we really enjoyed it. This was my first time sailing onboard Musandam-OmanSail and an amazing experience for me. It was a real challenge between ourselves and Fonica. We had a battle towards the Needles, and then they just managed to get in front of us and we tried hard to catch them up.
“I loved it, it was really nice. I would definitely like to get back onboard again in the future, but I am also trying to train for my kite surfing and sailing career as I am working towards reaching the Olympics some day. It was a great experience to meet and sail with people like Sidney, Brian, Leigh and Dee and I have learnt so much,” Khalfan Al Athobi.
Hilal Al Zadjali, part of Musandam-OmanSail’s shore crew and on his first race onboard, said: “It was a great experience, and it was a close race with the other MOD70 Foncia. I work with the team on the shore side and it was great to step onboard and sail today.”
For the crew of Musandam-OmanSail the focus now shifts to the MOD70 European Tour which kicks off in Kiel, Germany at the end of the month.
“It was a nice day and good fun to share this sailing with the Extreme Sailing Series team and also to have some local knowledge as well. For our Omani sailors it was a good experience to take part in this event and they enjoyed it which was fantastic.
“We head to Lorient tonight and then next week we do the delivery to Kiel, and I’m excited about that. We have the whole offshore crew and two inshore crew sailing on board. We decided to take the longer route to Kiel in order to get some more training time on the water. It’s going to be a good opportunity for the team to step up on this delivery. I am expecting a lot to prepare for the start of the European Tour,” said Musandam-OmanSail MOD70 skipper Sidney Gavignet.
Oman Tribune
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