By Maryam Khalfan - MUSCAT — With the concept of uniting the Gulf states to contest in a race around the home waters and to promote the region as an ideal destination for hosting world-class regattas and high profile sporting events, the 2nd edition of Sailing Arabia — The Tour (SATT) 2012 will be held from February 12–27, it was declared at a press conference held at Oman Sail yesterday.
The event, which will this year witness the participation of 9 teams race across the Arabian Gulf as they transverse through 7 destinations has been organised by Oman Sail in collaboration with several organisations in the Gulf region.
The conference was attended by Issa bin Sultan al Ismaili, Director of Events, Oman Sail, Khalid al Zadjali, Director of Tourism Event, Ministry of Tourism and Ahmed al Maamari and Mohsin al Busaidy, the famous Omani sailors who are on board of the nominated team of skippers.
In his speech, Al Ismaili stressed on the significance of the event, which is chiefly designed at integrating the Gulf States in a healthy competition , where nations compete in a sport, which is also part of their rich maritime heritage.
“SATT is also aimed at creating commercial opportunities and interests for reginal and international organisations – a unique platform where the contest transverses through 7 cities in the GCC states and targets 4 markets in the region”.
The Tour is further designed at generating opportunities for GCC offshore sailors to contest within the environment of their home waters of the Arabian Gulf and to enhance their skills to the utmost potential, remarked Al Ismaili.
According to the officials, a total of nine teams including four teams from the Sultanate, four from the region and one team from France will contest in the race as compared to last year in which only six teams contested.
The race will be conducted on the same route starting from Manama in Bahrain to Doha, Abu Dhabi and Ras al Khaimah.
The Tour will also take the sailors to race on Omani waters through Musandam, Musannah and Muscat.
The racing will take place on the same one-design boats (Farr30 class) as the Tour de France a la Voile, the event on which SATT is based, providing a true test of the sailor’s skills. Over the five legs, the sailors will not only have to race offshore overnight, but they will also have to do short, fast races in stopover venues close to shore for the public to experience.
The teams will set off from Manama to sail the 241kms to Porto Arabia marina at The Pearl-Qatar in Doha before they take on the longest leg of The Tour to Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club. From Abu Dhabi they will traverse the coast of the UAE to Ras Al Khaimah, before racing towards the first Omani port at Zighy Bay, Six-Senses near Khasab. Then, they will make their way south to Musannah, before the final short 84kms sprint to The Wave, Muscat. In all, the sailors will cover an incredible distance of about 1,064 kilometres in a period of two weeks.
The Sultanate will be well represented, with four Omani teams including the BAE Systems, Renaissance Services, the Ministry of Tourism team, which is inclined to promote Muscat as the Arab Capital of Tourism 2012. Also on board of the Omani squad includes Al Thuraya BankMuscat, an exclusive team of women sailors who will challenge the offshore races for the first time
Maitha al Mahrouqiya, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, said “our yacht is a great platform to promote Muscat as Arabia’s Tourism Capital 2012, as awarded by the Arab League’s Tourism Ministers. Our yacht showcases the Muscat 2012 brand while our Omani skipper and crew are great brand ambassadors. It is a winning combination. We wish them every success.”
The Ministry’s Muscat 2012 campaign includes international stopover promotions with Oman Air and an expanded international events programme. She said “2012 is a big year for tourism to Muscat and Oman, and we will use the start of every leg of the SATT event as an opportunity to brief the local GCC travel and tourism trade. It’s a unique and exciting way to introduce a brand and our campaigns,” she added.