Tuesday 23 / April / 2024
Muscat: As the curtains came down on EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour (SATT) 2016, EFG Bank were crowned the champions for the third successive year.
After five legs of endurance provoking offshore legs in the Arabian Sea, EFG Bank (Monaco) retained the title.
Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Salem Al Futaisi, Minister of Transport and Communication, Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Chairwoman of Oman Sail, and George Catsiapis, Managing Director of title sponsors EFG International, presented the winners with the newly commissioned coveted trophy and congratulated the winners on their achievement.
Speaking on the sidelines of the celebration, EFG Bank Skipper Sidney Gavignet said: "It feels good. The journey has been done and well done. My team have been really nice guys and really efficient."
"As a skipper I have been very well surrounded but it is part of my job as well to build a team like this. And it has been a very good experience," he added about his new crew.
Making an impressive comeback, Almouj has climbed up the ranks as a result of their outstanding performance in the last two offshore legs as well as inshore races settling for runners-up position.
"I thank Almighty for this position and we were able to achieve this rank. The support we got really drove us to achieve this win," said Almouj sailor Abdulaziz Al Obeidani.
"Of course, we were aiming for first place but second is much better than the other position below it. This is sailing and it is unpredictable. And in the end we sail with the wind; sometimes the wind isn't in our favor so it goes back to tactics and experience," he added, responding to talk that if Almouj were to sail in their strong form as in the last two legs, they would have been first overall.
Team Averda finished in third place.
Narrow miss
Meanwhile, an Oman Sail press statement said Gavignet's victory sees him surpass fellow countryman Bertrand Pacé – who won in 2012 and 2013 - as the most successful skipper in the tour's six-year history.
And it means EFG Bank Monaco become the first team to have their names engraved on a newly commissioned EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour trophy made by British Royal Warrant holder and goldsmiths Thomas Fattorini Ltd.
In a nail-biting climax to the tour, Almouj, Muscat snatched second place overall from British young guns Team Averda who could only muster a sixth in the last leg.
Almouj Muscat, skippered by France's Nico Lunven, started EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour slowly but after hitting their stride notched up a string of impressive podium finishes.
They went into leg 5 less than a point adrift of second, and in the end their sheer determination to overhaul their closest rivals proved too much for Team Averda, who had to settle for third.
The five stages of the epic race saw the nine international crews cover 730nm from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, on to Doha in Qatar then back across the Gulf to Khasab on Oman's Musandam peninsula.
The fleet then embarked on two sprints down the coast to Sohar then on to the Muscat finish, showcasing the world-class sailing the region has to offer.
A second-place finish in leg 5 wasn't enough to elevate Omani sailor Fahad Al Hasni, Gavignet's protégé, and his Renaissance Services to the podium.
They narrowly missed out on an overall podium position by just a single point, while Team Zain, from Kuwait, finished in fifth.
Oman Airports-Al Thuraya Women's Team, the race's all-woman crew led by British round the world yachtswoman Dee Caffari, came eighth overall.
The nine crews were welcomed to the dock at Almouj, Muscat by a group of Omani schoolchildren prior to a special prize-giving ceremony celebrating the achievement of the sailors and the success of EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour.
David Graham, CEO of EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour organisers Oman Sail, said: “EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour was created by Oman Sail with a vision of building a sustainable, iconic sailboat race in the Gulf.
“We're delighted that the event is now the region's most challenging race and each year it becomes more and more globally renowned.”
Leg 5 results:
1. Almouj, Muscat (OMA/Nico Lunven)
2. Renaissance Services (OMA/Fahad Al Hasni)
3. EFG Bank Monaco (MON/Sidney Gavignet)
4. Team Bienne Voile (SUI/Lorenz Mueller)
5. Team Zain (KWT/Cedric Pouligny)
6. Team Averda (GBR/Marcel Herrera)
7. Oman Airports-Al Thuraya Women's Team (OMA/Dee Caffari)
8. TU Delft Challenge (NED/Wouter Sonnema)
9. Team Mangold (GER/Martin Felgenhauer)
Overall results:
1. EFG Bank Monaco (MON/Sidney Gavignet)
2. Almouj, Muscat (OMA/Nico Lunven)
3. Team Averda (GBR/Marcel Herrera)
4. Renaissance Services (OMA/Fahad Al Hasni)
5. Team Zain (KWT/Cedric Pouligny)
6. TU Delft Challenge (NED/Wouter Sonnema)
7. Team Bienne Voile (SUI/Lorenz Mueller)
8. Oman Airports-Al Thuraya Women's Team (OMA/Dee Caffari)
9. Team Mangold (GER/Martin Felgenhauer)
