Oman Sail's elite team overcomes weather and technical issues to make progress

Muscat: Oman Sail’s elite sailing team continues to make progress at the Marina MIlitare Nastro Rosa Tour 2022 in Italy, despite turbulent weather where the lack of wind has impacted all teams and technical issues with the boat has prevented the team from reaching its full potential.

The team is currently in eighth place in a congested fleet after six stages of the eight-leg event.

Oman Sail’s team of Akram Al Wahaibi, Ibtisam Al Salmi, Sultan Al Balushi, Ali Al Balushi and Abdul Majeed Al Hadhrami have embarked on their first test on board a new class, the Beneteau Figaro 3, as well as competing in wing foil and kite regattas simultaneously.

Sultan Al Balushi, Wing Foil coach, said, “It is a pleasure to be here in Italy for the Nastro RosaTour. It is a new class and a challenge for our team, but it is a good experience and we are definitely learning as the event progresses. We have Wing Foil for the first time, again it is a new board for us but definitely a great experience. Adding the Waszp to the Tour and having the chance to have an athlete represent Oman Sail is a great thing for our country, and we can consider this class a really good class to develop sailing and fast racing.”

He added, “The Tour has been an exciting introduction to new classes for us and while results are not yet promising for podium positions, we have several legs left to go and results should improve if we have steady wind. Regardless, our main aim is to share the sport, represent our nation, learn and try new classes with a view to building on our race experience.”

The team is currently travelling to Ancona for the seventh stage, taking place from 4-6 July, before finally racing around the medieval shipyards of the Venetian Arsenal in Venice where the tour concludes on 9 July 2022.