Oman Sail's youth gain valuable experience at Ras Al Khaima event

Muscat: 14 Omani youth sailors from the Omantel Youth Sailing Programme, aged between 12 and 16, put their sailing skills to the test against 74 of the best youth sailors from 12 countries in Asia when they participated in the ASAF Youth Cup Final, which recently concluded in Ras Al Khaima.
Sailing in cool temperatures and with a light breeze off Al Hamra Marina and Yacht Club, the team representing the Sultanate gained a taste of international competition and valuable experience in the Optimist and Laser 4.7 classes in the five-day regatta.
Four young Omanis sailed in the Laser 4.7 fleet. Adnan Al Mabsali came 11th, Ahmed Al Oraimi 15th followed by Hussen Al Mansoori 17th then by Ali Al Saadi in 22nd position.
In the Optimist class, Amur Al Lamki was leading amongst the team in terms of overall points with him securing the 27th position, followed by Salim Al Alawi at the 28th position, Saleem Al Alawi 29th position, Hassan Al Awaisi 31st position, Sufyan Al Balushi in 32nd, Mohameed Al Hammadi 34th, Al Waleed Al Oraimi 36th, Layth Al Hadhrmi 41st, Khalfan Al Hasani 42nd, and Issa Al Jahwari at 45th.
“This was a very fitting training platform for the young sailors to get a taste of a competition against excellent counterparts from countries such as Hong Kong and India,” said Ali Al Shuhaimi, Oman Sail’s Al Mouj Muscat Sailing School Manager, who accompanied the team as head coach.
“We are pleased with the performance of the team giving that it is their first quest in an international challenge of this kind. They kept strong and proved competitive despite the challenges. Adnan, for example, scored second in the third race of the Laser 4.7 class, and 4th in Race 4, while Ahmed Al Oraimi scored 2nd and 3rd in Race 9 and Race 10. We will keep an eye on their performance and give them additional training in local competitions. We are committed to discovering and nurturing promising Omani talent and pushing them to higher competitive levels”.
Al Shuhaimi was also joined by Mohsin Al Busaidi, Suleiman Al Wahaibi, Khalid Al Riyami and Sultan Al Zadjali.