Sailing Arabia 2013

As Sailing Arabia – The Tour embarks on its third edition, the race promises to bring fierce competition from one of its teams. Navigating across the waters of the Gulf for the first time is an all Emirati crew, skippered by Adil Khalid. As maritime activities are strongly entrenched in Emirati history and culture, the local team will be sailing for national pride as well as a spot on the podium.

Known as the only Pan-GCC offshore sailing race, this event is shaping up to be increasingly popular with spectators and contestants. The route will start in Bahrain and then make seven stops; Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Mussana’a and Muscat feature during the course of the race, which takes place from February 10-25. On February 15, the teams will pull up into Abu Dhabi at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club (ADSYC) port. Teams are expected to start arriving early morning, and continue to do so throughout the day.

The Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club has been hosting sailing activities in the capital since 2011, and the club has seen a significant increase in the past few years from female and male students. Chairman of the ADSYC, Ahmed Thani Al Romaithi, said that the tour, ‘is a great challenge for the sailors of the Gulf, and we believe it can only help us with our mission to reinvigorate the proud traditions of sailing in Abu Dhabi. After hosting the event since the beginning, we are proud to enter our Abu Dhabi team for the first time this year.’

Adil, who has competed professionally before, will be in charge of helping his teammates manoeuvre across the waters. The team is made up of Yousef Bin Lahej, Ahmed Al Hammadi, Ayub Al Balooshi, Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Yousef Al Qubaisi and Ahmed Al Marzooqi. In past editions of the race, there were Emirati athletes who had sailed the tour, however never in an all-Emirati crew. ‘This time it’s different,’ says Adil, who seems very excited about racing with his crew. Their vessel, a boat dubbed Al Yasat, will carry the crew for the four major legs of the journey.

While training had already taken place, for some of the team, this will be the first professional offshore race that they participated in. ‘A big part of the training is getting to know the boat,’ Adil tells us. Although competing together might cause tempers to fly at times, Adil assures us that the team is also chosen based on compatibility.

‘Although training and the race can get tough sometimes, when we see the UAE flag on the boat, it fills us with a sense of pride and pushes us to keep going.’ Aside from national pride, what ultimately unites these men on the open water is also a personal relationship with the sea. Adil expresses a deep appreciation for the sport. ‘If we didn’t love doing this, we wouldn’t be able to compete’.

If the team is able to race their way into first, second or third position, then this will not only be a huge plus for the UAE in the sport, but will also raise the profile of sailing professionally in the region.
Find out more about the tour at www.sailingarabiathetour.com. The ADSYC is located on the Breakwater near Marina Mall, www.adsyc.ae (02 658 3333).