Bad weather dens Spi Ouest caign for Oman Sail teams
Date
3/31/2016 4:46:44 AM
The prestigious Spi Ouest regatta 2016 was expected to provide a good preparatory platform for three Oman Sail teams as they kick-started their European season but bad weather in the French town of La Trinite-sur-Mer curtailed the regatta to just one day of racing recently.
Two days were abandoned before the fleet even made it onto the race track with wind speeds of 55 knots recorded. And after the only day of racing the best performance was by Oman Airports by Oman Sail led by Thierry Douillard as the team finished overall 12th in a fleet of 28 in the Diam 24 category. Douillard's crew opened its campaign with a top-ten result and had two more but at the end of the day it was placed overall 12th place after five races. The crew included Abdulrahman al Mashari one of two Omanis on board the 24-foot trimaran. Mashari said 'This was my first time ever on the boat and I really liked it. We liked it more with each race so we were frustrated that we were only able to do five races. 'Based on our performances we are confident that we are on the right track for the Tour de France a la Voile and are looking forward to the next Diam event in Pornichet France next month.' The all-Omani crew of the Oman Sail team that took part in the Grand Surprise class under Fahad al Hasani finished overall 13th among 33 competitors. The team got off to a good start with a third-place finish in only the second race and was hopeful of improving its overall 13th place after three races. For the Oman Sail women's team competing in the J80 class it was largely about gaining experience in a strong field of 67 boats. Led by Dee Caffari and her crew of Marwa al Khaifi Tamadher al Balushi Annemieke Bes and Ibtisam al Salmi the team was placed overall 50th with the best show being 32nd in one of four races. Nico Honor Oman Sail's European project manager said 'This was a difficult event since only one day of racing out of four was possible due to strong winds. We are encouraged by the results.' The three teams will now take part in the Grand Prix Atlantique in Pornichet from April 8-10 followed by the Grand Prix Ecole Navale from Crozon Peninsula in the French region of Brittany from May 4-8.