Excellent season opener for Oman Sail’s MOD70 at Grand Prix Guyader

MUSCAT — The Oman Sail flagship campaign, Musandam-Oman Sail, got the racing season off to a good start in Douarnenez last weekend at the Grand Prix Guyader with a majority Omani crew onboard for the first time. As a first regatta on the MOD70 since the Transat Jacques Vabre last November, the objectives were to learn the boat and to continue developing the Omani sailors that make up the MOD70 and M34 squad for 2014, in a race environment. The format with its stadium racing and speed runs was the perfect platform for some swift learning and a good warm up towards the next phase of the Grand Prix which kicks off today onboard the M34. The M34 fleet includes a number of Oman Sail’s closest rivals for the Tour de France a la Voile so will prove a useful benchmark event.

French skipper Sidney Gavignet was pleased with the opening round of racing on the MOD70 despite the light airs: “The format of this event was perfect for teaching our Omani team-mates the boat handling onboard a MOD70. Fahad al Hasni, who has raced the MOD with me for a couple of years, played his role of teacher very well and the guys were attentive and enthusiastic. This regatta was a really good training opportunity for us.” The MOD70 crew was made up of Fahad, Sidney, Damian Foxall (Sidney’s crew-mate for the 2013 Transat Jacques Vabre) and Gilles Favennec — all regulars on the trimaran, plus Oman Sail’s regular M34 squad: Cedric Pouligny, Ali al Balushi, Mohammed al Mujaini, Sami al Shukily and Yassir al Rahbi. Oman Sail’s purpose is to contribute to the development of the Omani people through sailing, so the international sailors on the squad are selected for both their talent and their ability to impart knowledge to the Omani sailors in the squad.

Both MOD70 first-timers, Ali al Balushi and Sami al Shukily were buzzing from the experience: “It was so fast!” said Sami, who was a professional body-builder for the Oman national team before he joined Oman Sail — he has raced the Farr30, M34 and J80 for the last three years. “It was a superb experience, the speed and boat handling means you cannot switch off for a second. As a grinder, I realised that we need more strength, so I’ll be going back to Oman between regattas with a plan for a much more targeted physical training programme and with my sports background, I’ll be looking to help push my team-mates so that we all get stronger and better!”

Ali was also in a physical role onboard the MOD70. As bowman on the M34, he naturally slotted into supporting with the role on the trimaran. “We are really working hard on developing Omani ability on the MOD70 and this week was an excellent next step. I think it went well, I certainly learnt a lot and am looking forward to applying that back to the M34 when we start racing later today,” he said. Continuing with the crew rotation, the M34 squad racing the second half of the Grand Prix Guyader this week will be: Damien Iehl (helmsman), Cedric Pouligny (mainsail), Gilles Favennec (jib), Fahad al Hasni (spinnaker), Mohammed al Mujaini (pit), Ali al Balushi (bow) and Sidney Gavignet (tactics/navigation).

“Our squad has evolved since Spi Ouest, with Ali al Balushi and Fahad al Hasni, who raced Spi Ouest on the J80, stepping onboard for the first time this season, and Cedric Pouligny. Ali will need to work hard on the bow position, his objectives this event are to put the boat on the start line perfectly —  Damien Iehl has been coaching him on this point and encouraging him to be proactive and not to worry about errors for now. It’s important to get as much of the learning process achieved at this stage as we want to be ready for the Tour de France a la Voile in July.” With Tour de France rivals on the start line in Douarnenez this week, such as Groupama, Courrier Dunkerque and Bretagne Credit Mutuel — Oman Sail will be looking to get a measure of progress and to maximise the opportunity of training alongside them. M34 racing starts today and finishes on Sunday.

Oman Sail Elite Sailing Squad Summer Programme 2014
MOD70 programme: May 30-June 1: Armen Race, La Trinite sur Mer, France; June 21-29: Kiel Week, Germany; August 2-9: Artemis Challenge, Cowes Week, UK; August 10-14: Seven Star Round Britain and Ireland Race; November 2: Route du Rhum.
M34 programme: May 8-11: Grand Prix Guyader, Douarnenez, France; June 9-15: Normandy Sailing Week, France; July 4-28: Tour de France a la Voile.
J80 programme: May 28-31: Grand Prix Ecole Navale, France; June 9-15: Normandy Sailing Week, France; June 27-July 4: J80 European Championships, Spain (TBC).
Oman Sail MOD70 and M34 squad 2014: Sidney Gavignet (FRA), Damian Foxall (IRL), Fahad al Hasni (OMA), Mohammed al Mujaini (OMA), Ali al Balushi (OMA), Sami al Shukily (OMA), Yassir al Rahbi (OMA), Cedric Pouligny (FRA), Gilles Favennec (FRA), Damien Iehl (FRA) M34 only, Shane Hughes (IRL) M34 only, Thomas Ruyant (FRA) M34 only, Alex Pallu (FRA) M34 only, Guillaume Beranger (FRA) M34 only.

Wednesday 07th, May 2014 / 21:15 Written by Oman Observer 

in Sports