04.02.2010
INDIAN OCEAN FIVE CAPES RACE [http://www.indianocean5capesrace.com]
TOUR OF ARABIA [http://www.tourofarabia.com]
A NEW CHAPTER IN OCEAN RACING STARTS ON SATURDAY
On Saturday, 6th February, Oman Sail's new A100 'Majan' alongside
their 75-ft multihull 'Musandam' will depart Muscat [Oman] to
begin a new chapter in ocean racing as they embark on tracing
out the route of the future Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race.
With a total distance of 16,300 nautical miles (30,200km) this
new course will take the new 105-foot multihull via the Indian
Ocean's five great Capes: "Today the Atlantic is the playing
field for the sailing world's greatest oceanic races and all the
round the world races start and finish in Europe. The new Indian
Ocean 5 Capes Race course is 100% Indian Ocean utilizing the
boundaries of the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Central
Asia," said Mark Turner, CEO, OC Group, owners of OC Events
(Asia).
"Professional sailing races have quite naturally
developed with an Atlantic flavour in line with the growth of
the sport. The actual and potential of growth in the sport in
the whole of Asia provides us and other events, such as the
Volvo Ocean Race, with a great opportunity to develop new events
like this in what are relatively unchartered waters. The launch
of the new A100 class – the first being Oman Sail's 'Majan' –
presents us with an opportunity to develop this new race track
that has both historical and sporting credibility for this class
and other multihull classes, and equally commercial interest for
sponsors and nations of future competing teams."
The purpose of tracing out this new course is aimed at raising
the profile of the event ahead of the first official edition
planned for Spring 2012 with key stakeholder activity planned in
the stopover ports of the Maldives, Cape Town, Fremantle and
Singapore. 'Majan' with a crew of five, will depart Muscat on
Saturday [6.2.10] sailing through the tropical waters of Oman
past Ras al Hadd (literally 'Cape' in Arabic) with their bows
pointing towards the Equator. After a stop in the Maldives
'Majan' will then head down to the tip of South Africa, crossing
Cape Agulhas, and Cape Town. Racing across the frozen and
treacherous Southern Ocean will be one of the most exhilarating
legs of the course, before reaching the warmth of Cape Leeuwin
and Australia's west coast. From here the boats sail north to
Cape Piai in the Malacca Straits close to Singapore and up to
Cape Comorin at the southern tip of India before returning the
welcoming shores of Oman and the starting point of the journey
in Muscat.
'Majan' skippered by renowned sailor Paul Standbridge, and
including Mohsin Al Busiadi who became the first Arab to sail
round the world non-stop on board Oman Sail's 'Musandam' last
year, will face many different challenges en route.
'Majan', the ancient name of the Sultanate of Oman, is Oman Sail
's new flagship and the first of the new Nigel Irens designed
Arabian 100 [A100] one design class: "The index objective behind
the creation of this new class is not to take on the 'classic'
European events but to help pave the way for a thriving
professional racing scene in the Gulf region and around the
Indian Ocean," commented Oman Sail CEO, David Graham. "Majan was
assembled locally in Salalah and although the crew are led by
Paul and two other international sailors, Mohsin has become an
accomplished offshore sailor and he will be joined by Mohammed
Al Ghailani, as Oman Sail continues to grow and expand the
skills of the Omani sailors. There is a great national pride in
the project and already other GCC nations are interested in
developing similar sailing programmes and we encourage that.
Ultimately, if by 2016 we had six big race boats racing on this
new Indian Ocean course under the colours of different Middle
East and Asian nations, for me, that would be a great
achievement."
OC Events continue to develop the sailing arena of Arabia, Asia
and the Indian Ocean. Building on the foundations of the Asian
Record Circuit established in 2007, and the Extreme Sailing
Series Asia which is being staged this winter in Hong Kong,
Singapore and Muscat, OC Events Asia launched its vision for two
new premier racing events – the 'Tour of Arabia' and the 'Indian
Ocean 5 Capes Race' - in November 2009.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.oceventsasia.com [http://www.oceventsasia.com/]
http://www.indianocean5capesrace.com
http://www.A100class.com
http://www.omansail.com
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