With skipper Paul Standbridge, one of the world's top sailors and
the former manager of South Africa's America's Cup Team
Shosholoza, at the helm, and the start perfectly timed to
coincide with the daily firing of the noon day gun from Cape
Town's landmark Signal Hill, the magnificent speed machine,
which has utterly captivated Capetonians during her brief stay
in the city, quickly built pace of over 23 knots in a brisk 14
knot south westerly breeze and dark rain threatening skies.
On the crew is world famous French round the world sailor Sidney
Gavignet,crack French America's Cup sailor Thierry Douillard,
former Team Shosholoza sailor Michael Giles from Port Elizabeth,
Omani sailor Mohsin Al Busaidi who became the first Arab to sail
non-stop around the world last year, Mohammed Al Ghailani a
young Omani trainee sailorand Olympic sailor Mark Covell who is
the media crew on board.
Earlier the crew of Majan were given a rousing dockside farewell
from family, newly made local friends and young sailors from the
Izivunguvungu Foundation for Youth in Simonstown who were
thrilled to tour the yacht and meet the crew just minutes before
they cast off.
Cape Town is a designated stopover for the race which could
potentially start in 2012. Conceived by OC Events and campaigned
by Oman Sail, the Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race will be the first
ever yacht race to link the Middle East, Africa, Australia and
Asia and the first ever race of its kind in the Indian Ocean.
It will feature "city start lines" in Muscat, Cape Town,
Fremantle (Australia) and Singapore and five "Cape" finish lines
- Cape Ras Al Hadd off Oman, Cape Agulhas, the most southerly
point of Africa, Cape Leeuwin on South West Australia, Cape Piai
, the southernmost point of indexland Asia, just west of Singapore
and Cape Comorin on the southern tip of India. This next leg to
Fremantle which will involve racing across the frozen and
treacherous Southern Ocean will be one of the most exhilarating
and dangerous of the course, before reaching the warmth of Cape
Leeuwin and Australia's west coast.
For sailors, the Southern Ocean is the vague term for the
Southern Seas and the underworld where no land separates the
oceans.
Below 40 degrees of latitude, a series of low pressure systems
continuously 'roar' and move towards the east without being
blocked by any land mass. Further South, winds are even more
fierce, hence the nickname of 'howling fifties'. Down there, the
crew of Majanwill find themselves in the Grey World – one of the
most remote and dangerous parts of the planet. A very desolate
place, where "no one should go without having some fear of it"
as world famous British solo sailor Ellen Mac Arthur once put it
. Some days, there will be no horizon at all – the grey of the
sea melting with that of the sky, or the height of the waves
hiding it from sight.
Writing on his blog while at sea soon after the start Mohsin Al
Busaidi said: "As we waved goodbye to the new friends we made in
Cape Town, it was time to mentally prepare ourselves for the
toughest leg yet to Fremantle, Australia. It's an overcast, warm
day. The wind is light, around 8 knots. We're heading south out
of table Bay. The mood onboard is a mixture of excitement to be
back on Majan and anticipation about entering the Southern Ocean
- we have a great team and a great boat, it's going to be an
amazing adventure."
The A100 trimaran 'Majan'left Muscat, Oman, last month on 6th
February and stopped briefly in the Maldives while en route to
Cape Town to traces out this new course via 5 great Capes. She
crossed the proposed new race finish line at Cape Agulhas – the
second cape on the course - at 16:02:57 GMT, 13 days, 6 hours
and 57 seconds after leaving the Maldives.
For more information on the Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race visit
http://www.indianocean5capesrace.com
Follow Majan on its Indian Ocean, 5 Capes Race at :
www.majan-a100.com www.omansail.com
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