Choppy ride to the finish

THE fifth edition of ‘EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour’ will reach a thrilling conclusion in Bahrain on Saturday.

The tour’s 11 teams have been on the water for several days and the competition is fiercer than ever with EFG Bank placed first overall after two leg wins.

Second and third place is being hotly contested between Team Averda and TU Delft Challenge, whilst Zain Sailing Team of Kuwait launched an attack on Bienne Voile’s fourth place position after an impressive second place finish in Leg 3.

The boats, which set sail from Abu Dhabi on Monday for Qatar shores, will depart Doha on the final leg of the race and take on the ultimate head-to-head challenge to reach the finish line on Saturday at the Amwaj Marina.

Organisers say Bahrain will provide the perfect finish for the teams after 15 days at sea with a fitting closing ceremony to take place at the Dragon Hotel.

The winning team will be awarded the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour trophy but all the teams can proudly celebrate their achievements in completing the gruelling race.

Race organiser Salma Al Hashmi, director of marketing and events at Oman Sail, said: “EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour has brought together the best sailing talent in the region and elite international sailors from around the world to tackle an intense schedule of long and short offshore races with in-port races, and long and short offshore legs.

“This year’s reversed route has already presented new challenges with the headwinds and unpredictable weather conditions providing a true test of mental strength.”

Leg 6 from Doha to Amwaj Islands is a 98 nautical mile sprint to the finish line in Amwaj Marina. Hugging the coast of Qatar, the race looks to be an uphill battle with strong headwinds and choppy waters a probability.

A total of 11 teams representing seven nations – Oman, Kuwait, China, Switzerland, EU, Monaco and The Netherlands – and of more than 20 different nationalities are currently battling it out on the Gulf waters.

The challenging route has tried the crews’ endurance and teamwork with EFG Bank, skippered by Sidney Gavignet, winning an exceptionally close race in Leg 3 last weekend which saw the teams face high winds and plenty of place changes as they sailed from Ras Al Khaimah to Dubai in the UAE. Their win puts the team back in first place overall.

Now in its fifth year and featuring some of the world’s most accomplished sailors, regional talent and role models such as an all-female team, EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2015 is well-positioned to plant the seed of sailing firmly in the imagination of a new generation of local competitors, and set the scene for the wider renaissance of sailing in the region.

The 760-nautical mile course spans over four countries from Oman to Bahrain, with eight of the region’s premier marinas playing host as stopover venues during the six legs of the course.

* EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2015 began in Muscat, Oman on February 15. Sports fans can follow all the action of the Gulf region’s leading offshore race with live tracking and updates at www.sailingarabiathetour.com