3.17.12 – The last leg was 50 miles from Mussanah, Oman to Muscat, Oman. In order to keep the prize giving on schedules with important dignitaries present, such as His Highness Sayyid Harib bin Thuwami al Said attending, we had to arrive in a one hour window between 3-4pm. Finishing within such a specific time frame is difficult at best of times, but over a distance like that is almost impossible. When we awoke in the morning, the sea was glass because there was no wind. Thus, the fleet started motoring towards Muscat with provisions in place that should the wind fill then the race committee would drop a start line and we would race the rest of the way in.
First reflections on what we’ve accomplished
Starting off motoring gave us a chance to sit down, drink in the reality that the race was ending and the journey which we all participated in. Claire, our bow woman had to leave the night before to get to her Olympic training as she is on the French women’s match race team for London 2012, so we were sailing with only 7. We asked the Omani girls what they thought, and whether they were glad they had done the race. Both Intisar and Raiya were very happy to have been a part of the team and really enjoyed the race (through all the hard bits, including sea-sick). They hadn’t known what to expect or whether they would be able to do this thing. We told them how proud we were of them and that there had been Arabic men that directly told us that they didn’t think the Omani women would be able to last. Boy were they wrong! The girls were so proud too. Raiya and Intisar also noted their new friendships and mutual respect they shared with the Omani men sailors. When we first arrived in Oman and took the girls into the gym this type of camaraderie was non-existent. We talked a bit about what was going to happen next, as they both wanted to continue to race and what that might look like. This will be subject of a later blog…
The final push- building breeze, but not enough
We all knew that with one point separating us from Renaissance, it was serious business that we finish ahead of them. We had lost our instruments on the previous leg, and the shore crew was unable to get them working. Although that is a hinderance, because we really only needed to match race Renaissance it wasn’t so bad. Plus, I have a good eye for wind speeds, so I was fairly confident in deciding boat set up. When the wind started filling, the fleet had to get through a restricted access area before the race course could be set. It left an approximate 10 mile race course into Muscat in 12-14 knots of wind. There was a short upwind leg to a buoy where the fleet turned left and would head downwind with our colorful spinnakers.
It would put a premium on driving and trimming the sails, adjusting the boat in the wind as it vacillated. We got a good start, protecting the right and had a good set. Mary Rook had shifted to do bow with Claire for maneuvers, so I would move forward to do trimming when she was on the bow. It made for some shuffling particularly in gybing. We were fast and well ahead of Renaissance. Our focus then shifted to trying to get on the podium, which we missed by a couple of meters. Very disappointing, but we made sure to finish fourth overall and kept our Omani women racing the boat so that they continued to improve their racing skills.
