The fifth leg of Sailing Arabia The Tour saw the eight competing Farr 30 one designs set sail from Al Hamra in Ras Al Khaimah, bound for Zighy Bay in Oman ~ via the Strait of Hormuz, and past the most visually spectacular part of the race course… the flat desert giving way to the mountainous Musandam Peninsula.
The 24 hour long leg was a tense game of snakes and ladders for the majority of the competitors. Only AISM consistently performed well, leading for the majority of the leg. Bertrand Pace and the crew of AISM have won their fourth consecutive offshore leg of the tour. Some, including Cedric Pouligny-steered BAE Systems, lying in second place overall, got stuck along the course and found themselves racing among the backmarkers. For others the most tactically tricky leg to date worked in their favor, with Kay Heemskerk’s Delft Challenge – TU Delft scoring their best result of the whole race, coming home in second place.
Finish times:
1. AISM – 15:29:59
2. Delft – 16:17:33
3. EFG Bank (Monaco) – 16:36:59
4. Al Thuraya – 17:02:10
Fourth place winner, Al-Thuraya Bank Muscat, is skippered by Rising Tide Leadership Institute Ambassador Dee Caffari, with and an all female crew: Sarah Hornby, Elizabeth Bayliss, RTLI Ambassador Katie Pettibone, Basma Al Nofali, Raiya Al Habsi, Rajaa Al Uwaisi, Ibtisam Al Salmi, Tahira Al Yahyaee and Asrar Al Ajmi
Photos by Lloyd Images
