Today was another beautiful and warm day in Bahrain. We worked on electronics, performance numbers and then took the girls out sailing. We have six Omani women that we are training, although there will be four of them on the boat racing at one time. That means that there are two who will rotate in and out, and essentially be our back-up team – needing to be ready at a moment’s notice. So today, we rotated in: Epitsam and Asraar. That also meant shifting our regular crew into different positions, to give them practice in other places. Some rust showed through today – but it was light – some things going awry, such as a line being lead incorrectly or a bad gybe of the spinnaker didn’t do untoward damage. However, should we have been racing, the consequences could have been worse. Sailing in light air means inches count. Too much movement can disrupt and kill precious boat speed, and undoing problems sometimes requires movement…
But at the end of the day, the girls learned a lot, and we continued to move forward in preparing for the race. Better yet for me – I am for the most part over the food poisoning, and my appetite returned far quicker than my stomach was able, but that is something I can deal with!
Food poisoning ~ Big Hugs ~ Pleasant Sailing… Beautiful day here in Manama Bahrain. What a difference a year can make! The unrest from last year is not as present and getting through customs went without a hitch- ok – I did get the eyeball because my profession is attorney, but unlike last year this didn’t get me stuck for hours! It was nice to be travelling with my good friend Liz Baylis, Executive Director of WIMRA, who is joining us on this journey.
The day started off tough as I had food poisoning. Ugh. I powered through it, sipped water, and went down to the boats. No time for being sick. The girls were so excited to see me – lots of hugs and smiles. They couldnt wait to show me how much they had progressed! After a couple of hours of working on the boat, we headed out to tryout the sails, and I let the girls show me what they had. With a light wind and sun covered by clouds , it was pleasant sailing. It was really good – they have really come a long way with their training and awareness of what needs to happen. I have seen how their minds have processed the bigger items from last year, and now are onto the more complex – they are starting to ask more nuanced questions about the order of things, sail trim, weight. It was simply a pleasure to see one of the new members of the women’s omani squad, Raja, take the boat off the dock and put her back. This year our team is racing with 50% Omani ladies compared to last year when we only sailed with 25%. It is a great step forward and already the media is excited. Today I saw a piece in “Time Out Bahrain” magazine with a nice article dedicated to the women’s team. Read article
Ok- early to bed. Been a long day for me with no food and only sipping water…
Little did I know when I came home last March from the Middle East that my experience with the OMAN SAIL women’s sailing team would lead to my returning to Oman this week with a brand new perspective.
Over the past year, we have built structure to our dream of helping women to develop into their full potential. And I’m proud to announce the launch of the Rising Tide Leadership Institute.
Through my own journey, I have learned that my experiences racing on high-performance sailing teams has equipped me for success in leadership in my career. Using sailing as the platform, the RTLI gives us a way to inspire, educate and equip young women to become leaders who excel in the global economy.
I’m excited to reunite with my young, enthusiastic Omani friends as Dee, my fellow elite sailors and I help train and coach Raiya, Insitar and others to higher levels of self-development and leadership excellence.
Come join me in Oman and live our story as it unfolds..
6.18.12 – Now that Sailing Arabia The Tour is over, I’ve returned to my life in California where I’ve finally had a few moments to reflect on the experience that I shared with crew of Al Thurya Bank Muscat during the time I spent in Oman and the Middle East.
During the months of training leading up to the competition, the Omani women were exposed to an environment, which tested their stamina and their ability to cope with rough and changeable seas. In addition, these women faced the challenge of training against two teams of Omani men in Mussanah. I still remember a somewhat distinct and feeling of separateness as the training races got underway. There were many who doubted the strength and endurance of the Omani women. But as time went on, and the women proved that they could handle the rigor, this feeling dissipated. Eventually, I saw the Omani men and Omani women together on the dock discussing boats and sailing tactics using classic “hand karate” (where the story is retold using your hands as boats), and it was a beautiful moment. From a sailor’s perspective, it looked like friendly competitors, bonded by a shared experience on the water, simply telling sea stories.
3.18.12 – It is a wrap! At least so to speak… The Sailing Tour Arabia 2012 is over. After the finish, we sailed into the Wave Marina where we were greeted by a class of young girls from a local school, our other Omani girls and their family. Hugs, squeals and cheering were abundant.
Very touching! Congratulations and stories were passed between teams, skippers thrown in the water, and all the normal chaos of celebration… Meeting Intisar’s family was wonderful- her sisters were just as beautiful as she and were in complete wonderment (maybe a bit baffled too) about what she had done. None of her family are sea farers, so I got a sense they were a bit like ‘ where does she get IT from?’ with IT being whatever you want to fill in: moxie, adventure, craziness, daring to do something like this, or plain ole fool hardy. Raiya’s exuberant family was there as well making the picture of our two heroines complete. Continue reading “Omani women finish fourth”→
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… Continue reading “Leg 6 – Drift, Motor, Race to the Finish”→
What a whirlwind… The fourth leg had a rather inauspicious beginning as we were shut out at the start and had to tack, bear away, gibe and start after behind most of the fleet. With a dying breeze, everyone drifted around until a few zephyrs re-emerged and got us going enough to all pile up after the first windward mark. Then, finally, the wind started to fill. We went right and shortly were one of the top four boats heading up the coast of the UAE. Max wind forecast for the leg was 14 knots. Instead we were smashed up the coast in 25 knots on the nose, tacking up and into the Strait of Hormuz. The GOOD news about that is that it kept us on the beach, in lifts along the shore and well inside the 10 nautical mile limit set by the race committee. The BAD news was that there were BIG waves and it turned into a very cold and wet leg. We moved up to second in the big breeze!
From 2nd in big breeze to dodging cliffs in no wind…
After the rounding top gate the course allowed us to go inside some islands on the northeastern part of the Oman. This kept us inside and well away from any potential trouble with Iranians or pirates. We rounded the top mark in the middle of the night – complete inky blackness. One of the waypoints we had to cross was a 400 meter hole between two jagged cliffs. At that exact point, the wind completely shut off giving us a period of ‘high anxiety’ as the current washed us towards the wave shattering rocks. Fortunately, we finally made it out of that vortice. Having lost two boats in that black hole we put a spinnaker up and headed down towards Dibba. When the sun rose, the fleet was flip flopped with some new teams ahead of us in the mix, like Team Bahrain, and a top team like BAE behind. Clearly others had struggled that night as well. We ended the leg in 6th – Very frustrating after our earlier big-breeze success.
5-Star accommodations (almost) make up for a disappointing finish…
Upon our arrival, we found ourselves staying at the Six Senses at Zighy Bay Resort. They are very supportive of the women’s team and Dee had a previous good relationship with the resort. (Yay for Dee!!!!) The resort has been in a word- AMAZING. Extraordinarily gracious & helpful staff and outstanding accommodations outstanding- including our own infinity pool were only eclipsed by the FOOD!. I’m eating like every meal is my last one for the month (and the pants are definitely tighter!). This simple, restful elegant ambiance is washing away the wear and tear of the last leg. The only problem of course will be prying us out of here tomorrow!
Undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism gives prizes on the beach…
The resort hosted the prize giving on the beach (see pictures) and the owner of the resort and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism were there on hand to support the event. The Undersecretary was particularly interested in meeting the women’s team and we were able to take a picture with her. A wonderful honor.
Undersecretary at Ministry of Tourism with Omani Women’s Team – credit Lloyd Images
Her Excellency Maitha Bint Saif Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism – credit Lloyd Images
The Omani women sailors have come a LONG way… and want to keep sailing ☺
With only two legs left, talk and thoughts have turned towards the end and what happens next. Of course we want a good result but for the goal of the team and what it was meant to achieve, Al Thurya has been a success. The Omani women who have raced with us on this race have been exemplary and hard-working. They have shown that Arabic women can do this just as well as their male counterparts. The offshore coach asked the women what they wanted to do and they told him they wanted to continue to do MORE.
Moving on is a BIG step – training and sailing with men…
He wanted to know if they would want to train with the men’s team because currently there are not enough women to continue on with just a women’s boat- because we professionals will all go back to our corners of the world and our lives despite them wanting us to stay and continue on this journey with them. It is heartening to see how they have the respect and camaraderie with the Omani male sailors – they have trained in the gym together and now raced on the same sea in harsh conditions. There is a real mutual respect that comes with sharing these experiences. The girls seemed really open to that concept.
However, when the coach (who is British I might add) started to inquire about sailing offshore with men, there was some balking. One of the sailors expressed concerns about pushing too hard and trying to change culture too fast. Heck, even westerners wonder about mixed teams offshore because although it seems simple to athletes, the idea of living in close proximity with the other sex makes some wonder. If you have ever bashed around in big waves and pulled sails down in forty knots with walls of seawater trying to wash you down the boat, you would realize that there is nothing to worry about because it’s like climbing Everest, but for some they see it like a Mediterranean cruise where it is all fun and potential trouble. Continue reading “Leg 5 tomorrow – back to our training grounds – Mussanah!”→
The race from to Abu Dhabi was long, most of it upwind. The good news was our speed was generally good, until we took on massive amounts of weed in the night. Lost some places there, but after a back down, it was time to start chipping away and hunt our competitors. Our work paid off. After we rounded some islands and the morning light came through, we started identifying our near competitors, and we were in touch with the leaders. Going into the finish the wind got light and flukey, and it was a battle between us, Commercial Bank (helmed by the renowned French sailor Bertrand pace), and Team Renaissance. It was a close finish!
Members of Team Renaissance and Bank Muscat
Task #1: Sail repair/replacement
In Abu Dhabi we had a day off to do laundry, personal time, etc… Dee and I went down to the boat to check on a few jobs. My mission was to either find a sail loft (to repair a fractional spinnaker we had blown up during the previous night’s fight to the finish) or to find a spare. Allegedly there were neither here, so I was very concerned! But I finally found ONE spare spinnaker for the fleet, which we now have. Sadly, it is a runner fractional, which means the shape is not as good as other teams. Alas, at least we have one. Continue reading “Hello from Abu Dhabi!”→
But at the end of the day, the girls learned a lot, and we continued to move forward in preparing for the race. Better yet for me – I am for the most part over the food poisoning, and my appetite returned far quicker than my stomach was able, but that is something I can deal with!
Rising Tide Leadership Institute 