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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Team Renaissance aim for podium finish with Omani crew

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MUSCAT: Since Fahad al Hasni first competed in the inaugural EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (EFG SATT) back in 2011, he has dreamt of standing at the top of the podium, having won fair and square with a team made up of Omani sailors. In 2017, at his seventh attempt on the title, he will get his best chance as skipper of Team Renaissance, which is sponsored by the Omani multinational oil and gas company and comprises 90 per cent Omani talent with French navigator Guillaume Berenger having to brush up on his Arabic to offer directions. Last year, they finished in fourth place just one agonising point behind Team Averda after some polished offshore performances. In both the second leg from Abu Dhabi to Doha and the last one from Sohar to Muscat, they posted second places and gained the confidence to raise expectation levels for 2017.


“We have consistently finished in the top half of the fleet, with a fourth last year... so it would be great to be on the podium this time,” said Al Hasni, who has become Oman’s most accomplished offshore sailor with the Round Ireland world speed record among his many accolades. “I have always found EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour challenging and with a 90-per cent Omani crew, it will be even more of a test of our skills.” His Omani crew features some familiar faces including three team-mates from Oman Sail’s MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail Sami al Shukaili, Ali al Balushi and Yasir al Rahbi, all of them experienced EFG SATT campaigners. “Abdul al Mashari, a member of Team Renaissance last year and Akram al Wahaibi will also be on board and together they make a very good team,” says Al Hasni.


“I like pushing the guys to the limit since I know we are good as a team and we can get the most out of each race, whether we are inshore or offshore,” he said. “We train very hard to be ready to face any challenge but the main reason for doing EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour is to improve our overall sailing skills and get to be on the podium.” When the 2017 route was announced earlier this year, the Omanis welcomed the changes. The fleet of identical Farr 30s will start at Al Mouj in Muscat with an in port race, then head north on the first leg to Sohar, a relatively short sprint of 105 nautical miles.


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