A domestic link to Oman Sail
A prestigious sailing competition is in process in Europe. The iShares Cup is being fought over by ten sailing teams from around the world. Six events, each held over three days, are taking place for the Extreme 40, a scaled-up version of the Olympic class catamaran.
Oman is represented by two boats, the Renaissance and the Masirah, both falling within the ambit of 'Oman Sail', an ambitious programme to rekindle Oman's maritime heritage.
Mubarak al Battashi and Khamis al Anbouri from the Oman Sail Race Academy are rotating between both boats over the summer to obtain crewing experience. Any Omani is welcome to join the academy, providing they have commitment, loyalty and willingness to learn. There's also a hint that selection and training is "harder than special forces selection."
Renaissance is sponsored by Renaissance Group and Suhail Bahwan, and Masirah is backed by the Omani government.
Having already battled it out at Venice, the teams are currently sailing out of Hyeres in France. Masirah came first in today's races and is currently lying fourth on the team leaderboard. Renaissance lies third overall.
After Hyeres, four events are to come, including Cowes week at the beginning of August on the UK's Isle of Wight.
How is my family connected? My daughter, who lives and works on the Isle of Wight, has been responsible for supplying all the teams with disposable catering supplies. All the supplies are biodegradable, so that they can be tossed overboard into the sea after use with minimal impact, hopefully, on the environment.
Sailing is, on the whole, a 'high net worth' occupation, particularly when you're plying boats such as the Extreme 40. Bahrain has a Formula 1 Grand Prix, why shouldn't Oman aim at a superlative sailing competition?
That would presumably attract a lot of wealthy individuals to the country. It'll be interesting to see how Oman Sail develops.
Oman is represented by two boats, the Renaissance and the Masirah, both falling within the ambit of 'Oman Sail', an ambitious programme to rekindle Oman's maritime heritage.
Mubarak al Battashi and Khamis al Anbouri from the Oman Sail Race Academy are rotating between both boats over the summer to obtain crewing experience. Any Omani is welcome to join the academy, providing they have commitment, loyalty and willingness to learn. There's also a hint that selection and training is "harder than special forces selection."
Renaissance is sponsored by Renaissance Group and Suhail Bahwan, and Masirah is backed by the Omani government.
Having already battled it out at Venice, the teams are currently sailing out of Hyeres in France. Masirah came first in today's races and is currently lying fourth on the team leaderboard. Renaissance lies third overall.
After Hyeres, four events are to come, including Cowes week at the beginning of August on the UK's Isle of Wight.
How is my family connected? My daughter, who lives and works on the Isle of Wight, has been responsible for supplying all the teams with disposable catering supplies. All the supplies are biodegradable, so that they can be tossed overboard into the sea after use with minimal impact, hopefully, on the environment.
Sailing is, on the whole, a 'high net worth' occupation, particularly when you're plying boats such as the Extreme 40. Bahrain has a Formula 1 Grand Prix, why shouldn't Oman aim at a superlative sailing competition?
That would presumably attract a lot of wealthy individuals to the country. It'll be interesting to see how Oman Sail develops.
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