Team RAK carry UAE’s hopes in Sailing Arabia

Sailing Arabia The Tour (SATT) will return to UAE waters as the second edition of the offshore event takes place this month, it was revealed on Sunday. Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah were both confirmed as ports for the six-leg race, which starts in Manama, Bahrain on February 12 and finishes in Muscat, Oman 15 days later. The UAE will be represented again by Team Ras Al Khaimah, who are skippered by British-born sailor John Curran this year. After the success of the inaugural SATT 12 months ago, a total of nine Glass Farr 30 yachts representing six countries will line up at the start, while the 1,408km event will feature in-port racing for the first time. “It gives us immense pleasure to host the second leg of The Tour once again in Abu Dhabi and to host in-port races that will take place on February 18,” Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club General Manager, Majid Al Muhairi said. “These races will allow the public to capture all the racing action just metres from the shore. “The SATT is a key annual sailing event hosted by the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club and provides a great opportunity to link GCC stopovers in an exciting offshore race and this is in line with the club’s objectives of promoting sailing and developing our young local sailing talent.” SATT is the GCC’s only offshore sailing race, and has been designed in part to give local sailors a chance to hone their skills on their home waters. Al Muhairi is hopeful the UAE’s participation in the event can help Emirati sailors gain the skills needed to go on to a higher level of racing, such as the Volvo Ocean Race - which visited the capital last month. “We aim to have more Emirati sailors take part in major yachting events like the Volvo Ocean Race and the experience our sailors gain from participating in the SATT will ensure they’re well on their way to achieving great things in professional sailing.”   One of the new teams for 2012 is Al Thuraya Bank Muscat, an all-female crew, featuring four Omani women sailors and skippered by British record-breaker Dee Caffari. The project is part of programme launched by organisers Oman Sail last October to encourage more women to take up the sport. “The women’s programme is a further milestone that helps Oman Sail become more and more sustainable. “It gives opportunities for women to take up the sport of sailing in a professional manner whether offshore or inshore,” Mohammed Al Eisa of Oman Sail said. “In terms of the experiences that we’re bringing in order to grow the sport it’s been great. “We only launched the programme in October and now we already have four Omani women who will be sailing.”