Saving Sailing Oman Sail Style.

It’s hard to find a better example of how sailing can be used to teach, inspire and aid development than Oman Sail. With a bit of political will and a long term vision that incorporates legacy factors, the sport of sailing can drive skills development, self esteem, national pride, technology transfer and tourism. In just 2 years, the project has proved that elite competition can drive grass-roots interest and that without the restrictions of ‘old fashioned yacht clubs’, sailing can be attractive and accessible.

Yesterday in Paris, the CEO of Oman Sail, David Graham hosted a press conference in Paris to talk about the competition that the Oman Sail team would be involved with in France in 2010. The Tour de France à la Voile, the Route du Rhum and the French leg of the Extreme Sailing Series Europe competition are the visible, billboard part of Oman Sail, but behind the competition lies a commitment to develop seven sailing schools across Oman ove the next 5 years and create an enduring capability to inspire, teach and coach young Omanis to be able to succeed in the field of maritime endeavour.

Nearly two years old, the project has already achieved a number of successes. In March 2009, Mohsin Al Busaidi became the first Omani and Arab to sail non-stop around the world on the trimaran Musandam (previously Ellen MacArthur’s Castorama/ B&Q). This was a source of huge national pride back home and inspiration to the youth. This success was soon followed by two Omani Extreme 40 entries taking both the European and Asian Extreme Sailing Series Circuits by storm with a double win on their boat Masirah and coming third and second respectively on the second Oman boat Renaissance / The Wave, Muscat. After two years as apprentices, two Omanis became full time sailors in the Asian circuit and Nasser Al Massari will now be moving over from the Extreme 40 circuit to the Omani Tour de France à la Voile team to share his expertise with the new Omani trainees.

With huge success on the international arena, back in Muscat the first of the Oman sailing schools was opened in mid-2009 and this now focuses on a double mission of forming an elite squad that is qualified to compete in international races at a high standard and secondly in developing a school and community sailing programme to give Omanis an opportunity to try the sport for themselves. The school now has six Omani instructors and three international coaches and consists of forty sailing dinghies and small sporting catamarans.

After two gruelling selection processes, the elite squad now consists of forty full-time Omani sailors learning to sail at a high standard and four hundred and fifty school children have already taken part in a six-week training course once a week after school that now enables them to sail safely on their own in light winds. A second sailing school will be opened later this year outside the capital Muscat, with a further five schools opening along the coast by 2015.

We’ll be covering the Paris announcements in more detail over coming days, but you can read the full story at the OMAN SAIL website

Oman Sail Announce BAE Systems Sponsorship.

The growth of sailing in emerging markets is giving sponsors more options when it comes to matching sailing properties with communications goals.

This week Oman Sail have announced a new partnership with BAE Systems. Many sponsorships are based on targeting a specific audience in a specific market, and more sailing projects in more markets makes it easier for brands to use sailing as a marketing platform.

BAE Systems has a long and well-established relationship with Oman, a trusted partnership which dates back over 30 years, and is a major provider of defence equipment to the country. The partnership with Oman Sail is an important initiative for BAE Systems and is a demonstration of its commitment to this key market.

Oman Sail’s strategy of having multiple boats in multiple sailing disciplines allows the sponsorship to be leveraged to a wider audience. Given BAE Systems’ product and service offer, the Oman Sail project will also be important for B2G (Business to Government) activity.

BAE System’s partnership allows the company to have its branding on Masirah, the Extreme 40 boat currently at the top of the Extreme 40s Asia series leader board, and encompasses a wide range of activities, including sponsorship the development of the Oman Sailing School with apprenticeship programmes and sponsorship of a schools and education programme consisting of “Try Sailing” days for schools and young Omanis.

Speaking at the launch of the partnership, Guy Griffiths, Director International, commented:

“We are delighted to be working with Oman Sail on this exciting initiative, particularly in a country as important to us as Oman.”

“At BAE Systems, we are committed to education and skills development throughout our global business, and to support young people in developing their leadership skills. Through the Sailing School, Oman Sail’s aim is to make sailing accessible to the young people of Oman and this, in turn, allows them to develop the skills and experiences they need to create a sustainable sailing future for the country.

David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail, added:

“We are delighted to have BAE Systems as an official partner and thank them for their support. Their confidence in Oman Sail is extremely important to us and we look forward to having a rewarding partnership with them”.

Oman Builds on Sail Project with Bank of Beiruit Sponshorship of Muscat Regatta.

One of the the themes at the World Yacht Racing Forum last week was that sailing’s new audiences are probably not in Europe or America. Just as F1 is moving slowly east, so too are yacht racing’s innovators including the World Match Racing Tour, Extreme Asia Series and Volvo Ocean Race.

Though it seems more and more unlikely that RAK will host the next America’s Cup, sailing in the Middle East is attracting more attention. Last week, while we were at the World Yacht Racing Forum (WYRF), we overlooked this story about Bank of Beirut sponsoring the Muscat Regatta.

Many at the WYRF commented about the opportunities that sailing provided to network with people that would otherwise be impossible to connect with. Guests at the Muscat Regatta included Hamad Said Al Oufi, undersecretary of Ministry of Fisheries as guest of honour. Also present was Saleem Al Zawawi, the chairman of Marina Bandar Al Rowdha, and the managing director of Bank of Beirut Remy Zambarakji, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Sports Affairs.

There was also a tourism and development element to the event. Building on the strength of the Oman Sail project, other in Oman, including Marina Bandar Al Rowdha are delivering the same message.

Saleem Al Zawawi said:

“We at Marina Bandar Al Rowdha feel that it is high time that Oman, as a Maritime nation with a sea-faring tradition going back over hundreds of years, has its own blue-water yacht race. The planned Muscat Regatta which was held here is the result of over a year of hard work and will fulfil the aspirations of many Omani and expatriate sailors.”

The regatta is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Sports Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism and will be managed by a British firm of International repute – GWM Racing Limited.

Remy Zambarakji, managing director of Bank of Beirut, Oman said of the decision to sponsor the Regatta:

“The bank’s aim is to support this exciting sport and take it one step forward to become an international race. We are certain that the Regatta in general, and specifically the Muscat-Khasab race will be a great success, and we are very proud of our sponsorship and involvement, especially considering the fact that Muscat and Beirut share centuries of maritime heritage together”.

The recent successes of Oman Sail on the European circuit has fired the imagination of many young Omanis wanting to sail and according to Al Zawawi, building a competitive platform for these young sailors is something very important to all involved in Muscat Regatta 2009.

“We are helping to build the national sailing teams of tomorrow in hosting this event, providing them with an important opportunity for competition to hone their newly acquired skills. The Muscat Regatta now has the potential and the financial support to become not just a regional event, but also an international one – attracting yachts from all over the world.” Al Zawawi concluded.

Extreme 40 Format Heads to Asia.

It was only a matter of time before the Xtreme 40 platform concieved by Herbert Dercksen and brilliantly executed by OC Events spread from Europe to other markets. The format was tested in the Middle East last year and yesterday, the company announced that a “winter” series would be run from November to March in Asia.

Extreme Sailing Series Asia will visit Hong Kong, Singapore and Oman with the possibility of a fourth venue to be confirmed. The plan is to grow to a six-event series by 2011/12. Bids have already been received for the future series from a number of other venues across Asia.

After the spectacular finale of the six-stage European iShares Cup circuit last weekend in Almería (Spain), five of the boats were packed up to be shipped directly to Hong Kong.

Mark Turner, CEO of OC Group:

“The iShares Cup has been running very successfully for three years now in Europe and the Extreme Sailing Series Asia is the next step in the evolution of this exciting sailing format – a format which has become a benchmark in terms of changing the way sailing is seen. Our aim is to build this series each year on the same foundations on which the European iShares Cup has been built – a comprehensive sailing entertainment event that packages the sport to appeal to the public, media and provide experiential VIP client hospitality. For this inaugural series in Asia we won’t be focused on the public side directly, instead we will work hard on the VIP and media aspects, as we did in the early iShares Cup years. But, of course, our aspiration is to build this circuit up over the coming years to match the award-winning iShares Cup format including a strong public element.”

The first event in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia will take place over the 20th-24th November in Hong Kong, supported by the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, to coincide with their annual ‘Around the Island Race’ on the 22nd November. With over 200 entries the Around the Island Race is Hong Kong’s largest and most inclusive sailing event. The RHKYC is well equipped to support the series given its long time presence in Hong Kong waters as the premier sailing club.

The circuit will then move on to Singapore from 11th-15th December where sailing has become synonymous with sporting excellence in the region, after multiple medal success at the Asian Games and the ISAF Youth World Championships. One of the country’s key objectives is to make Singapore a key hub for sailing competitions.

Muscat, Oman will host the third event over the 1st to 5th February just before the America’s Cup in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, subject to the current legal dispute. The Sultanate of Oman, home to the legend of Sindbad, is known throughout the Gulf for its spectacular beauty and hospitality. The two Oman Sail boats that finished in 1st and 3rd place in the European 2009 iShares Cup, will return to the Extreme Sailing Series Asia this time with two Omani recruits from the Oman Sail Academy on board as part of the crew.

The inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia will see the same high calibre of competitors currently competing in the European circuit with Olympians, World Champions and Record Holders battling it out for victory in this new territory.

For further information, please email info@extremesailingseriesasia.com

The Changing Face of Yacht Racing. Oman Sail Launches A100.

The Oman Sail project is a story of vision. It is also a textbook case of how to activate sponsorship of sport across a wide variety of projects. Just as the UK will experience a blip of national pride as a result of winning back the Ashes from Australia, the Oman Sail project is building pride in a nation where sailing has always been part of life, just not sporting life.

The launch of the new Arabian 100 trimaran then is not just some rich person’s toy – its a symbol of a country taking on the world. In the team’s own words : It’s a proud day for Oman as the Arabian 100 trimaran touches water for the very first time here in Salalah Port.

While many will ‘ooh and ahhh’ at the shiny new hulls, its great to know that there are side-effects of the programme like Safiya Al Habsi, a young lady who is the first Omani girl to become a qualified sailing instructor.

Just as F1 is slowly moving south and east, with new races in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and China, so too are sailing’s biggest opportunities outside traditional markets. The World Match Racing Tour visits Malaysia and Korea. The Volvo Ocean Race visited India and China – places where the sport of sailing is new, exciting and underdeveloped.

The Arabian 100 is a statement of intent. Traditional sailing powers wake up, shake up and be bold – or lose out.

Photos by Oman Sail / Lloyd Images

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