EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour 2014 sprint from Abu Dhabi to Dubai
by Stuart Alexander 17 Feb 2014 13:36 GMT
9-24 February 2014
It was a long, slow struggle all the way but the Plymouth University-backed team in the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour eventually secured second place on the leg from Abu Dhabi to Dubai.
Their Mumm 30 yacht, Messe Frankfurt, had at one time been fourth and in the very light winds there was little they could do in such evenly matched boats but skipper Marcel Herrera and his crew stuck to the job in hand and, at the end of the 70-mile leg, squeezed into second place by just 66 seconds. They also retained their second overall place.
The convincing winner was the event favourite EFG Bank, skippered by Frenchman Sidney Gavignet. Tactician Damien Iehl read the weather brilliantly to give them a commanding lead early in the race and the win extended their overall lead. It leaves Herrera the problem of not just sailing every one of the other legs to the finish next weekend without making a mistake but hoping that Gavignet will put in a really bad leg along the way.
Herrera thought that the wind gods had given Gavignet a bit of a lucky break but said that there was no fatigue factor in the crew, that having had to go back for a premature start they had managed "to get back quite nicely" and that the next leg "is going to be great."
It was only in the late stages that he squeezed past the all-woman team wearing the colours of the Bank of Muscat, skippered by the Californian Kate Pettibone and containing half of the eight from the academy system in Oman to encourage women into sailing, and other sports, Messe Frankfurt had to go back for an OCS start and it was hard work from then on.
"When we overtook the girls, by ducking a container ship and climbing back out on a faster angle, we banged a corner a bit, but it worked," said navigator Coriolan Rousselle. The margin at the end was not great, but Herrera's other main rival, Team Delft from The Netherlands, had to be content with fourth.
That just increased Herrera's comfort zone in second place and compounded the young Dutch crew's worries after they were disqualified when having won leg two from Qatar to Abu Dhabi. They are still fourth overall behind the all-woman crew.
The forecast for the next leg to the little-known Emirati state of Ras al Kaihmah, which starts Monday morning, is again for very light winds.
For more information on the race please visit www.sailingarabiathetour.com
EFG Bank (Monaco) wins Leg 3 of EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 (from Sue Pelling, Oman Sail)
Frenchman Sidney Gavignet and team on EFG Bank (Monaco) sailed an impressive, tactical 60-nautical mile sprint from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, to win Leg 3 of the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 – the region's only offshore endurance race that spans 760 nautical mile over four countries from Bahrain to Oman.
Gavignet and his professional team on EFG Bank (Monaco), who now lead the series by overall by 3 points, used their huge bank of experience to their advantage by positioning themselves perfectly for a 40-degree windshift on the right-hand side of the course. This put them over two minutes ahead at the first mark in the light 3-5kt breeze.
They then went on to extend their lead and, in a freshening sea breeze, finished the race 10 minutes ahead of the next boat – Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team.
Sidney Gavignet commented: "Reading the windshift just before the first mark was crucial for us. We were expecting this right shift and it worked out to plan, and I think we had good boat speed too."
The closest battle in the fleet however, was between Katie Pettibone and her all girl team on Al-Thuraya Bank Muscat, and Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team. Although Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team managed overtake and finish one minute ahead in second place, they certainly didn't have it their own way.
Twenty-one-year-old Marcel Herrera, skipper of Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team commented: "We were particularly pleased because our instruments broke so we had to rely on good sailing technique, and it was the driver and mainsheet combination that really worked well.
"The girls were sailing really fast and we had a bit of trouble trying to get ahead of them. We managed split from them by going below a container ship while they went above. That resulted in enough separation for us to come back onto the breeze and get ahead."
Commenting on today's Leg 4, Herrera said: "We did well in this leg last year, so we are hoping for the same again. We learned a lesson from yesterday to keep it simple, so that is what we will take with us on Leg 4."
Katie Pettibone and her all girl team on Al-Thuraya Bank Muscat had a good start and read the shifts well. Although they were disappointed not to have retained second position, were thrilled to have finally gained a podium result.
Pettibone commented: "Every day the team work is getting better. The girls are really good at weight trim in the light, shifty conditions but we were just unable to match Messe Frankfurt Sailing Team for speed by going too high when passing a ship. That gave them the edge and they were able to pull away."
Having recharged from Leg 3 and enjoyed Dubai Offshore Sailing Club's warm hospitality at Jumeirah Beach, teams are this morning preparing for the start of Leg 4 to Ras Al Khaimah.
Commenting on the results of Leg 3, Issa Al Ismaili, Director of Events and the race's organiser at Oman Sail said: "We are almost half way to the final of the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 and in this year's edition we have seen the competition levels go higher and we also the fitness levels of the sailors. We anticipate the second half to be just as enthralling with every leg producing a different story."
At 43 nautical miles, this is the shortest leg of the course and one of the most straightforward. On the way to the start the fleet will leave Dubai's famous landmarks, including The World to starboard, before making their way to Al Hamra Marina and Yacht Club, Ras Al Khaimah.
This event, which runs from February 9-24, is now in its fourth year and offers 15 days of intense sailing with a mix of inport and offshore races to test the skills of not only the region's best sailing talent, but also a selection of elite world class sailors.