Toughest test of EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour could decide overall winner
by Oman Sail 22 Feb 2016 11:37 GMT
15-29 February 2016
The third and longest leg of Oman Sail's flagship event, EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour, could prove crucial in deciding the overall winner of the race, according to race leader and reigning champion, Frenchman, Sidney Gavignet.
Just a few points separate Gavignet's EFG Bank Monaco from plucky young Brits Team Averda and Omani crew Renaissance Services as the nine international teams today began the 280nm stage from Qatari capital Doha to Khasab in Oman.
Success or failure in the epic leg, which will see the fleet spend three days and two nights at sea locked in an intense battle, will be critical to the overall outcome, Gavignet said.
Both EFG Bank Monaco and Team Averda go into the leg – the third of five that make up the 730nm adventure around the Arabian Gulf - with one offshore win each under their belt.
Renaissance Services, led by Gavignet's Omani protégé Fahad Al Hasni, finished fourth and third in the opening two legs from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and then to Doha.
But two-time EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour winner Gavignet, who also led his team to victory in yesterday's Doha In-Port Race series, warned his adversaries that concentrating too hard on trying to beat him could be their downfall.
"The fleet is still compact but I think after this leg the scenario for the overall results will become more clear," Gavignet said.
"A leg like this is about experience so as well as our own team I see teams like Zain and Renaissance doing very well.
"We feel a little pressure from the guys behind us but not too much - we are more focused on what we ourselves are doing rather than on anyone else.
"If the other teams try too hard to beat only us it could be a mistake."
Herrera, who was born in Bonn, Germany, instantly hit back saying his French rival should not underestimate the talent of his own team.
"We're now just at the halfway point of this race and Sidney has done well so far but he doesn't know what's around the corner!" he said.
"It's going to be a tough leg, we're going to be quick and he's going to have to watch his back because we might sail round him again!"
Race organisers had expected leg 3 to be downwind in prevailing westerly winds, allowing the teams to hoist their huge spinnakers and reach Khasab in good time.
But the forecast is now for a light easterly breeze meaning the crews will have to zig zag upwind for the majority of the stage adding extra time to the already painfully long leg.
Dee Caffari, the first and only woman ever to sail solo around the world non stop both with and against the prevailing winds, is hoping she can use her experience to get the best from her all-woman team on board Oman Airports-Al Thuraya.
"This leg is a marathon not a sprint so it's going to be about keeping the team going all the way to the end," said Caffari, whose team finished seventh in the Doha In-Port Race series.
The leading boats are expected to reach Khasab on Wednesday and will have little time to recover before the start of leg 4 to Sohar on Thursday.
The final leg of EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour will see the fleet depart from Sohar on Sunday bound for the finish in Muscat.
Doha In-Port Race Results:
1. EFG Bank Monaco (MON/Sidney Gavignet)
2. Al Mouj, Muscat (OMA/Nico Lunven)
3. Team Averda (GBR/Marcel Herrera)
4. Renaissance Services (OMA/Fahad Al Hasni)
5. Team Bienne Voile (SUI/Lorenz Mueller)
6. Team Zain (KWT/Cedric Pouligny)
7. Oman Airports-Al Thuraya Women's Team (OMA/Dee Caffari)
8. TU Delft Challenge (NED/Wouter Sonnema)
9. Team Mangold (GER/Martin Felgenhauer)
Standings:
1. EFG Bank Monaco (MON/Sidney Gavignet)
2. Team Averda (GBR/Marcel Herrera)
3. Renaissance Services (OMA/Fahad Al Hasni)
4. Al Mouj, Muscat (OMA/Nico Lunven)
5. Team Zain (KWT/Cedric Pouligny)
6. TU Delft Challenge (NED/Wouter Sonnema)
7. Team Bienne Voile (SUI/Lorenz Mueller)
8. Oman Airports-Al Thuraya Women's Team (OMA/Dee Caffari)
9. Team Mangold (GER/Martin Felgenhauer)
Watch Episoide 1 of EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour:
Follow the action as it unfolds at sailingarabiathetour.com/live