Currently being built in Australia and destined to be the first ever modern ocean racing boat to be assembled in the Middle-East, the first Arabian 100′ trimaran will, when she hits the water in the winter of 2009, become part of a select group of the longest sailing trimarans ever built! She will join the Oman Sail Racing Team fleet as the largest sailing boat to be based in Middle-East region and, along with Musandam (ex-B&Q), form the embryo of a fleet of ocean racing boats based in the Arabian Peninsula.
As announced recently, Musandam plans to depart for her first big ocean challenge in the new colours of Oman Sail on January 8th – aiming to get the first ever Omani around the world. The heart of Oman Sail is about getting Omanis out on the water, from beginners through the Oman Sail Academy to the highest level of ocean competition, and the new Arabian 100 trimaran will provide the team with unrivalled capacity to develop ocean racing in the Gulf and Indian Ocean.
This new Oman Sail flagship has been been conceived as the first member of a new One-Design class (identical boats), rather than a one-off boat. On purpose, Oman Sail have not opted to simply build a bigger and better boat with records like the Jules Verne in mind – instead the new Arabian 100 will provide a challenging and exciting platform very suitable to the often lighter wind conditions in the region as well as the storms of the Southern Ocean, and within reach of the sailing capabilities of the developing Oman Sail team in the coming years. If, as it is hoped, the Arabian 100 becomes the Class of choice for other developing sailing teams in the region, thereby avoiding the arms race seen in other big unlimited multihull classes, the One Design aspect will create close-combat racing whilst remaining in a context of controlled costs.
The first Arabian 100 should be sailing by the winter 2009, and the production has been implemented to allow the construction of further identical boats for 2010 if the challenge is taken up elsewhere.