Now we are six.
The latest in the MOD70 series Oman Sail was launched today Thursday, April 12 in front of a very excited, expectant team.Less than eight months from the commitment of the Sultanate of Oman to the Multi One Championship to the actual launch of their new one-design trimaran today, at the helm is Sidney Gavignet, one of the most international of French sailors!
The team took ownership of OMAN SAIL, their MOD70 today, setting out on the first stage of learning and training process which over the coming weeks will lead to the inaugural event of the 2012 championship season, the KRYS OCEAN RACE, which starts in less than three months.
Behind the name, OMAN SAIL pulls together a large, comprehensive project implemented under the leadership of the Sultanate of Oman, which aims to develop tourism and to highlight and expand the historic maritime tradition.
The one-design trimaran OMAN SAIL is a key aspect of this project: taking on international competition on different seas. Complementing, this, closer to home sailing schools are emerging throughout the territory.
Sidney Gavignet, skipper of the MOD70 OMAN SAIL, comments : “The OMAN SAIL project is very close to my heart and the support itself is a real honor. The idea of the Sultanate is to create a sailing industry which works in parallel to the business of tourism to develop jobs. Within our team, there are Omani sailors who are opening up to the challenges of the maritime world. Today our story continues with the launch of OMAN SAIL and here together I see in the eyes of my teammates a whole lot of emotion. This is a first for us all, a touching, important moment in our history together.”
On the sporting front, the crew of the MOD70 OMAN SAIL will use the coming weeks to train, learning how to to take control of their trimaran and at the same time to continue the selection of the crew who will participate in the KRYS OCEAN RACE. However, Sidney and his crew are not starting with a completely blank page as they have already taken the opportunity to complete two sessions of workouts aboard another MOD70, Race For Water.
Sidney Gavignet : “OMAN SAIL is undoubtedly the new kid of this fleet as it is the latest and newest boat to be launched before the KRYS OCEAN RACE. We still actually only have a little less than three months of preparation. However, we sailed in Race for Water completed a short apprenticeship, learning the ropes recent weeks. We will now continue this learning aboard OMAN SAIL. Soon we plan to be training from Port La Forêt with Foncia and Edmond de Rothschild Group in two weeks and then to follow up a training week off comprising some night sails, all the time logging crucial performance data. Certainly, other teams at the moment are more experienced but our OMAN SAIL crew are good. Our goal for this first race is to finish it and do our best to be in the best possible place. “