Sports Reporter/Doha
Oman Sail yesterday announced the launch of Sailing Arabia – The Tour, a unique 14-day race around the Arabian Peninsula that seeks to bring Gulf states together by promoting the region’s maritime heritage.
Oman Sail PR Manager Mohammed al-Eissa talks about Sailing Arabia - The Tour during a press conference at The Pearl-Qatar yesterday. Sitting from right are Qatar Rowing and Sailing Federation executive manager Fahad al-Jaber, Pearl-Qatar Marina Director Herve Le Fauconnier, Commercialbank AGM and Corporate Communication Head Talib M Zaman and Team GAC Pindar captain Peter Gronberg
The 1408km race is based on the highly demanding and internationally renowned Tour de France à la Voile held annually in France and currently in its 33rd edition.
The announcement was made at a press conference organised by Oman Sail and Commercialbank along with The Pearl-Qatar where the conference was held. The venue and partnerships come in the framework of promoting this initiative, organisers said. Pearl-Qatar will be the second stopover of the race on January 31 after its start in Bahrain the previous day.
Six teams are participating in the event starting on January 30 in Bahrain. The boats will set sail from Amwaj Marina in Manama and race to Porto Arabia marina at The Pearl-Qatar in Doha before crossing to Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club. After a short rest the teams will sail along the coast of the UAE to Al Hamra Marina in Ras Al Khaimah.
From here they will race past the northern Emirates towards the Omani enclave of Musandam where they will sail through the Straits of Hormuz and into the luxurious Zighy Bay Six-Senses near Khasab. The final run will see the six boats stop in Musannah Marina for a day ahead of a short sprint down to the finish line at The Wave, Muscat. The whole race will take 14 days with sailors sleeping onboard on as they sail through the night without stopping.Oragnisers said the event will be an opportunity for sponsors to engage with a totally new demographic in the region and give business platforms at venues along the way. The first tour has already attracted interest from financial, logistics and lifestyle companies who all see potential in involvement. A group of banks has also taken the unique sponsorship opportunity created by an event which involves the region by sponsoring a boat. Team Commercialbank Group is represented by Commercialbank of Qatar, National Bank of Oman and United Arab Bank in the UAE.
Andrew Stevens, Group Chief Executive Officer, Commercialbank of Qatar said: “We are delighted to support Sailing Arabia-The Tour. This is a great initiative towards reigniting the region’s rich maritime heritage. The 760 nautical mile challenge, the first regionally owned sailing race, celebrates the rich cross-border relationships of the region.
“Historically the region has flourished as a busy trading area and business has thrived amongst the different nations of the Gulf. This perfectly reflects the nature of the Commercialbank Group. Commercialbank has been a leading bank in Qatar since 1975 and a key supporter of businesses, the bank’s regional footprint expands to Oman and UAE where it enjoys strategic alliances with Commercialbank partners National Bank of Oman and United Arab Bank in UAE.
“This sailing challenge celebrates regional unity and the potential of cross-border financial and banking relationships that Commercialbank facilitates. Our sponsorship to this event also comes in the framework of motivating and developing the GCC’s youth in sports and particularly sailing, which is considered one of the fastest developing sports in the region.
“It’s not just on the greens and fairways that the bank excels - in the sports arenas tennis and MotoGP motor cycling have also benefited from the bank’s willingness to work tirelessly with Qatar’s sporting bodies to realise the ambitions of the nation. Off the course, Commercialbank also continues to throw its support behind the other sporting visions of Qatar’s leaders.
“And it’s that vision that has also seen the nation stage a highly-successful Asian Games, Asian Football Cup and make a successful bid to win the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup – all fully supported and applauded by Commercialbank.
“We feel Sailing Arabia -The Tour is set to become a prestigious annual event and we are delighted to sponsor it at its inaugural edition. I wish success to all and thank Oman Sail for this great initiative.”
GAC Logistics is sponsoring one of the competing boats as well as coming onboard as the official shipping and logistics partner. Art Marine will use its Pan-Gulf network to leverage the event as a race support partner.
Ronautica Middle East, wholly owned by United Development Company also announced their co-operation with Oman Sail in this initiative. Herve Le Fauconnier, Marina Director at The Pearl-Qatar commented: “We were immediately supportive and excited to participate in the development of this race, connecting several countries and promoting this sport of tactics, speed and mastery.”
“Nautical activities like this are experiencing rapidly growing interest in the region and The Pearl-Qatar is an obvious destination for water-sports enthusiasts”, he added.
Eric Lebrun, Executive Vice President of Assets Management at The Pearl-Qatar’s master-developer United Development Company (UDC) said: “In line with the vision of His Highness the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, we always support activities related to sports and today are honored to welcome some of the biggest names in sailing on our Island.”