Mina Seyahi Traditional 60ft Dhow Race - Atlas Sails home victor, as Rejam and Azzam follow
Dubai: The second and penultimate race before the close of the season for the 60-feet Mina Seyahi traditional dhow sailing race was held at 2.30 pm Saturday May 5th, 2007 offshore from Jebel Ali to finish near port Rashid.
At the start of the race Atlas took flight and was way ahead of the others a distance of almost three miles. Staying his course skipper, Ahmed Rashid Al Suwaidi decided to sail through with just the main sail and this proved successful. After completing almost 14 NM of the 16 NM course the wind played truant and shifted in the opposite direction causing all dhows to come to a near stop. It was close to four hours after the start that the first boat arrived at the finish line followed by Rejam, skippered by Ahmed Tarish Al Quabaisi and Azzam captained by Hur Rashid Al Muhairi with a span of half an hour.
Off the 52 dhows, it was unfortunate that only 15 made it to the finish line as the others decided to abandon the race midway. Some boats tore their sails midway but continued while a few others had broken masts. At the start no sooner was the orange flare let out, the white sails went up like a fiery blaze and dotted the sky. Ghazi, who is known to take the podium at the races, had a brilliant start when he was just 50 meters away from Atlas but drifted and disappeared from the scene to be taken over by Rejam who maintained a steady run all through. Several of the boats took long courses due to lack of visibility all at the cost of losing a place in the top 20. This to a certain extent helped those who followed their instincts and sense of direction. Team spirit and effort was extremely visible at this race as the wind shifted and so did the crew had nothing much to do than sit down and let them drift with the waves.
In a dramatic twist of events, Shamardal fought tooth and nail with eight other dhows to make it to the top five but managed to stay in the top ten. Skippered by Sultan Saeed Hareb and his energetic crew, Shamardal triumphed over Al Adeed, Damas and Al Wasl sending them down a few notches. Due to lack of winds the fourth boat to arrive at the finish line was Serdal an almost hour and a half later than the last boat to cross. Salith followed suit with Al Zeer of previous Sir Bu Naair fame skippered by Mohammed Rashid Bin Shaheen. Shaheen who is famously known as the fisherman by night and sailor by day was unable to work his tactic that he famous for that gets him the podium position. Not too far away was Al Iz, skippered by Sultan Ahmed Al Muhairi, Al Munadi followed with Shamardal close on its heels.
Saeed Hareb, Organiser and Managing Director, DIMC described the race as a tough fight in the end between the first ten boats. “It was pleasant to see how each boat struggled in their own way to keep up the pace despite the lack of wind. This is a test of endurance before they go to the finals at the Sir Bu Naair race”.
It is interesting to note some specifications with regard to this category of races. All 60-foot dhow racing teams must comprise a minimum of 12 crew members wherein half of the crew must be UAE nationals, while the rest can be GCC nationals. The hull has to be 100 per cent wood and it is recommended that the mast be made of wood, though the use of kevlar and carbon fibre is permitted. This race prepares the participants for grand finale of the Sir Bu Naair race scheduled 26 May, 2007.
More Information:Patrick Francis, Press Officer, DIMC
P.O.Box 24883, Dubai, UAE
Contact: +971 4 399 5777
web: http://dimc-uae.com
mail: pressofficerdimc@gmail.com