Dubai : A top water sports official from the UAE is pleased with the mileage the country stands to gain from hosting the fourth and final round of the Louis Vuitton Trophy in the Mina Seyahi waters off Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) next month.
"Some of the best sailors in the world will be participating in the Dubai round and to me, these sailors are the true ambassadors for Dubai and the UAE," Saeed Hareb, Managing Director, DIMC told Gulf News.
"Organising a race is simple, but to try and get such great personalities see and support your vision is a statement in itself," Hareb added.
Achievement
"Today whenever any of these top world champions like Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard, Grant Dalton and Terry Hutchinson go anywhere in the world and speak on behalf of Dubai and what we have achieved, it is a great achievement."
Dubai will play host to at least 13 teams from across the globe starting with BMW Oracle Racing — the most recent winner of the America's Cup — as well as Emirates Team New Zealand, who have captured the last two Louis Vuitton Trophy events — in La Maddalena, Italy (May-June 2010) and at home in Auckland (March 2010).
They will be joined by other teams from Russia, Italy, Sweden, Great Britain and a joint team from France-Germany. The four boats to be used for the races that have been supplied by the Kiwi and American teams arrived at the DIMC earlier this week.
Hareb said that conditions off DIMC are near perfect throughout the year, and that in itself is a selling point for the sport anywhere in the world.
"Besides Dubai has a history as a maritime destination, and more recently, we have established ourselves as a sailing destination as well. And to add to all this, we have perfect weather and logistics here. What more can one seek?" Hareb asked.
