Dubai: Gavignet and his EFG Bank Monaco crew sealed overall victory for the third year running with a third place in the final offshore leg of the event from Sohar to Muscat on Monday.

The reigning champions were on top form throughout the two-week tour, winning three of the five off-shore stages and two of the three in-port race series. Despite finishing the 100 nautical mile finale in third behind Omani teams Al Mouj, Muscat, and Renaissance Services, EFG Bank Monaco’s typically strong result was enough to see them end the event almost seven points clear at the top of the overall standings.

Gavignet’s victory sees him surpass fellow countryman Bertrand Pacé – who won in 2012 and 2013 - as the most successful skipper in the tour’s six-year history. This also means EFG Bank Monaco become the first team to have their names engraved on a newly commissioned EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour trophy made by British Royal Warrant holder and goldsmiths Thomas Fattorini Ltd.

In a nail-biting climax to the tour, Al Mouj, Muscat snatched second place overall from British young guns Team Averda who could only muster a sixth in the last leg.

Al Mouj, Muscat, skippered by France’s Nico Lunven, started EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour slowly but after hitting their stride notched up a string of impressive podium finishes. They went into leg 5 less than a point adrift of second, and in the end their sheer determination to overhaul their closest rivals proved too much for Team Averda, who had to settle for third.

The five stages of the epic race saw the nine international crews cover 730nm from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, on to Doha in Qatar then back across the Gulf to Khasab on Oman’s Musandam peninsula.

The fleet then embarked on two sprints down the coast to Sohar then on to the Muscat finish, showcasing the world-class sailing the region has to offer. “It’s so cool to have our hands on the trophy for a third time,” a jubilant Gavignet said. “I have to thank my team – these guys made it look easy.

Omani sailor Azziz Al Obidani, from the Al Mouj, Muscat crew, added: “We are so happy to come second.”

Overall results

1. EFG Bank Monaco (MON/Sidney Gavignet)

2. Al Mouj, Muscat (OMA/Nico Lunven)

3. Team Averda (GBR/Marcel Herrera)

4. Renaissance Services (OMA/Fahad Al Hasni)

5. Team Zain (KWT/Cedric Pouligny)