Dubai: Reigning champions EFG Bank Monaco return for the sixth edition of next month’s EFG Sailing Arabia — the Tour with their sights set on a treble.
The five-leg 750-nautical mile race runs from Dubai to Muscat from February 15 to 29, via Abu Dhabi, Doha and Khasab, a revision to last year’s route, which ran from Muscat to Manama.
Champions for the past two years, EFG Bank Monaco are favourites to win again and skipper Sidney Gavignet, a veteran of five editions, has assembled a team that he believes can make it a hat-trick.
Gavignet’s team includes Fabian Delahaye, Raad Al Hadi, Guillaume le Brec, Thierry Douillard, Denis Bouan and Alan Roberts.
“After winning in 2014 and 2015, we want to make it three in a row so I have put together a very good team to do just that,” said Gavignet of his crew.
“This race keeps on getting better and continues to grow in reputation year on year.
“Last year, there was a real step up in performances across the fleet and it was followed up with a detailed consultation among the organisers and the sailors to see how the route could be improved. They listened to the sailors and came up with this new route, which we think will be neither easier nor harder but very different and therefore more interesting.
“In particular, the 266-nautical mile leg from Qatar to Oman is going to be long and pretty tough. It will take more than two days, which is the longest leg we have done in the series and that makes it interesting.
“There is also an inshore race at the start in Dubai before we set off on the first leg to Abu Dhabi, which is a great way to start the event off because everyone will be going out to put first points on the board and that will include us.”
EFG Bank Monaco will line up against 11 other identical Farr 30s representing crews from Kuwait, the Netherlands, Oman and Switzerland, of varying levels of experience from complete novices to experienced offshore veterans. EFG Sailing Arabia — The Tour was established in 2011 as an opportunity for both professional and amateur racing teams to sustain their training and competition programmes over the winter months and showcase the GCC region as a sailing and sporting destination.
