Dubai: Ahmad Esmail Ahmad Al Marzouqi led ‘Toufan’ to an outright win in the second round of the Dubai 43ft Dhow Sailing Championships held at the Mina Seyahi waters off Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) last Saturday.
Starting off from The Palm, ‘Toufan’ caught a gust of wind from the leeward side and went clear unchallenged even as a pack of dhows pursued the leader. But as the race progressed with some fine winds between 14 and 16 knots it was ‘Toufan’ holding on to its early advantage to win the second round that was held over 14 nautical miles with a finish at the DIMC harbour.
In second place was ‘Al Shaqi’, owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, and skippered by Khalaf Butti Mussabeh Al Ghasheesh. And ‘Abu Al Abiyadh’, owned by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and skippered by Maktoum Atiq Al Muhairi, completed the podium places.
Former winner ‘Ghazi’, owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and skippered by Ahmad Saeed Salem Al Rumaithi edged out another former champion ‘Burraq’ into fifth place.
More than 100 dhows participated in the second heat of the championships that is organised by DIMC. The presentation of trophies to the top three finishers was done by Major Ali Al Naqbi, head of the Maritime Rescue Department at Dubai Police along with DIMC officials Hazim Qamzi and Mohammad Abdullah Al Shamsi. The third round of the 43ft dhow sailing championships will be held in November.
RESULTS
1. Toufan (Ahmad Esmail Ahmad Al Marzouqi — skipper and owner); 2. Al Shaqi (Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum — owner; Khalaf Butti Mussabeh Al Ghasheesh — skipper); 3. Abu Al Abiyadh (President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan — owner; Maktoum Atiq Al Muhairi — skipper); 4. Ghazi (Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum — owner; Ahmad Saeed Salem Al Rumaithi — skipper); 5. Burraq (Ahmad Mohammad Rashid Al Rumaithi — owner; Rashid Mohammad Rashid Al Rumaithi — skipper).
