EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour - Gripping conclusion

by Lisa Hynes on 2 Mar 2015 EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour - A third place in the final leg was enough to confirm Sidney Gavignet and his mixed Omani and European team overall winners for the second year in a row.

A course change from east to west for the 2015 edition resulted in 14-days of testing upwind racing on the six-leg, 760-nautical mile course from Oman to Bahrain. Noted for being one of the toughest on record, the 11 pro-am racing teams with crews from 21 different nations experienced a truly unique, highly competitive, cultural adventure.

Gavignet, together with his highly-tuned crew; Damian Foxall, Alex Pella, Nicolas Lunven, Fabien Delahaye, Mohammed Al Mujaini, Abdull Rahman Al Mashari, and Abdallah Al Shukaili, sailed an impressive series but they didn’t have it all their own way.

They were chased hard throughout by Marcel Herrera and his young student team from Plymouth University on Team Averda, who took second overall, and Zain Sailing Team (Kuwait) headed by seasoned Tour competitor Cédric Pouligny with Gérald Véniard navigating, who finished third.

The three Omanis onboard the EFG Bank (Monaco) winning team, plus the Omani Renaissance crew and Navy of Oman team are testimony to Oman Sail’s vision of developing the region’s sailing talent and rekindling its rich maritime heritage through creating role models to inspire the next generation of sailors.

As one of the toughest on record, the 2015 event has endorsed its status as a prime option for professional teams seeking winter training venues.

Overall Results:

1. EFG 12 pts
2. Team Averda 21.25pts
3. Zain 29.50pts
4. TU Delft 29.75pts
5. Renaissance 39pts
6. Al Thuraya 41.75pts
7. Bienne Voile 42.75pts
8. GAC Pindar 44.50pts
9. OMIFCO 64pts
10. RNO 69pts
11. IMCO 70.25pts