Please select your home edition
Edition
Rooster 2025

EFG Sailing Arabia The Tour - All women team ready for action

by Oman Sail on 30 Jan 2014
EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2014 Mark Lloyd http://www.lloyd-images.com
For next month's EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour, the cream of Oman’s female offshore sailors will be aiming to mix a bit of learning with a lot of adventure when they head off as members of Al-Thuraya Bank Muscat’s all women’s team.


American skipper Katie Pettibone who in a long and distinguished professional sailing career has been a member of three America’s Cup teams, two round the world race crews and two Sailing Arabia - The Tour teams, has a mid-fleet finish in mind when the 15 day race across four different countries stopping at eight marinas in Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Oman comes to an end.

But her principal function is to use the 750 nm race as a platform for advancing racing and leadership sailing skills among her young Omani charges so that an all Omani women’s entry becomes a sure fire certainty in the not too distant future.


One member of the crew Raiya Al Habsi will need no introduction wherever she goes in the Gulf region. In between SATTs, this inspiring young sailor has been busy adding mileage to her professional racing clock. She competed in the J80 World Championships in Marseille last year and her participation in one of the world’s most famous offshore races, the Rolex Fastnet Race earned her a nomination in the 2013 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards.

'I love racing in SATT because it is intense and we get to enjoy all the countries in our region from our boats,' she said. 'It is a long race and the combination of inshore and offshore racing makes it a good learning experience so we will be trying our hardest to improve on our performance last year. We have a different crew with a few new faces so we are all learning but we hope that in a few years, one of us might get to skipper the Omani women’s entry.'

Ibtisam Al Salmi is another Omani sailor with SATT miles under her belt but their goals are rooted in progress rather than in results, says Pettibone.


'In Khaloud Al Uraimi, Huda Al Mashrafi and Raham Al Shezawi, we have a number of new Omani women on board so our continuing goal is to teach them racing and leadership skills that will enable them to be successful. We will do the best we can but I have no idea where that will put us in the fleet. I would like at least to do what we did last year.

'I will always fight for a podium position because that is my nature and it would be good for the girls to taste victory but this is mostly about equipping them with skill sets and getting them excited about this competition.

'It will be tough because there are some strong teams who have done a lot of training. The Germans are back and the Dutch are back and Sidney Gavignet and Cedric Pouligny are there and those guys will be a notch above, setting the pace. Finishing in the top half would be our goal but that is probably optimistic even though we are lucky enough to have the experience of Mary Rook (GB) and Lis Baylis (USA) to call on.'


David Graham, CEO of Oman Sail said the inclusion of an all-women’s team in EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour was an important part of Oman Sail campaign to develop a new generation of women sailors.

'In 2012 for the first time, there was an all-women’s crew in SATT and it was one of the first major milestones in Oman Sail’s Women’s Programme,' he said.

'The girls entered again last year and their participation proved very successful in showing our youngsters, especially the girls, that the combination of good sport and excellent teamwork on the water can provide one of the best learning experiences there is. And great fun too.'
EFG Sailing

North Sails Loft 57 PodcastSelden 2020 - FOOTERPantaenius Sail 2025 AUS Footer

Related Articles

52 Super Series 2025 Porto Cervo day 3
Sled lead in Porto Cervo and have slashed American Magic's circuit lead in chase for the title The strong Mistral breeze on Sardinia's Costa Smeralda dropped away nicely today and three good, highly competitive races were completed, bringing the 52 SUPER SERIES - Porto Cervo - Range Rover regatta back to schedule.
Posted on 25 Sep
Melges 24 Worlds 2025 at Trieste, Italy Day 3
Light winds compress the standings in Trieste The 2025 Melges 24 World Championship, organized by Yacht Club Adriaco in collaboration with the International Melges 24 Class Association and with the support of the Italian Melges 24 Class, continues in something of a slow-motion rhythm.
Posted on 25 Sep
A true attraction for non-French skippers
Hard work, training, and perseverance in the 56th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec The excellence of the French solo racing pathway is increasingly attracting non-French skippers who want to come, learn, and train in a discipline that, for now, remains very French.
Posted on 25 Sep
Last Chance to Complete 2x25 Survey
As Early Results Highlight Inequities Early responses to The Magenta Project's 2x25 survey reveal encouraging signs of progress on representation alongside systemic barriers that continue to hold sailing and the wider marine industry back.
Posted on 25 Sep
RS21 Worlds 2025 at Porto Rotondo, Sardinia Day 1
49 boats and over 200 sailors from 13 nations are taking part The RS21 World Championship is back at Yacht Club Porto Rotondo, with 49 boats and over 200 sailors from 13 nations ready to battle it out for one of the most competitive titles in one-design keelboat racing.
Posted on 25 Sep
2025 Six Metre World Championship Day 3
Bribon and Momo II rise to the top at Long Island A lack of sunshine didn't detract from the sparkle of the International Six Metre fleet on day three of their 2025 World Championships at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on Long Island.
Posted on 25 Sep
America's Cup: Ray Davies scouts Naples
Ray Davies of Emirates Team New Zealand recently made a vibrant stop in Naples, Italy Ray Davies of Emirates Team New Zealand recently made a "vibrant" stop in Naples, Italy, ahead of the upcoming Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup, and was left in awe of both the city and its sailing conditions.
Posted on 25 Sep
46th Cannes Royal Regatta day 3
When the planets are aligned... It was a phenomenal day in the bay of Cannes on Wednesday 24 September in a beautiful breeze from the south-west to the west.
Posted on 24 Sep
Melges 24 Worlds 2025 at Trieste, Italy Day 2
Epic conditions give Nika the first lead The 2025 Melges 24 World Championship delivered its first results on Day 2.
Posted on 24 Sep
2025 J/70 Corinthian Worlds at Massachusetts day 1
The regatta has moved to the United States for the first time Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Massachusetts USA welcomed 29 all-amateur teams to the third annual J/70 Corinthian World Championship.
Posted on 24 Sep