Dubai Match Race on course for big world stage

by Khaleej Times on 19 Jan 2006 Sailing in the Gulf region is on course to receive a major boost with the launch next week of the Dubai Match Race which is designed to develop quickly into a top level world ranking event.

Gorän Petersson, President of the ISAF, the world governing body of sailing, and HM King Constantine, the ISAF’s President of Honour, will travel to Dubai to observe the exciting new match racing series which is being introduced as part of the Dubai Junior Regatta.

If they like what they see, the Dubai Match Race could be elevated next year from an ISAF Grade 3 event to a Grade 1 series carrying full world-ranking status.

'This would be a very important step for sailing in the UAE and the Gulf region as a whole as it would help to attract many more top match racing teams from around the world,' said Saeed Hareb, Managing Director of Dubai International Marine Club and chief executive of the Emirates Airline-sponsored Dubai Junior Regatta.

'The Dubai Match Race is being introduced in response to a strong demand for match racing from within the local sailing community, something which has been influenced by Emirates Airline’s sponsorship of Team New Zealand.

'This is the first step, but we’ll be looking to stage many more match racing events which will create a great deal of interest overseas, locally and in the other Gulf countries, and help us achieve our long-term goal of getting local representation in the Americas Cup.'

Regatta Chairman Sid Bensalah has no doubts that Dubai is set to become a leading venue for world-class match racing. 'We have all the right ingredients, including superb facilities, ideal sailing conditions, a well-established organisational structure, and now an exciting new high performance racing boat designed and built locally for match racing.'

The V1/Lutra-30 Sport Boat, manufactured by V1 Advanced Composite Technologies at Jebel Ali Freezone, was built especially for the Dubai Match Race and for April’s ISAF Nations Cup qualifier in the Emirate.

Tested on the water for the first time this week, the V1/Lutra-30 will be sailed next week by each of the competing teams from New Zealand, Italy, Germany, Kuwait, Qatar, Finland, India, Bahrain and the UAE.

ISAF President Petersson, a former Swedish champion, and HM King Constantine, an Olympic gold medal winner, are certain to be impressed by facilities at Dubai International Marine Club. A beautifully-located marina offers easy access to the ocean, and its 150 berths are equipped with electricity, water and slipway. There are unlimited craning facilities, a 24-hour refueling and rescue service and a fully-equipped workshop.

HM King Constantine has been involved with the ISAF since 1960, giving his time and experience to many committees.

As a competitor he participated in his first official regattas in 1959, winning the Panhellenic Championships and other International events. His greatest success however was as a 20-year old helming his Dragon to a Gold Medal victory in the 1960 Regatta at the Rome Olympics.

For that win he received the traditional victory dunking by being pushed in to the water by his entire family - his father HM King Paul of Greece, his mother HM Queen Frederika of Greece and two sisters, the present Queen of Spain and Princess Irene. That was the only gold medal the Greek Team brought back from those Games and the only gold medal Greece had won in the previous fifty years.

Taking place under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates, the Dubai Junior Regatta will see 143 competitors from 18 nations battling for supremacy in the junior Laser 4.7 and Optimist race series. Official practice starts at DIMC on Sunday and after Monday’s opening ceremony the race action gets under way on Tuesday morning.

Organised by DIMC in conjunction with the UAE Marine Sports Federation and the ISAF, the event is co-sponsored by Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina, the official hotel, Marine Pool and V1 Advanced Composite Technologies. Other official suppliers for the event are Trek, Al Boom Marine, Dubai’s Victory Team, Duboats, El Mundo, Nordest and Olimpic Sails