O'Connell snatches victory in Jumeirah Regatta

by Total Communications on 28 Jan 2007 Dubai company director Toby O’Connell recorded his second notable fleet racing victory in recent weeks when he won the cruiser class Division One title at the Jumeirah Regatta.

Lying third overnight, after experiencing mixed fortunes on the opening day, O’Connell took his 50-foot yacht Yo! to second place in the final race of the series and it was enough to snatch overall victory from Jo Gillespie at the helm of Spirit of Juniper.

It was the perfect follow-up for O’Connell to his triumph last month at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta in Thailand, the biggest event of its kind in Asia.

Frenchman Christophe Vanek took Duboats Racing to third place, just ahead of the man who replaced him last year as Maktoum Sailing Trophy champion, Kristian Tzanov, skipper of Faith.

'It was great to win, and we’ll be back again next year to defend the title,' said O’Connell later. 'We had a bad start yesterday when we went the wrong way on the first race – our fault totally – and finished eighth. But we came back well to win the next race and put in a good performance today.'

After winning both races on the opening day, Mike Jelfs took Still Pennyless to second place in the final event to edge out race winner Gill Smith in Blitzem for the Division Two title. David Stuckey took his yacht, Kernowek, to third place overall.
Jumeirah Regatta 2

In the J22 class David Jones could manage only sixth place in the final race of the Jumeirah Regatta, but his two victories the previous day at the helm of Elaion were enough to give him overall victory.

Sponsored by Jumeirah, the dynamic and fast growing Dubai based luxury hospitality group, the two-day Jumeirah Regatta has blossomed into one of the highlights of the UAE sailing calendar over the last six years, and the strength of this weekend’s entry underlined its growing stature.

While the cruisers and catamarans battled for honours, most of the UAE’s most talented young sailors fought out the third of five rounds in this year’s UAE National Sailing Championships in seven dinghy classes.

One of the Emirates’ brightest young prospects, Adel Khalid, groomed in the national training programme at Dubai International Marine Club, underlined his potential with a near flawless display to capture the laser radial title.

Khalid won five out of six races, his only defeat coming at the hands of Jebel Ali Sailing Club’s Justin Walsh who was pipped for second place overall by Oskar Caneborg of Dubai Offshore Sailing Club.

Khalifa Al Kaldi from Emirates Heritage Club Abu Dhabi won the last two races in the Laser 4.7 class to claim overall victory from clubmate Talal Salem on a countback.

Jumeirah Regatta results:

Cruisers, Divison One
1. Yo! / Toby O’Connell 11pts
2. Spirit of Juniper / Jo Gillespie 13pts
3. Christophe Vanek 14pts