Over 70 boats contest UAE National Championships

by Sharon Allison, DIMC, and Sail-World Asia on 9 Nov 2009 Winners in all classes were on the podium over the weekend in celebration of the first round of the UAE National Sailing Championships, where an impressive seventy-one boats took part. Held at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, (DOSC), the two-day competition in the Optimist, Laser, Catamaran and Open Dinghy classes was the season’s inaugural event of the National Championships for the modern sailing fleets in the UAE, and the first of eight rounds. Under the auspices of newly-formed governing body, the UAE Sailing and Rowing Federation, (UAESARF) the Championships brings together not just the sailors but also the local clubs of Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, (DOSC), Dubai International Marine Club, (DIMC), Abu Dhabi International Marine Sailing Club, (ADIMSC), Emirates Sailing School, (ESS), and AD Cats from Abu Dhabi who were all represented.

The youngest competitor on the water was Aline Jacobs at just 9 years old in her first racing season, and the oldest was Andy Wilkins who at 72 is a remarkable advertisement for the 'active’ life style.

The eight rounds will be held at the different Clubs, with one exception - on January 29/30, 2010 - which will be offshore from the magnificent Jumeirah Beach and Burj Al Arab hotels and sponsored by the Jumeriah Group.

The next round will be held in Abu Dhabi International Marine Sailing Club on 11/12 December 2009.

Helm Crew
Catamaran
1 Cirrus Conrad Schwindt Tom Hemingway
2 Cirrus Jon Hemingway Jamie Eldridge
3 Viper Peter Eldridge Eric Ergen

Open Dinghy
1 Laser 2000 Hamdan Obaid Al Baloushi
2 Laser 2000 Omar Ibrahim Al Naim Omar Mohd, Abdulla Hassan Al Hammadi
3 RS400 Simon Hawker

1 Laser Std Robyn Smith
2 Laser Std Giles Grigg
3 Laser Std Jan Larkins

1 Laser Radial Tallal Salem Al Zaidi
2 Laser Radial Saeed Salem Al Zaidi
3 Laser Radial Nik Froud

1 Laser 4.7 Harry Knight
2 Laser 4.7 Naimh Thorne
3 Laser 4.7 Madeleine Wagner

1 Optimist Saif Al Naimi
2 Optimist Hamood Al Zaidi
3 Optimist S’hil Al Rilani