New record attempt for Musandam-Oman Sail
Oman Sail’s MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail set off yesterday late afternoon from Dun Laoghaire on an attempt to break the Round Ireland record.
For the attempt French skipper Sidney Gavignet has been reunited with his three Omani crew - Fahad Al Hasni, Yasser Al Rahbi and Sami Al Shukaili - who were on board when Musandam-Oman Sail smashed the Round Britain and Ireland world record last August. Also on board are Spanish shorthanded round the world race sailor Alex Pella and the French multihull veteran and sail maker Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, who have joined the Omani trimaran for the attempt.
The present record of 1 day 20 hours and 42 minutes (average speed 15.84 knots) was set in September 1993 by Steve Fossett and crew on the ORMA 60 trimaran Lakota.
“The goal is to give my Omani crewmates some real life training in a range of conditions and we are taking advantage of an ideal weather window,” explained Gavignet who was last on the boat when he raced it singlehanded across the Atlantic in last November's Route du Rhum.
The forecast before they cast off at 17:04 UTC was for light conditions that were scheduled to build significantly overnight. Before leaving, Gavignet warned that they would be playing it safe: “We will be watching the weather carefully and avoiding risks.”
Musandam-Oman Sail made an attempt on the Round Ireland record two years ago, but was forced to abandon it due to unsafe conditions. Hopes are high that this time that the weather will be kinder.
“The current record is held by great sailors, so it would be a huge source of pride for us to break it and add such an achievement to our experience as sailors. We are expecting a lot of challenges and very low temperatures to the north, but we are prepared and hope to return with another record for Oman,” said Fahad Al Hasni.
“We are focussing this season on the sailor’s strength and fitness, but also on preparing the boat and studying the weather to make them better all round offshore sailors. There won’t be many record attempts on our schedule in 2015, but this one is a primary goal and if we can get the record, it would be very good for the guys, for the country and for Oman Sail,” added Gavignet.
Since the boat was relaunched following a routine refit, Gavignet has been training with his crew in Lorient and took in the Grand Prix Guyader in Douarnenez in Brittany, France, where they flew the Omani flag in Europe for the first time this year and got back into competitive racing mode after a winter sailing with other crew in other boats.
At the time of writing, the boat has rounded the top of Ireland and is doing around 20 knots. The ETA is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
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