Marjan On Her Maiden Voyage (Photo by Mark Lloyd)
Oman Sail’s A100 trimaran, Majan, departed Kuwait City on Tuesday, 10th November, on the first leg of the new Tour of Arabia race. Kuwait is the start of the five-leg Tour of Arabia which will link together the GCC countries. As the tour travel southwards it will stop in Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and finally, home to Muscat and the Oman Sail project.
Majan wass berthed in The Yacht Club Kuwait run by the government-owned Touristic Enterprises Company that offers berthing for 390 boats. As this is a public marina, Majan has enjoyed many visitors dropping by to talk to the crew and have a tour. Further along the coast is Al Kout that is home to the annual Kuwait Boat Show.
Majan, Oman Sail’s new A100 trimaran will be tracing out the route of this new professional sailing event organised by OC Events. Majan skipper, Paul Standbridge, commented: “It is an exciting prospect to be tracing out this new route which is really covering unchartered territory in terms of professional racing. Myself and all the Majan crew are really looking forward to this new adventure together, setting the reference times for other boats to challenge in the future years of this race. When we leave Kuwait City we will track east to avoid the oil fields and wells and other restricted areas. The total distance of the leg from Kuwait to Bahrain is 270 miles but the wind conditions here are light so we won’t be breaking any speed records! Nevertheless, sailing in light winds can be just as challenging as sailing in strong winds, as you have to work hard to keep the boat moving and making the most of the breeze when you have it. It’s good to be in a new country and the people are really friendly and helpful.”
Majan will be crewed by seven in total including skipper Paul Standbridge, and Oman Sail’s Mohsin Al Busaidi who become the first ever Arab to sail non-stop around the world in March this year. Two other Oman Sail trainees will join Paul and Mohsin alongside two professional crew and Mark Covell, a highly accomplished offshore sailing reporter as an onboard media crew member.
Kuwait is developing its modern sailing programme but it was Kuwait’s pearl industry that laid the foundation of its rich maritime history. Dhows, large wooden ships made from teak wood imported from India, became a distinct part of Kuwait’s maritime fleet and dhow building is still practiced in the state. Sailing is in its infancy in the country but the warm sea and flat waters are conducive to its development. The Kuwait Offshore Sailing Association and the Fahaheel Offshore Sailing Club promote sailing in Kuwait and run regular races and sail training programmes.
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning ‘fortress built near the water’ and home to a population of nearly 3 million. Kuwait City was first settled in the early 18th Century by the Al-Sabah clan, later the ruling family of Kuwait and a branch of the Al-Utub tribe (that also included the Al-Khalifah clan, the ruling family of Bahrain), and their leader, Sheikh Sabah.
Tour of Arabia:
Kuwait City, Kuwait
In port 7th-9th November
Depart 10th November
Manama, Bahrain
In port 12th-14th November
Depart 15th November
Doha, Qatar
In port 16th-17th November
Depart 18th November
Abu Dhabi & Dubai, United Arab Emirates
In port Abu Dhabi, 19th-20th November
Depart 21st November
In port Dubai, 21st-26th November
Depart 27th November
Muscat, Oman
Arrival end of November, 2009
Majan On Her Maiden Voyage (Photo by Mark Lloyd / Oman Sail)
Oman Sail’s recently launch Arabian 100 (A100) trimaran, will be tracing out the route of two future professional sailing events in Asia over the coming months. The Tour of Arabia will link together the GCC countries from Kuwait in the north to Oman in the south. · This will lead into the ‘Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race’, taking in South Africa, Australia, Singapore, India, via all corners of the Indian Ocean and the five great Capes of the region
The growth of competitive sailing in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean has today taken a further step forward as the sailing events company, OC Events (Asia), launches two new premier racing circuits.
The entire region is steeped in maritime heritage and legend, and is criss-crossed by a multitude of ancient and historically significant ocean trading routes. Professional and competitive sailing is only just awakening, but development of pro circuits will probably happen faster than the decades it has taken in Europe.
Building on the foundations of the Asian Record Circuit established by Dame Ellen MacArthur in 2007 onboard ‘B&Q’, and the Extreme Sailing Series Asia to be staged this winter in Hong Kong, Singapore and Muscat (Oman), OC Events (Asia) have now launched two inaugural premier racing events – the ‘Tour of Arabia’ and the ‘Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race’.
The launch of the first of the new Arabian 100 (A100) Class trimarans, Oman Sail’s stunning Majan, is the catalyst for the creation of these two new ground-breaking offshore racetracks. On 10 November, Majan will set out from Kuwait City in the north of the Arabian Gulf on a five-leg tour that will cover 1,700 nautical miles (3,150km), to trace out and test the route of the future ‘Tour of Arabia’ race. Stopping in Bahrain, Qatar Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Majan’s voyage will finish in Muscat, Oman.
The ‘Tour of Arabia’ will lead directly into the premier edition of the ‘Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race’. Other than the recent traverse of the Indian Ocean by the Volvo Ocean Race fleet, current traditional oceanic courses only exploit the southern part of the Indian Ocean and above 40 degrees South it remains the most unchartered territory as far as professional racing is concerned, yet it offers a wide variety of tactical challenges and conditions.
Onboard Majan (Photo by Mark Lloyd / Oman Sail)
As with the ‘Tour of Arabia’, Majan will trace out this new course taking the big dive south for a giant tour of the Indian Ocean Capes facing the challenges of all the combined might of the Southern and Indian Oceans. From the heat of the tropics, frustrations of the windless Doldrums at the Equator to the towering waves of the Roaring Forties. Majan plans to set out on the 6th February, 2010, on this 15,000 nautical miles (27,780km) course, that should take between 35 and 40 days including stopovers.
The Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race will pass the Capes of Ras Al Hadd (Oman), down to Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), across the frozen wastes of the Southern Ocean to Cape Leeuwin (SW Australia), past Cape Piai on the tip of the Malaysian peninsula (the southernmost point of mainland Asia, just to the west of Singapore), and back underneath Cape Comorin (southern tip of India) to Oman on the Arabian Peninsula. As the class of large ocean going trimarans like Majan (sistership to Thomas Coville’s Sodebo) grows, it is planned for this to develop as a recurring event on the ocean racing calendar.
Tour Of Arabian Sea Map
Oman Sail’s new A100 Majan, designed by Nigel Irens and Benoit Cabaret, was built in Australia before being assembled locally in Salalah (Oman). David Graham, CEO Oman Sail: “We built and launched Majan, the first Arabian 100 with a plan. We believe that the combination of exhilarating boats and challenging conditions in this economically buoyant region has a real potential for future growth. In conjunction with OC Events, we look forward to racing around the Arabian Gulf, Indian and Southern Oceans this winter and next spring.” Internationally renowned sailor, Paul Standbridge, will skipper Majan alongside Mohsin Al Busaidi who became the first Arab to ever sail non-stop around the world on board Majan’s stablemate, the 75-ft trimaran Musandam back in March this year, and they will be joined by two professional crew and two Oman Sail trainees plus a media crewman, Mark Covell.
Mark Turner, CEO, OC Events: “The launch of the new A100 class with the first sea miles of Majan presents us with an opportunity to develop these two new fascinating racetracks. These courses have both historical and sporting credibility, and equally commercial interest for sponsors of future competing teams. Between the ‘Tour of Arabia’ and the ‘Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race’, we’re visiting 10 key markets, passing through all the corners of the Indian Ocean via five great Capes, and linking the Middle East with Central Asia. Professional yacht racing might have developed with an Atlantic flavour, but the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean remain great unchartered territory for future sailing events.”
The Nigel Irens Design Majan, Skippered by Paul Stanbridge Under Sail (Photo by Lloyd Images)
After four months of assembly in Oman’s southern most port of Salalah, skipper Paul Standbridge has been stretching the legs of Oman Sail’s new Arabian 100 (A100) trimaran during sea-trials off the Omani coast. Now named Majan, after the ancient name for Oman, Oman Sail’s new flagship is now operational and is heading into the Gulf and a tour of neighbouring countries.
Based on the proven design of another trimaran, Sodebo, which is the holder of the solo North Atlantic crossing record, the design has been tailored for the needs of Oman Sail and their objective of training and developing Omani sailors to compete on the international stage.
Oman Sail's 100 Foot Arabian Trimaran Majan (Photo byh Lloyd Images/Oman Sail)
The launch of Majan is an ambitious addition to the project’s mission to inspire a new generation of young Omanis. The first chapter was started when Mohsin Al Busaidi returned to the shores of Oman after successfully circumnavigating the world non-stop on Majan’s 75ft sister ship, Musandam. From there, success has followed success as the two Oman teams took 1st and 3rd in the 2009 European iShares Cup and two Omanis are currently also sailing around the world in the Clipper Race. At the heart of all this success lies the Oman Sail Academy where young Omanis are now taking part in try sailing courses and looking to emulate their peers. Oman Sail’s aims are ambitious: by 2015, the project aims to have seven academies running across the country enabling over 30,000 Omanis to try sailing.
Majan will sail with a crew of seven: 50% of the sailors will be Omani offshore trainees joined by three international professional crew and a cameraman providing the one-on-one training that the recruits require at this early stage of their career. The first chapter will be a ‘Tour of Arabia’ starting next week from Muscat, which will include stops in UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar before Majan joins the Dubai-Muscat race back to Muscat one month later.
Majan In The Slings Being Launched (Photo by Lloyd Images/Oman Sail)
The name Majan is used with pride within Oman and is a fitting name for a futuristic racing yacht for a country with a long maritime history. As Majan’s newest crew member, Mohsin Al Busaidi, commented “The acceleration of Majan is incredible: we moved from 20 – 30 knots in one gust of wind. We now look forward to showing the world what she can do!”
Majan Loaded On Truck For Launch (Photo by Lloyd Images/Oman Sail)
