Majan Crew Sees Last Sunbeam Before Storm (Photo by Mark Covell on board Majan)
Oman Sail’s A100 trimaran ‘Majan’ has been battling hurricane force winds in the Southern Ocean on leg 3 of the Indian Ocean 5 Capes Race en route to the next stop over in Fremantle, Australia. The six-man crew led by Paul Standbridge including new recruit Sidney Gavignet and two Omani crew, who are tracing out this new course ahead of the official race in 2012, have had their mettle tested to the limit in these ferocious conditions. ‘Majan’ left Cape Town on 10th March and are approximately 2,300 miles into the 4,600-mile leg, with another 5-6 days before arriving in Fremantle. Read Mark Covell’s log below which expertly describes the force of the Southern Ocean in all its fury…
It’s been a long couple of days. As I woke the first day of this storm Paul, Mohammed and Mike were on watch. The sky was grey with driving rain that stung your face. The wind was around 45 knots touching 55 in the gusts. The noise resembled a badly tuned television, on full volume, hissing out white noise.
The waves were mostly broadside, hitting us on our starboard (right) hull and sending the sea water high in the sky, then cascading down over the boat. Occasionally, we would be lifted by the top of a wave and slammed by another, resulting in a sudden shunt sideways. It felt like King Neptune had cupped us in his hand, lobbed us in the air and whacked us out of court with his watery tennis racket. 
Although admittedly both nervous at times, (as I think we all were at times), Mohsin and Mohammed handled the conditions very well. Mohsin had seen 51 knots in the Cook Straits on his last voyage round the world, but had never experienced anything like yesterday before. He commented on how well Majan had handled the wind and the waves. “When I started to feel scared I just touched the boat with my hands and immediately felt better – as Majan felt so solid.”
If you weren’t holding on tight you were smack, bang on the floor, for sure. Most of the crew were tipped out of their bunks a few times. Eventually everyone gave up, and found some place on the cabin floor to sleep – wedged onto a beanbag or nestled between a bulkhead and the engine block. The tighter the space the less damage you did to yourself, in your sleep!
Meanwhile, the roaring wind had started to growl as we saw more and more gusts up in the 60-knot zone. The waves seemed to flatten and grow long silver manes of white spume that flowed out behind the wave face. In fact, all the waves were doing were ‘hunkering down’ and forming a more powerful and solid stance to shoulder us sideways – and more frequently.
The air was now constantly full of sharp, biting spray. Every one lung-full you took of breath, you spat out a two mouthfuls of brine. It was time to reduce sail and slow down some more. Down came the J3 beautifully flaking itself as it dropped. Next was to reef the mainsail down from the size of a squash court to the size of a table tennis table. Dropping the sails is a very noisy, wet exercise, exerting yet more shaking on the boat as even these much-reduced sized sails flap violently in the process. 
So why were we getting a good ‘dressing down’ like this in this low pressure system? For the initial part of this leg we had not been able to find the strong winds that normally send you fast across the roaring 40s to Australia. So when we saw this low on the weather charts, we ducked back up to ride the low south and get under a big high pressure sitting in our way. We had to sail deep into the storm front to hook up with the ride.
It was like stepping out into a fast moving motorway, getting run down, then hitching a lift with the truck that ran you over. We then drove into the other side of the low, take the flick flack wind change, waves and wind going in different directions, and then drive south east, heading us towards Cape Leeuwin and Fremantle. It was a crazy ride, but it paid off well.
The gybe was interesting because the winds were up in the high 60’s and gusting to 70! We are all impressed with how Majan has performed.
There is a B&G (electronic navigational) display in the media station that read over 70 knots. We were happy that it was dark so I didn’t need to go out side and try to film the madness. So Mohammed suggested I just film the red B&G display instead, and keep with my lap belt firmly pulled tight to keep me off the ceiling!
70 Knots Over The Deck Of Majan (Photo by Mark Covell onboard Majan)
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.”
Image Courtesy of Oman Sail
52 knots, or Force 10 on the Beaufort scale – conditions that translate into a simple word: “storm”! Caught almost by surprise after hundreds of miles spent under a glorious sunshine and fair winds, the crew aboard Musandam found themselves lowering the sails in a hurry just off Wellington, and had to run without any canvas (bare poles) in order to withstand the fierce gust! With that force of wind, the simple fact of crossing the trampoline between the central hull and the float is a struggle, and one can only do it on all fours, fingers clenching the net. Fortunately, Musandam had clear waters before her bows and could escape without having to worry about altering her course – a real stroke of luck in such a narrow passage.
Charlie’s log, Tuesday 3 February: “The passage through the Strait as we headed further and further south the wind started to funnel though between the north and south island reaching a steady 35kts at time – with just 3 reefs in the mainsail and no headsail we were in a safe mode, we sailed on past the entrance to Wellington before reaching a point 3nm SW of ‘Windy Point’ – the name should have given it away, 35, 40, 43, 47, 50, 52 kts of wind screaming though the rigging, and getting pummled on deck with spray, whiped off the sea’s surface and hurled into our wet weather gear. So we scrambled to get the main down and sail under bear poles dead downwind (luckily out to sea). We continued like this and the wind dropped to 30 kts again then 25, and we kept heading SE towards Cape Palliser.”Prior to that shaky episode, Musandam had enjoyed unexpectedly pleasant conditions – we take a look back at the week preceding their Cook Strait passage.
Had the men aboard Musandam secretly signed up for a pleasant cruise in the Southern Ocean, managing to secure a “sunny conditions guaranteed” option through a very special travel agency? Looking at the emails sent from the boat at the beginning of last week, one could certainly have gotten that impression… As Charlie wrote last Wednesday, “It’s hard to believe that this is the Southern Ocean, we are 44 degrees south and the temperature on deck is 14 degrees celsius and here at the chart table it’s 20 degrees.” Having spent just over 20 days at sea, the international crew had a comfortable 570-mile lead over the 80 days pace boat and was making great progress under the sun towards the southern tip of Tasmania, skipper Loik Gallon enjoying his sessions at the helm – surfing on majestic waves and making the most of the trimaran’s speed potential.
On Thursday (day 22 – January 29), Musandam found herself some 750 miles south of Adelaide (capital of the state of South Australia), sailing at the heart of the Roaring 40s and still blessed with glorious sunshine – “Looking at the satellite pictures that download automatically on board”, explained Charlie, ” there is a corridor around 170 nautical miles wide and we have just been sailing down it, clear skies, nice wind, great direction”. Yet the tactical gybe to head towards the Cook Strait was occupying the thoughts of the strategists on board, and the anticipated windshift to the SW was expected to provide the opportunity for a change of course… which incidentally meant getting out of that perfect corridor and moving into more disturbed conditions, complete with squalls, temperature drop and slightly deteriorating sea state. It would have taken more to really affect the crew’s morale, and in one of his typical contemplative emails, Charlie perfectly summed up the joys of being at sea: “There are so few things you do for this long without having to do normal day to day stuff, shopping, putting the rubbish out, fill the car up with fuel, paying bills all the things that are going on every day in normal life that we just don’t have to do. Yet we do go shopping – I open a new food bag and put it into the storage bags (our kitchen cupboards), we do put the rubbish out – we tie up the rubbish bag and take it to the sail locker for storage, we do fill the car up every 5 days or so – I fill the generator’s fuel tank from the main tank, it’s just that it’s all here to hand. So sorry for everyone that is doing the normal things in life today, especially those people who are doing it for us, we will be back to reality really soon, just let us indulge ourselves a while longer”.
