British solo sailor, Alex Thomson has smashed the single-handed monohull transatlantic record, by more than 24 hours, crossing the finish line at Lizard Point, off Falmouth in Cornwall, in time to get back for the London Olympic Opening ceremony.

The 38 year old sailor crossed the line at 17:17 GMT (18:17 BST) setting the new time at 8 days 22 hours 8 minutes, beating the previous record, subject to ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, which had been held for 10 years.

“It has been a long few days,” said Alex. “The first half from New York was great with weather conditions in our favour, but things started to slow down the closer I got. But the wind has held out this morning and it’s so fantastic to have broken this record.”

Alex set sail from New York on July 17th at 19.09GMT to cover 2800 nautical miles in a quest to break the record for what is officially known as the ‘West to East Ambrose Lighthouse to Lizard Point Under 60ft Single-Handed Monohull Record, Male’, which sat at 10 days, 55 minutes and 19 seconds, and was set by Swiss sailor Bernhard Stamm 10 years ago.

His secondary aim was to get home in time for the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in order to support Chairman and good friend, Sir Keith Mills.

“When I set off I had no idea if I was going to be able to do it. And it has been hard. Lack of sleep, broken instruments on the boat and constant exposure to the elements has really taken it out of me. But it’s such a good feeling to have beaten it by such a great margin,” said Alex.

But the record breaking achievement is only half of the story. Alex is in fact lining up to attempt to be the first Brit ever to win the gruelling single-handed round-the-world race, the Vendee Globe, leaving from France in November on board his 60ft monohull, HUGO BOSS. And this record breaking achievement puts him in good stead.

“This record attempt was also a training exercise for the Vendee Globe,” said Alex. “We felt this record attempt would put me under real pressure and stimulate race conditions and I have felt a real value in it.”

He is one of three British competitors who will take part in the non-stop, solo, unassisted round-the-world yacht race starting in Les Sables d’Olonne in France, on November 10th. Currently only 50% of attempts to complete the race have been successful in the race known as the ‘Everest of sailing’

 

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Yann Guichard and his crew of five crossed the finish line on Thursday July 12 at 12hrs 08m 37s UTC (14hrs 08m 37s) to take overall victory in the inaugural KRYS OCEAN RACE transatlantic race in an elapsed time four days 21 hours 08 minutes 37s, an average of 25.03 kts on this 2950 miles race course.

In this first ocean race for the new MOD70 one design multihull class, Spindrift racing finished about an hour and a half ahead of Sébastien Josse’s Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and FONCIA, who were about a quarter of an hour behind second, after a great race across the Atlantic from New York to Brest in winds which is rarely dropped below twenty knots …This is the first great ocean racing victory for Yann Guichard. At 38, this former Olympic Tornado catamaran sailor, who finished fourth in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, has amassed considerable multihull experience offshore with Marc Guillemot, Bruno Peyron and Franck Cammas, racing solo across the Atlantic in 2010, but also on the Swiss lakes in the D35 and M-2 multihulls. He has also raced inshore as helm in the America’s Cup World Series and the Extreme 40 series. Launched in January this year, Spindrift racing is MOD70 hull number 5, and has been taken on by his crew, which includes Pascal Bidégorry, Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, Jacques Guichard, Leo Lucet and Kevin Escoffier. Bidégorry, Escoffier and Le Vaillant are among those who set the existing outright Atlantic record in 2009. Spindrift racing sailed an actual 3284 miles on the water at an average of 28.04 knots.

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Spindrift Bow by George Bekris

For the leaders of the KRYS OCEAN RACE the frontal system that they have ridden since Saturday night continues to prove the gift, which keeps on giving.

Before leaving New York, initial predictions suggested that the five MOD70’s would benefit for at least three to four days, but as the leaders now contemplate negotiating the north east side of the Azores high pressure system, it now seems likely they will have every chance of curving progressively towards Ireland, the Scillies gate and then to the finish line in Brest with hardly any reduction in speed.Sébastien Col, tactician and helm from FONCIA, even suggested today that the most favourable weather files had them reaching the finish with no gybes.With the S-SW’ly winds still hitting over 30kts this afternoon, their fourth since leaving Manhattan, the speeds of the three leading MOD70’s continue to be impressive. Spindrift racing have clocked up another day of more than 700 miles on the mid afternoon rankings, holding their average speed just under 30kts.So far Spindrift racing’s remarkable 711.9 miles sailed over 24 hours, set Monday, is the highest run yet.Yann Guichard and his team, which has lead since Sunday night, still managed to increase their margin on the chasing duo today. With around 1300 miles to sail to the finish, Spindrift racing was holding an advance of 50 miles this afternoon ahead of Seb Josse and crew on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild with FONCIA 13 miles behind them in third.Foncia’s Sébastien Col told the live radio call today that their best option should present itself as they pass over the Azores high pressure system. Depending on its evolution as the more southerly boat of the leading trio, FONCIA may find a better, reaching angle sooner whilst their two opponents may find themselves slowed, on a more downwind, open angle. But patience has, to some extent, been part of the FONCIA strategy, Col acknowledging on today’s radio vacation with KRYS OCEAN RACE HQ in Brest, that both Spindrift racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild have continued with better wind strength and angle. Col said: “ We are slightly slower than them and just have to try to sail the boat as fast as we can. With this little disadvantage we try to cross the high pressure not too far behind these two guys, and then try to catch places after.” The mood remains stoic, mostly upbeat on fourth placed Musandam-Oman Sail. They have adapted well to their compromised predicament, managing to replace their damaged port foil with the starboard one, a delicate manoeuvre in 25-30kts of wind which required all the strength of three crew plus one helping the lift on a halyard.  Though they had tried to sail without a foil, they had found the boat liable to nosediving. But in their new configuration they were making a decent 26 knots average this afternoon, but were some 122 miles behind FONCIA. The leading boats are expected Friday, spearing right into the first day of the massive Tonneres de Brest maritime festival. The 20th anniversary international gathering of mariners and craft of all shapes and sizes is expected to attract somewhere around 800,000 visitors to Brest’s seven kilometres of waterfront festivities and runs 13th to 19th July. Quotes: Sébastien Col, FONCIA, tactician, trimmer, helm: “Today FONCIA is sailing just above Spindrift and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, our target is the waypoint to the north of the high pressure which we will reach in approximately 24 hours.  We are sailing a little slower than Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and Spindrift because we are a bit more south than them and have a little bit less wind and they have a better angle and so that means we are slightly slower than them so just have to try to sail the boat as fast as we can. With this little disadvantage we try to cross the high pressure not too far behind these two guys, and then will try to catch places after. We are targeting only one gybe to approach the Scilly Islands. One of the best routages we have actually shows that we have no gybes, and so that even suggests it will be very fast for the end of the race.” Ryan Breymaier, No 1, Musandam-Oman Sail: “We are going well at the moment – pretty much full speed. When the foil failed, we had to take it out because there was a lot of turbulence and drag and the boat was very slow – about 22 knots – though when it came out completely, the bow dug in a lot so we had to reduce sail. We didn’t feel comfortable trying to change the foil from one side to the other during the night but now we have the foil from the starboard side on the port side, which makes things normal again. The guys are getting tired as it weighs 100kgs and takes three crew plus one on the halyard every time we change it over, but hopefully we will only have to do it twice more during the race.” Check latest position reports at: http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/race-data.html Latest photos: http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/pictures.html Latest videos: http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/videos.html Latest audio files: http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/audio.html

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Yann Guichard and his 5 men crew of Spindrift racing closed yesterday in style the american chapter of their MOD70’s short existence. Following a positive prologue between Newport and New York, the Speed matches organised on the Hudson river between Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty ended up in an almost complete shut out for Guichard who secured 5 wins out of 6 races. Speed, team work and Guichard’s yachting expertise were keys to the team’s first success. The Krys Ocean Race starts tomorrow saturday July 7th at 11AM US Eastern Time. A totally new ball game according to Yann who expects right from the start good and strong winds that will set the boats on a record breaking pace. « Winning the speed matches on this spectacular nautical stadium under the Manhattan skyline has been a thrilling experience » declares a jubilant Yann Guichard. Spindrift racing has therefore fulfilled its objective prior to tomorrow’s major event, building its confidence to an all time High, and pushing its state of preparation to the max. The team newcomer, Kevin Escoffier, filling in as sixth man for Billy Besson is no stranger to multihull sailing. Along with Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, he was among the round the world record breaker maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V last winter. « He’s blent in just fine » says Guichard who appreciates Escoffier’s polyvalence onboard. The MOD70 monotypes trimarans have tomorrow at 11.00 AM their first historical rendez vous with off shore racing. The clash promises to be of a greater scale and magnitude than any other previous ocean races. « All the boats are absolutely similar in shape, configurations and… performance » confirms Guichard. The men, their ability to keep up with the pace without breaking anything will be the decisive factors in who wins or lose. This is what is so exciting about the MOD70. « At the gun shot, nobody has an edge over anyone » says Guichard. « We’ll all be pushing hard in a good southwesterly wind. These boats are rather simple to handle. The hard part is to figure out when and where to release the pressure without breaking anything. » New York and America have been good to Spindrift racing. Guichard and his men will set sails tomorrow with only one goal in mind, victory, and nothing less. Follow Spindrift racing news on on the Spindrift racing LIVESTREAM, FACEBOOK and TWITTER ! To follow Spindrift racing and the fleet on the Krys Ocean Race website, click HERE.

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Sailed today with Sidney Gavignet on his lovely beast of a race boat, Musandam. She is Oman Sail’s Multi One Design 70 and flagship racer.  Mr. Gavignet and crew are fresh into New York City after finishing the Prologue Race to the KRYS OCEAN RACE, which starts on Saturday.  This is the inaugural KRYS Ocean race and it has drawn 5 of the world’s best multi hull skippers to fight it out mid ocean.  Race For Water, FONCIA, Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, Spindrift Racing and Musandam-Oman Sail all hoping to break records.

The crew on Musandam consists of both seasoned circumnavigators and relative newcomers to ocean racing. All enthusastic and working like a well oiled machine, the crew seems to take cue from their skipper.  This all can be fun.  Even as they tote media from North Cove Marina past lower Manhatten and on toward the Statue of Liberty their enthusiasm is contagious.  The crew answer questions readily. The pride in their ride apparent.  They are all ready to take on the Atlantic.

Sidney asks if I would like a hand at the tiller. Yes, Yes Yes. These are the moments you dream of. The days you remember.  Perfect skys, wind and the city skyline swooshing by . She handles like a dream, so balanced  she glides by other boats in the harbor with no effort.   As we swoop  by other boats like a giant bird out come the smart phones and video cams as we pass.   Ferry riders take in the view of her with her bright water color hues. Just to watch her sail is a treat.  Often seen in Europe, these large multi hulls are still  enough of a rarity in the US that they draw curious eyes.

We make another pass at the statue with the speed building with each pass.  We hit 20 knots and the smiles are plentiful.  Then 22 knots. No wait. 24.  At 25 knots there are a couple of fist pumps.

It just makes you want to shout from the rooftops. Look at the world class, record setting testaments to innovation that have been brought to your doorsteps New York City.

Tomorrow promises to be even better.  All 5 crews will take to the Hudson for Speed Trials right in front of Battery Park. They are on Thursday July 5th from 3:00 to 5:00.

 So if your in New York come on down and check out the Multi One Design 70′s.  It is worth the look to see these boats and crews in action.

Saturday is the  start of the KRYS OCEAN RACE.  The start line in front of the Statue of Liberty. The race starts at Saturday July 7th at 11:00 am.

For More Information on Musandam, Sidney Gavignet and the Oman Sail Program see http://www.omansail.com/

 

For More Information about the KRYS OCEAN RACE See http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/

Click on Images to Enlarge

 

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Given that they had two of the proud founders of the MOD70 circuit on board, it was perhaps appropriate that Race For Water lead the KRYS OCEAN RACE fleet into New York City today, winning a slightly slow, but testing, 150 miles prologue race – the inaugural contest for the current MOD70 fleet – which started with an exciting sprint out of Newport last night.

Given that they had two of the proud founders of the MOD70 circuit on board, it was perhaps appropriate that Race For Water lead the KRYS OCEAN RACE fleet into New York City today, winning a slightly slow, but testing, 150 miles prologue race – the inaugural contest for the current MOD70 fleet – which started with an exciting sprint out of Newport last night.

Race For Water, skippered by Stève Ravussin, along with his young crew and Multi One Design President Marco Simeoni as guest on board, had put their faith in the Long Island shore early this morning. And with less than one mile to the finish – in benign conditions more reminiscent of their native Swiss lakes – they were blessed with an extra measure of thermal breeze which allowed them to bear down more directly towards the line, accelerating to the finish. They stole a morale boosting victory, overtaking Seb Josse and the Groupe Edmond de Rothschild team in the dying minutes of the race.

There are no championship points awarded for the prologue which was predominantly raced in around 10kts of breeze, with much less during the small hours of what proved to be a long, and at times slow night.

Though it was Ravussin, sailing boat number 1, which placed first, four of the five different boats all had a turn in the lead at some stage through the passage, each successively staking a claim to victory until the balance swung between the consistent early advantage offshore finally to the inshore, Coney Island line when the thermal effects helped out. In contrast, several of the offshore teams reported later that they had underestimated the strength of the contrary current in relation to the light breeze.
And while most had had a shot at winning during the race, the win for Race for Water was a popular result, a nice bonus for some of the prime movers in the MOD 70 initiative. Just as they have lead from the front in pulling this ambitious project together, so too it was pleasing to see them lead from the front, getting first bite of the Big Apple.
In fact the most thrilling part of the prologue was Monday night’s start out of Newport, where the preliminary circuit in Narranganset Bay saw the five MOD70’s jostling spectacularly for position in an early evening breeze. In 12-15kts of wind they surged to over 20kts of boat speed at times, before they exited the bay into dying winds.

“In fact the best speed of the race was at the start, reaching at 26 knots, it was spectacular, what a way to leave Newport.” Commented Ravussin, “ But after that, never fast again! It was light, but it was a very interesting race because all the time the speeds of all the boats were the same. During the night we could see all the boats. I think it was a nice race.”
“ Always we were third until we chose the land side of the course this morning, because there was no wind and we wanted to find the thermal breeze. And that was a hard choice because for one or two hours there was no wind. After that the wind came in and we got there in front.”
“Sure it is always nice to win, even if it is just the prologue. We have not sailed very much together, only doing the Transatlantic as a crew. So we have speed, we were fighting with the other guys, it is a good deal!” said Ravussin.
“When we see all the boats here in such an incredible setting, in among these skyscrapers, when were thinking about this three years ago, I am so very happy to be here with five boats. It is real now and it feels fantastic.”

Race For Water crossed the finish line just shy of the Verrazano Bridge at 12h53’20’ local time, just 2 minutes and 30 seconds ahead of Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. Spindrift racing skippered by Yann Guichard sailed in to third with FONCIA hard on their heels. Musandam Oman Sail, which had lead the race until there was about 10 miles to the finish ran out of breeze offshore and finished fifth across the line, concluding the prologue from Newport to New York after covering the 150 miles course in around 21 hours of racing.

After the race there was a spectacular parade of sail up the Hudson River to the  base at North Cove Marina in the South of Manhattan, where the five MOD70  trimarans will be based until the start of the KRYS OCEAN RACE on Saturday 7th July.

KRYS OCEAN RACE PROLOGUE, Newport to New York, provisional results
1) Race For Water ( Stève Ravussin) finished at 12h53’20’’ Local time
2) Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse) finished at 12h55’50’’
3) Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard) finished at 13h35’08’’
4) FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux) finished at 13h38’44’’
5) Musandam-Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) finised at 14h04’01’’

Quotes:
Michel Desjoyeaux, skipper FONCIA: “The cards were not that well dealt through this prologue, FONCIA did not seem to benefit off. It was a light airs prologue we might have almost have believed was on Lake Geneva. For the first time on a multihull, I think I have sailed 150 miles without wearing foul weather gear! Incredible! But it was good on FONCIA, the boat went well and the crew did well also, and indeed it was the guys who did everything aboard! This is my first arrival to New York by sea, I admit it’s pretty impressive. It was nice coming in past the Statue of Liberty.”

Sébastien Josse, skipper Groupe Edmond de Rothschild: “It was light with not very much wind but it was interesting because there were two options and the fleet was really compact. And as we see in the last fifteen miles the result can change very quickly. We lead for a lot of the time, but I think Spindrift and FONCIA cut inside out of the cloud and took a big advantage. But in fact were in good shape, with a good position all the way through the race and so we are pretty happy. The Transat of course is completely different, it is not in five knots of wind and it is the Transat which matters, we have a good crew and we feel like we have good speed, but now we have to do a proper race. It is a special harbour here, nice to be here.”

Yann Guichard, skipper Spindrift: “ It was not fast but it was interesting. It was a first time to sail together as a team so that was good, we set some new sails. I am so happy because the speed of the boat was good all the way through the race. We were first through all of the night but the finish was so difficult for us. We underestimated the tide as you come into the river, it is so difficult to be on the left side. We were good until ten miles from the finish. It is a game and we are happy to be here, in the game and now waiting for next Saturday.”

Guests view:
Stuart Streuli, Senior Editor Sailing World Magzine, sailed on Musandam-Oman Sail: “ We had a little bit of a winch issue before the start and that had us on the back foot, trailing a bit coming out of the Bay but we made a good move to stay on the left side coming out. The start was pretty exciting but we had the boat captain on board until a few minutes before the start, fixing the winch, so we hustled him off the boat. But the crew were amazing, nothing rattled them, they are pretty laid back. They stuck to their guns. We were first until about ten miles from the finish and then were a little bit unfortunate. We were maybe tricked a bit into following Spindrift which was a mistake and the wind went just dead.
I had a great time. It was fabulous. I don’t think we even scratched the surface at all in terms of the possible performance, we saw 18-20 knots and that is only half way up the speed scale. These machines are very impressive. You just do mile after mile. It was great to steer, doing 18.5 knots and just sit there, rock solid. Sidney gave me the helm and it was just fantastic.”

Shirley Robertson, presenter CNN MainSail, double Olympic gold medallist, sailed with Michel Desjoyeaux on FONCIA: “It was good. I felt like I was teased a little bit because the reaches in the bay in Newport when we lifted the middle hull and I thought this was going to be amazing but it was great race. The boats were always close and we could always see each other which was great racing. We were with Spindrift a lot of the time and that kept the intensity going and there was always a lot going on, a dying breeze, current, land. I would love to come back and do more. The living quarters were a bit disappointing, my cabin was a bit sparse!
It was interesting sailing with Mich. There is an air of calmness on board which I am a big fan. There are no meetings, or briefings, he is all over everything which is good, very good to sail with.”

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There may be no Multi One Championship points at stake for the MOD70’s when they bid farewell to Newport RI late this Monday afternoon and head to New York, but all of the five skippers confirmed this morning that that the memorable experience of arriving in to New York under sail would be made sweetest by leading across the finish line tomorrow.

It is the first time that all five MOD70’s will line up in anger against each other and the crews will be supplemented by a number of media guests who have front row seats for this first initial skirmish.

The start on Narrangansett Bay off Newport is at 1700 hrs (local) where the fleet make a short, two leg opening gambit before leaving on the short, most direct of the three course options.

Course A takes them out to a turn SW at Block Island, then the course runs parallel to Long Island to a finish line just shy of the Verrazano Narrows bridge. That makes a course distance of around 150 miles. After the boats finish they will regroup and make a sail past the Statue of Liberty and up to the North Cove Marina.

The first boats should reach the finish line between 1000 hrs and 1100 hrs local time (1500 to 1600 hrs GMT) Tuesday morning. Though it is something of a delivery trip, a dress rehearsal which serves the purpose of getting the fleet to the start city for the KRYS OCEAN RACE, all of the teams will be pushing hard to be there first.

“We will be in full race mode.” FONCIA’s skipper Michel Desjoyeaux said this morning. “Though it is not a part of the classification for us all, it will be one more training race for us. And we want to show that we are in a good racing shape for the boat and for the crew. I think we will have medium winds and a light finish. I have never ever arrived in New York by sail and so it will be nice to sail past the Statue de la Liberté and I am looking forwards to that”

Desjoyeaux and his Foncia crew will be joined by CNN MainSail’s presenter, double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson for the passage to New York. Among the other media guests who will enjoy the unique race are Sailing World’s Stuart Streuli on Musandam-Oman Sail, Sail magazine’s Adam Cort on Race for Water, Chris Museler from the New York Times and Jeniece Pettit from Bloomberg News on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild.
Quotes
Sidney Gavignet, skipper, MOD 70 Musandam-Oman Sail; “There will be a full moon which is always great, it is nice to have some light. Everything is easier. Otherwise for us it is useful after a week of non sailing just to get all the team into racing mode again. It maybe does not count but we take it very, very seriously as a set up for the race. So we will be out early. We are very happy. And for our Omani’s it will be fantastic to arrive in New York for their first time ever, by sea. I arrived many years ago on La Poste from Puerto Rico and it is a magical memory.”

Sébastien Josse, skipper, MOD 70 Groupe Edmond de Rothschild:  “What is important is next Saturday, but it is good to leave here and do some offshore sailing with our team. If we are there first that is great for us, but if we are last it is no big deal.”

Stève Ravussin, skipper of MOD70 Race For Water: “A prologue is a prologue but everyone will be going for it. It will be a short course but it is useful before the start of a Transat! This trial run will allow us aboard Race For Water to get just a little more experience and refine the work cohesion on board because we have not sailed so much together. But we are happy to be going racing and see the dividend for all of our hard work.”

Leo Lucet, crew of MOD70 Spindrift racing: “For our young team which is racing Spindrift, the KRYS OCEAN RACE is really a trial run at all levels. The MOD70 Spindrift racing is a brand new boat, Yann has put the crew together from scratch and we have had some training and the delivery passage here to the United States. This will be a first race for our team. So we go with great humility but we are cool about it.”

www.krys-oceanrace.com

2nd July 2012: Prologue Start – Newport
3rd July 2012: Prologue Arrival – New York
5th July 2012: New York Speed Match
Mid-July 2012: Launch of MOD
PAPREC-VIRBAC 70

7th July 2012
KRYS OCEAN RACE
OFFICIAL START, N.Y.C

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The countdown has started to one of Oman Sail’s most exciting milestones after its new Multi One Design 70 Musandam-Oman Sail arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, ahead of the 2012 Krys Ocean Race next month.
The countdown has started to one of Oman Sail’s most exciting milestones after its new Multi One Design 70 Musandam-Oman Sail arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, ahead of the 2012 Krys Ocean Race next month.

Skipper Sidney Gavignet has crossed the Atlantic 25 times, but for two of the three Omani sailors Fahad Al Hasni, and Khamis Al Anbouri, the 3,700nm (6852 km) delivery from Lorient to Newport was their first transatlantic passage. Mohsin Al Busaidi has crossed the Atlantic once before.

“There were some challenging conditions but they coped with them well especially the Omani sailors who are more used to 45 degree temperatures,” said Gavignet who reported they had sailed through storms, thick fog and big seas during their nine days and three hours at sea.

The crew had spent just 24 days and one night on board the boat before they set sail but the delivery had been a big success and a boost to their confidence.

Gavignet said: “The jobs list is very small because we only had a few minor breakages and team spirit is very high so it shows that our preparations were good. We feel confident because we have done the best we could in the time we had.”

The delivery brought back memories for Mohsin of his historic journey in 2009 when he became the first Arab to sail around the world non-stop: “It brings me great joy and pride to see how far we have come in the four years since my first transatlantic passage on board ‘Musandam’ when Oman Sail first started.  Back then I was the only Omani on board and today I am crossing the ocean with two other Omani teammates.

“Sailing on the new ‘Musandam’ is a very different experience. It’s way faster and keeps us all on our toes all of the time. At one stage I was helming the boat at night through fog in over 30 knots. We had almost no visibility! Crossing the Atlantic Ocean is filled with drama and adventure. We have some of the best offshore sailors on board with us and the whole team is learning from one another and working together in good spirit,” added Mohsin.

The trip was not without its’ drama, according to young Omani sailor Fahad Al Hasni who described his introduction to watch systems and freeze-dried food as being ‘in a different world’.

“It was an adventure, facing big waves and storms and being on this boat for nine days was like living in a different world. I have never been nervous at sea though there was a time when I was helming in a big storm and our instruments were not working so I was worried I might capsize the boat.

“The best thing was meeting a kayaker who had left Newport five days before on his way to Brest in France. His water maker had broken so we were able to give him some water and spend some time talking with him. It was a good thing to be able to do.”

The eight-strong MOD 70 crew will be based at Newport Shipyard Marina from Thursday 28 June putting Musandam-Oman Sail through a series of safety and technical checks.

On July 2, they will line up alongside the four other high-speed trimarans for the 120nm prologue race to New York, where the finish line has been set on the Hudson River, with the world famous landmark Statue of Liberty as a backdrop.

For the following five days, the fleet will be berthed at New York’s North Cove Marina but since they will be in full race mode, crews will not be permitted to carry out any further work.

The racing starts in earnest on July 5 when the five trimarans go head to head in a speed match as a shakedown to the historic moment two days later when Philippe Lalliot, the French Consul in New York and Francois Cuillandre, the Mayor of Brest will fire the start gun of the first ever Krys Ocean Race from New York to Brest.

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Musandam-Oman Sail MOD 70 crew list

Sidney Gavignet (FRA)

Ryan Breymaier (USA) (stand-in for Loik Gallon (FRA), who is injured)

Fahad Al Hasni (OMA)

Mohsin Al Busaidi (OMA)

Khamis Al Anbouri (OMA)

Jeff Cuzon (FRA)

Brian Thompson (GBR)

Thomas Le Breton (FRA)

 

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