Dubai: Following their recent class success in the Jumeirah Regatta, team Duboats Below 18 sailors will have their sights set on another racing title when they take to the water for the EPI Regatta at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club this weekend.
As suggested by their name, the Below 18 sailing team features a determined group of sailors all under the age of eighteen.
Skippered by Belgian Frederic Jacobs, 15, they enjoyed title-winning success at the Jumeirah Regatta sailing off with the Division Three title ahead of much older, more experienced crews.
Actually aged between 13 and 15 years of age, the crew includes the UAE's 15-year-old pair of Ahmad Esmail and Taher Al Taher and Britain's James Bywater, 14, and Nik Froud, 13. Germany's Alex Buerger, 14, and Belgium's Olivier van Durme, 14, complete the line-up.
The boys competed directly against each other in single-handed sailing events in Optimists and Lasers.
With the support of Duboats' chairman, Shaikh Khalid Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the management of Christophe Vanek, they were brought together under one sail to compete as Team Duboats Below 18 - arguably the youngest sailing crew in the region.
The boys underlined their undoubted ability by lifting their first title at the Jumeirah Regatta thanks to back-to-back race victories.
"The Jumeirah Regatta was our first big challenge as it's a serious event that gets a lot of exposure," said Jacobs, the youngest cruiser skipper in the Middle East.
