Dubai: The first leg of the sixth edition of the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour will set off from Dubai bound for Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Nine amateur and professional crews will race 750 nautical miles in 15 days from Dubai to Muscat, via Abu Dhabi, Doha and Khasab, in a revision to last year’s route, which ran from Muscat to Manama. This year’s race will finish in Muscat on February 29.
The series, which sees teams of seven sailors compete in identical Farr 30 yachts, was established in 2011 as an opportunity for sailors to sustain training and competition programmes over the winter months, while showcasing the GCC region.
In between each stage of the five-leg journey will be in-port races, where teams can accrue valuable bonus points to add to the overall race leaderboard.
Teams represent Oman, Kuwait, Germany, Great Britain, Monaco, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Team EFG Bank Monaco are the favourites having won the past two editions of the race in 2014 and 2015, but French skipper Sidney Gavignet says it will be difficult to get a hat-trick.
“I think this might be the best edition of the race yet because the standard is higher and there are some very good teams this year who are bound to give us a run for our money,” he said.
