Dubai: Mark Devitt, who knows what it's like to battle 80-knot winds and waves the size of three-storey houses, aims to overcome some less formidable obstacles to launch his Maktoum Sailing Trophy challenge in earnest at the weekend.
The South African skipper of Vacheron Constantin Team Racing was locked in a race against time to familiarise himself with a brand new boat, and a new crew, before the 2006 series was launched earlier this month.
After a disappointing 10th place finish in the opening leg, Devitt hopes for a much better showing in the second of four rounds making up the Maktoum Trophy at Jebel Ali Sailing Club tomorrow and Friday.
"Essentially, we got the boat a week before the start and it had never been sailed before, so we didn't know what problems she might have under pressure until we started racing," said Devitt.
"We're still waiting for racing sails as well so that's not the way you want to go into a new series, but we can only get better from here and I'm sure we will."
Organised by Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC), the Maktoum Sailing Trophy brings together a mixture of purpose-built racing yachts that vie for honours in fleet race format, meaning all boats leave the start at the same time. Enthusiasts can follow the series on the official DIMC website at www.dimc-uae.com/sailing/mst
Devitt says contesting the Maktoum Trophy is a great learning curve for a team which has experienced some difficulty in preparing the boat for UAE conditions.
Standings
After the first of four rounds:
Class 1: 1. Pal Zileri Sailing Team (Kristian Tzanov), 2. Horizon FCB (Christophe Vanek), 3. Switchblade (David Rostant), 4. Southern Cross (Patrick Cahill), 5. Goodrich Serdal (Paul Dilworth)
Class 2: 1. Blitzem (Gil Smith), 2. Insatiable (John Rose), 3. Al Awal (Jon Atherton/Lyndon Thomas), 4. Binker (Ben Trenouth).
