Ichi Ban stays firmly in the lead

Dubai: Matt Allen was once again in the limelight as he kept Ichi Ban firmly in the lead in Division 1 at the end of the third day of the Emirates Maktoum Sailing Trophy, being held off the Mina Seyahi waters at Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) on Wednesday.

Allen, who is in Dubai with a strong crew, took his 44foot Beneteau to the top of the field to end the third day with an overall tally of eight points.

Division 2 was once dominated by the Sultan Hareb and Marcus Wieser-skippered Westin Mina Seyahi as they ended the six races held so far with an overall tally of seven points.

Their closest competitor is from their own stable, the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi, skippered by Alexandre Mercier with 15 points. AGMC BMW, skippered by local sailor Yousuf Bin Lahej follows in third place with 19 points.

In Division 3, there was plenty of action, but it was the Christophe Vanek-skippered North Star staying clear at the top with 12 points. Breathing down his neck after pushing Rush North into third place was defending champion Eureka.

In Division 1, Yo!, skippered by Toby O'Connell kept up the pressure on leader Ichi Ban with two fine races in some rather dull sailing conditions.

Team Aqua, who were in third place at the end of the second day, were overtaken by Pal Zileri SG, skippered by Kristian Tzanov with 24 points.

And as usual, a major share of the excitement was concentrated in Division 2 with Le Meridien Mina Seyahi and AGMC BMW trying to tussle with leaders Westin Mina Seyahi.

But Westin Mina Seyahi managed to keep a strong hold on the leadership spot, followed by Le Meridien in second with 15 points and AGMC BMW in third.

"It was a good day for sailing where we had plenty of action both on and off the water," stated Saeed Hareb, Managing Director of DIMC.

Among the action off the waters was the visit of sailing legends Loic Peron from France and Gunter Persiehl from the Hamburg Yacht Club.

Peron, who is planning to bring his boat to Dubai in the near future will be a special guest this weekend, while Persiehl has come for talks for a possible exchange programme with the DIMC.