MOD70 trimaran, Musandam-Oman Sail, the Sultanate of Oman’s flagship campaign, welcomed the news this morning from the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland race committee that the start of the epic 1,800 nautical mile race would be postponed to 0900 on Monday morning due to conditions.
Credit : Lloyd Images
Sidney Gavignet, French skipper of the MOD70 Musandam-Oman Sail project that is focussed on creating a generation of sailors from the Sultanate of Oman, fully supported the decision. With a 50/50 crew mix of highly experienced offshore professionals and less-experienced Omani crewmates onboard, safety is paramount and the extreme speed of the trimaran would have put the team in 45 knots for 30 hours shortly after the start – as explained by Gavignet:
“Had we started today, given the speed of the trimaran, very soon after the start we would have had more than 35knots and during the night 40knots and from Sunday night until Monday evening we would have moved with the low pressure in the centre of the North Sea which would mean that we would have had constant 40-45knots.
“Considering the risks – the boat and the people – and the fact that we are a team of mixed ability with some very experienced crew and some semi-experienced guys who are still learning the boat, we fully support the decision to postpone the race start to Monday morning.
“Looking at the weather tomorrow morning, the low pressure will decrease in terms of intensity. We will still have a chance at a very good lap, still very close to the course record but with between 15 and 35 knots which is much more manageable.”
Credit : Lloyd Images
Crew for the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race
Sidney Gavignet (FRA) – skipper
Damian Foxall (IRL)
Jan Dekker (RSA)
Sami Al Shukaili (OMA)
Yassir Al Rahbi (OMA)
Fahad Al Hasni (OMA)
From : Oman Sail
