ABU DHABI // The Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team are "rounding their final bend" in preparation for the Volvo Ocean Race as the crew and their racing yatch, Azzam, mark their competitive debuts at the weekend.
Azzam, adorned with a flying falcon logo, will be unveiled to crowds at the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week — one of the world's longest running sailing regattas — on the Isle of Wight on England's south coast and will feature in the event's festivities, running eight days from Saturday.
Then, on August 14, the team will compete in the 608-mile Rolex Fastnet Race, which will provide a good gauge against fellow Volvo Ocean Race contenders Team Sanya and Groupama.
"It will be great to test ourselves against other teams and benchmark how far we've come, and equally importantly, how far we still have left to go," said Ian Walker, the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing skipper. "We're rounding the final bend in our preparations and the Fastnet is going to play an important role in ensuring race-readiness."
Walker said that it will be a good chance to flex the team's muscles ahead of the startline in Alicante in October, but will want to remain coy about their true capabilities in what will be a chance for all teams to gain valuable insights from the competition.
One aspect of the regatta the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) will not be shy from showing is 'Destination Village', the dedicated waterfront being built on the Corniche which will play host to the Volvo Ocean Racing fleet when the round-the-world race ports in Abu Dhabi on December 30.
"With a huge number of spectators due in Cowes for the event, this was a superb opportunity for us to show off Azzam, introduce Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, our contesting team, explain our ambitions and give the visitors a taste of Abu Dhabi in the hope it will encourage them to join us over the New Year for our own fortnight-long festival to mark our hosting of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet," said Dayne Lim, ADTA's Product Development Director.
A scale model of the village will be on show in a heritage hospitality tent Cowes Yacht Haven, where regatta goers will also be able to sample Arabian culture in a heritage hospitality tent including henna painting, calligraphy and falconry.
* With agency
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
FIGHT CARD
1. Featherweight 66kg
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2. Lightweight 70kg
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3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg
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5. Featherweight 66kg
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6. Catchweight 85kg
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7. Featherweight 66kg
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8. Catchweight 73kg
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9. Featherweight 66kg
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10. Catchweight 90kg
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
