Abu Dhabi’s Volvo Ocean Race triumph leads to renewed sailing interest in Gulf region

The historic Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) triumph of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam could prove a seminal moment for sailing in the region, writes Osman Samiuddin.

Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team celebrates with the Volvo OCean Race trophy. Jonathan Nackstrand / AFP

The historic Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) triumph of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s Azzam could prove a seminal moment for sailing in the region.

Though the UAE’s maritime tradition has always been strong, Azzam becoming the first boat from the Arab world to win the world’s longest ocean sailing race has sparked renewed interest in sailing across the region.

It could lead to another entry from the Arabian Gulf in the next VOR in 2016/17, according to the race’s chief executive, Knut Frostad.

“Yes, there is interest from the Gulf,” Frostad said. “I can’t say exactly who they are but there is interest.

“I’m always very sober when it comes to teams and potential because it’s easy to paint a rosy picture and say we have 100 teams to do the race and for everyone to think that is 100 boats.

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“Having an interest and making a serious effort is different, but I can say in the Gulf there is some serious efforts going on right now. That is very positive, still a long way to go, but very positive.”

Oman Sail is likely to be one of those keen to get involved, given they already have a well-developed and extensive sailing programme, which includes a women’s programme that was launched in 2011.

Officials from Oman Sail were present during the Abu Dhabi stopover last December, presumably to develop an idea of how such an event runs.

Sidney Gavignet, the French sailor who skippers the Sultanate of Oman’s MOD70 trimaran, Musandam-Oman Sail, also sailed leg seven of the VOR with Dongfeng Race Team.

Frostad was keen to stress the vast distance there is between expressing an interest in entering the race and actually having a boat on the start line.

“A lot of efforts in general are made at this stage of a race, a lot of people have contacted us saying they want to do the VOR,” Frostad said. “We want to see who is serious, who is willing to make the effort and understand what kind of job it is to put the project together.

“It is a very big job, not something you do in the afternoon, something you do full-time.”

This year’s race, Frostad said, was on course to record greater public participation and attendance than the previous race in 2012/13. In particular he cited the turnout in Auckland and Newport; last weekend during a pit-stop in The Hague, 70,000 people turned up in the race village on the day the race resumed.

Abu Dhabi’s stopover was another success. “The Abu Dhabi stopover was a great event,” Frostad said. “It’s always a very good partner to work with when it comes to creating events because they always want to do very high-quality events.

“The look and feel of the stopover was amazing, with a very strong local flavour as well. With Azzam’s win, I think the interest in Abu Dhabi has never been higher in the race than it is now. It’s been great to work with them and I’m pleased that after working with them over the years they have managed to win the race as well. It’s a great achievement.”

The future of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (Ador) team, which ran Azzam, is not yet clear.

Frostad has been in discussions with “almost all” the current boat sponsors about continuing their association into the next race. He is hoping to secure a few commitments by the end of the year.

They are also building another construction centre where three more boats of the same design will be built to add to the existing fleet. The target for the next race is to have 10 teams.

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