DUBAI // BMW Oracle Racing clinched top spot in the double round robin of the Louis Vuitton Trophy with a victory yesterday over Emirates Team New Zealand.
Oracle, led by James Spithill, their Australian skipper, beat the Kiwi crew by 25 seconds. The win improved Oracle's record to 12-2, good for 15 points and an unassailable position at the top of the leaderboard.
"The mood is great," said Dean Phipps, the runners/pit man and crew coach. "We've worked hard for the past week and everything's fallen into place as far as the crew goes. We've made some nice strides forward."
Sailing in a light northerly wind, the pre-start action was relatively tame. The crews knew that keeping momentum after breaking off the dial-up was important.
John Kostecki, the Oracle tactician, called for the right side of the start and Spithill obliged, bringing his crew on to the racecourse on a starboard tack with Team New Zealand to leeward.
Both boats soon tacked to port and stretched out to the right edge of the racecourse. Oracle tacked to starboard and was able to force Team New Zealand to tack to leeward. The American yacht rounded the windward mark with a 10-second advantage.
"At one stage halfway across it looked a little marginal," Phipps said. "But Murray [Jones, the strategist] was calling the breeze to go right and it came just in time. A bit earlier would have been nicer, but we took it as it came and we crossed nicely ahead of them."
The two crews traded jibes down the run and Oracle set up for a port rounding through the leeward gate. Team New Zealand followed but lost control of the spinnaker takedown. The sail fell in the water and the crew had to cut the halyard away.
"We made a nice powerful rounding for the left-hand gate and they got into what we call 'no man's land'," Phipps said. "When you get into that place, which side the sail comes down becomes an issue for the foredeck crew. It didn't look like they had a takedown string set up, and from there it just snowballs. The only way to get rid of it is to cut the halyard and let it all go."
Meanwhile, two come-from-behind victories boosted Italy's Mascalzone Latino Audi.
Gavin Brady, the Kiwi skipper, guided the Italian team to a comfortable victory against Sweden's Artemis Racing after overtaking them a few minutes into the first beat.
Brady's second match proved tougher after he conceded a start to the Synergy Russian Sailing team and then fought for more than half the race to gain the upper hand.
Their performance lifted Mascalzone Latino Audi, the challenger of record for the next America's Cup, from a distant fifth-equal place to third.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
FIRST TEST SCORES
England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)
England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Everton
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
When: Sunday, kick-off 7pm (UAE)
How to watch: Live on BeIN Sports 11HD
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
