Young Omani sailors return with experience

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Marwan al Jabri finished 24th having moved up five places in the last few races Zakariya al Wahaibi was 28th and Salim al Alawi came 39th in the individual event of the 2014 International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) African Championships in Morocco that concluded recently.

Earlier in the championships the Oman squad finished runner-up in the team racing event  losing the title to Mozambique. Of the six Omanis in Morocco Marwan appeared most comfortable in challenging wind conditions.

Zakariya Oman's first Optimist champion and Salim also performed well in unfamiliar conditions.  Rashid al Kindi Oman Sail's national team manager said 'Our sailors were some of the youngest in the fleet in Morocco. They are mainly used to light winds in Oman so it was a good experience.'

The next challenge for the youngsters all aged between 11-14 years are the national  ranking races in Musannah to be held over the coming weekend.  

Then in November Zakariya Salim along with lone girl participant Samiha al Riyami will represent Oman in the Optimist event at the 2014 Asian Beach Games in Phuket Thailand.