(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Thousands of sailing enthusiasts turned out in St Malo France on Sunday to watch the start of the epic single-handed transatlantic race the Route du Rhum one of France's most iconic offshore competitions from St Malo to Guadeloupe.
Oman is being represented at the two-week race by Frenchman Sidney Gavignet and his crew aboard Musandam-Oman Sail. 'My main objective is to finish well to get to the other side safely. My other objective is to promote Oman' the 45 year old skipper said.
'The Ministry of Tourism of Oman is extremely proud to support Musandam-Oman Sail the Oman Sail entry for the Route du Rhum one of France's greatest offshore races. The giant multihull is Omani and carries our flag and message of welcome to a global audience' said H E Maitha al Mahrouqi Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and chairperson of Oman Sail who passed the Omani flag to Gavignet during a ceremony on Saturday and wished the team a safe journey.
With a forecast of up to 35 knots gusting 40-45 overnight Gavignet and 90 other competitors across five different classes are expected to have a tough first few days at sea. As he cast off the 70-foot Musandam-Oman Sail trimaran from the mooring Gavignet said 'I am very focused. I will be aiming for a good start and then settling into the race immediately. With the conditions that we will have for the first 24 hours the whole fleet will be straight into it.
'This moment of the race is always very emotional I have my family with me here in St Malo plus the team and all our Omani supporters who made the trip to France to support us. Our project is to promote the country but as soon as the start-gun goes I will be completely dialled into the race and what lies ahead. 'My goal is to do a good job and to think of nothing else very much as I did when I was training to draw on all the experience I have on this boat and that I have gathered throughout my career.'
Day one of the Route du Rhum is going to push the sailors to their limits. 'We expect the strongest winds towards Ushant at about 30 knots' said Gavignet. 'We'll be sailing upwind and will need to put in several tacks. There is also the shipping routes to be aware of so it will be a very busy first night with no respite.'
Meanwhile the crowds at the Route du Rhum race village numbered around 200000 per day reaching an estimated total of 2mn visitors overall. The start of the race marked the last day of the 'Visit Oman' tourism pavilion which was set up in the middle of the race village for ten days and enjoyed more foot traffic than it has ever seen.
The Route du Rhum is a transatlantic single-handed yacht race which takes places every four years in November. The course is between Saint Malo in Brittany France and Pointe-a-Pitre Guadeloupe.
The first competition won by Canadian Michael Birch on his boat Olympus Photo by a margin of 98 seconds over runner-up Michel Malinovsky on Kriter V was held in 1978 and was marked in tragedy by the disappearance of Alain Colas during the crossing.
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