Sail the Gulf 2014

SAIL THE GULF 2014 DOHA-QATAR

SAIL THE GULF 2014 Sail the Gulf is an old international event of Sailing in Qatar. It is running in its 22nd edition since its inception and has made a place in the International Sport of Sailing. Highly qualified athletes join every year in Sail the Gulf with highest zeal and enthusiasm. This is an open event for all international participants which attracts even over 200 Sailors some time.

This is a great number of participation and speaks its popularity.

The present Organising Committee, has been striving its best to further promote this prestigious event of Qatar in the Arabian Gulf. Sail the Gulf 2014 was sponsored by M/s Qatar Fuel Additive Company Ltd who was the main sponsor.

Khalifa M. Alsewaidi. President Ali Nasser Telfat. Secretary General Hassan Mohsin. Asstt. Secretary General Abdul Moniem Al Sayed. Member Committee Abdulla Eid Al Sulaiti. Member Committee Fahad Al Jaber. Executive Manager Captain (R) A R Arshad. Technical Manager Giuliano ‘Carlo’ Tosi. PRO Stanislav Kassarov. PRO Luigui Bertini. Chairman Jury Manuel Huensch. CHAIMAN JURY Juhani Soini. MEMBER JURY Sungchul Jeon. MEMBER JURY Essa Busmait. MEMBER JURY Totos Theodossiou. MEMBER JURY Nuno Reis. Chief Measurer

matías capizzano. PHOTOGRAFPHY & DESIGN

Icarus Sailing Media. text

www.capizzano.com

www.icarussailingmedia.com

SAIL THE GULF 2014 This annual event now in its 22nd year continues to grow and enjoys great success attracting sailors from around the world. In the middle of winter, Doha offers guaranteed warmth, sun and perfect racing conditions, which combined with the outstanding organization and hospitality of the Qatar Sailing & Rowing Federation, make this an event not to miss.

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Almost 200 sailors from more than 20 countries are participating in the regatta across 8 different fleets. The depth of talent from so many nations, provides a great opportunity for the Qatari sailors to measure themselves and their performance level against an international fleet.

THE TEAM RACING

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Just before the official opening of Sail the Gulf 2014, the opti sailors had the opportunity to compete in a 1-day team racing event. 7 teams, representing 6 different nations, went head to head in tight racing action held on a course close to shore, so spectators could catch the action, with great strong wind racing conditions and the usual virtually guaranteed sunny weather.

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Malaysia dominated beating all their opponents, leaving Russia in second and the Turkish team in third. A great warm up for the sailors before the fleet racing start on the first official day of the 2014 event, when the remaining 6 classes would join in.

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THE MUSEUM

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The museum building has rapidly become an iconic feature of the Doha landscape.

Standing alone on reclaimed land, the building draws much influence from ancient Islamic architecture, notably the Ibn Tulun Mosque of Cairo.

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei, the Museum is comprises of a main building with an adjacent education wing connected by a large central courtyard. The main building rises five-storeys, topped by a high domed atrium within a central tower.

The cream-coloured limestone captures the changes in light and shade during the day.

The interior is no less spectacular. The centerpiece of the Atrium is a curved double staircase leading up to the first floor. Above it floats an ornate circular metal chandelier echoing the curve of the staircase.

An oculus, at the top of the atrium, captures and reflects patterned light within the faceted dome.

The five-story 45-metre tall window on the north side gives spectacular panoramic views across the bay.

RACES DAY #2 The Race Committee pushed for a full schedule of racing today, opting for 3 races across each fleet – as the forecast later in the week may impact racing. The race course locations are quite unique, set against the dramatic background of Doha city, with impressive skyscrapers rising out of the ground to dominate the skyline. Out on the clear water race tracks, the breeze was up, with about 15-20 knots across both race courses. All racing got underway on schedule with the fleets ready and full of enthusiasm for the first day of racing.

Racing was on two race courses, one located very close to shore for the smaller dinghy classes, including the Optimist sailors and 4.7 Laser fleets. The other was further off the shore, for the six other dinghy classes and more experienced sailors, including the colourful Hobie 16 multihull fleet, the Olympic 470 Men and 470 Women classes, 420 girls and boys, Laser Standard and Laser Radial.

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Russia’s Eygeny Vasilyev scored a perfect hat trick of race wins in the Laser 4.7, dominating the flee and taking a strong early lead. But behind him, racing was close, very close – with Bahrain’s Issa Aldoseri claiming 2nd place in every race to end the day in second, and Qatar’s Saleh Telfat sealing third place in every race to sit in third. Some great racing in the Laser Radial.

Malaysian teams also dominated in the 470 fleet, with some Olympic aspirants in the line up. Moh Akiyuddin and Mohammad Harisuddin won every race, with team mates and the top female team Khairunnnisa Binti and Norashikin Binti Mohamad Sayed finishing close behind to claim second place in every race and end the day in second overall.

Teams from Germany, Kazakhstan, Egypt and Qatar are battling it out in the Hobie 16 fleet, but the strong winds today kept a few of the boats off the race course. Germany’s Steven Ulrich and Alex Gail had a close battle with Kazakhstan’s Galymzhanand Kuanyshov, with just 1 point between them after 3 races, and advantage to Germany.

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Today was certainly a day for Malaysian sailors, with Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy knocking out race win after race win, to wrap up victory in every race. He was pushed hard by Qatar’s Waleed Al Sharshani, who finished close behind in 2nd place for races 2 and 3, and ends the day in second overall. Pakistan’s Muhammad Tanveer put in a consistent package of 6,5,3 to end his day in third overall.

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RACES DAY #3

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All the sailors were down at the venue early, ready for another full day of sun, breeze and racing.

The weather forecast was a repeat of yesterday, so the breeze was set to be 15-20 knots around the race track, and this morning the sailors were focused on preparing their boats and tuning up for another windy day.

As the breeze filled in early, the race committee stayed to the planned schedule of another 3 races with the first warning signal at 1100 hours. The breeze was a bit shiftier than day 1, so those who could make the transition and sail the shifts would hold the advantage on the race course today.

A clear blue sky and bright sun reflected off the shimmering skyscraper backdrop of Doha city.

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On race course A, the optimist fleet enjoyed another challenging day as they aimed to maintain steady and consistent results and hold their position on the leaderboard. There were some inspiring moments around the race course, as these young sailors maneuvered their boats with apparent ease and total control with close boat on boat battles, tactics & speed performance the order of the day. Yesterday’s leader Tomas Barreto of Portugal put in another strong performance and continues to lead, chased by Malaysia’s sailors in second and third.

On the same course close to the shore, the Laser 4.7 sailors had another intensely physical day, with full on hiking to keep their boats flat and optimize speed. The 16 strong fleet represents 7 different nations, but so far it is the sole northern European entry, Eygeny Vasilyev of Russia, who continues to set the pace. Unbelievably he secured three more race wins today, to add to his perfect scoreline from yesterday and looks set to be unbeatable. The racing conditions rewarded those who could combine consistent boat handling, strategic tactical decisions and just keep on hiking. Bahrain’s Issa Aldoseri holds firm in 2nd place, just 1 point ahead of Qatar’s Saleh Telfat in third overall.

Over on the further offshore course area, the conditions were even more challenging, with larger waves and more breeze. Gusts of up to 20 knots with a short choppy sea produced excellent racing conditions and the sailors clearly relished the challenges. Speed was key today as teams who were ahead and could keep their boat on pace, easily had the advantage.

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Three races for each of the 420, 470, Laser Radial, Laser Standard and Hobie multihull were completed, with the discard kicking in after race 5 to shake the leaderboard up a bit. But no major changes as most of the teams have managed to deliver consistent results. Essam Elwy of Egypt added two more first places to his two race wins from yesterday, and holds the lead in the Laser Radial, whilst the Laser Standard is still dominated by Malaysia’s Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy who claimed three more race wins. A similar repeat performance from Malaysia’s Ahmad Syukri Bin Abdul Aziz an Mohammed Faizal Norizan who again won every race to hold tight to the top of the leaderboard in the 420 fleet. Whilst in the Olympic 470 Class, Malaysia’s Moh Akiyuddin Bin Mat Zaki and Mohammad Harisuddin Bin Mazelan couldn’t quite match their team mates, and won 2 of their 3 races, but remain in first overall.

All change in the Hobie 16 fleet, with Kazakhstan’s Anuar Kaldykozhaev and Magomet Dalakov moving up from third to first overall from their two race wins and second place today. With the early start and solid wind, teams were back ashore early, with more than enough time to recuperate ahead of race day 3 on Friday, when racing is scheduled to get underway at 1300 hours.

State Grand Mosque

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RACES DAY #4 After three breezy days of racing that pushed sailors to the limits, today was a slower pace, with even lighter winds than forecast. But this presented the local sailors with an opportunity to strike back, as they are more familiar with the breeze and have trained a lot in these lighter conditions.

As expected the local sailors had the advantage today and certainly took it, clearly demonstrating the superiority of local knowledge. Particularly in the Laser 4.7, where the young Qatari sailor Adam Bettihthamou who took his first race win today. After an opening day, when he didn’t compete in two of the 3 races, and a day 2 scoreline of mid-fleet results, he has now been rewarded by a fast climb up the leaderboard.

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The Qatari sailors don’t regularly have the chance to compete against so many international sailors, but when they do they take every opportunity to learn, improve their skills and push themselves to the limit.

Competitions like Sail the Gulf Regatta are a perfect racing and training ground, not just for the Qatari sailors but also for the international teams, who can just fly in to race, as all the boats and equipment are provided by the Organizing Committee.

Whilst Qatari sailors had the upper hand on course area A, over on the offshore course area B, it was still a Malaysian domination – as their sailors continue to hold tight in the top spots for the 470, 420, Laser and Laser Radial classes. But with the lighter conditions, the fleet was much closer together with boat on boat battles intense and crowded mark roundings.

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The lighter conditions gave a chance to more athletes to put in a good performance, with less differences between boats compared to the first two days – although the racing was almost more demanding.

AROUND DOHA

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RACES DAY #5

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With an early start of 1100 hours, the Organizing Committee was planning another three races to complete the 11 race schedule series, which would also give the opportunity for sailors to discard their second worst result after race 10.

Conditions were the lightest of the series so far, with the breeze reaching up to 6 knots maximum, but very shifty and with variable pressure. Concentration was high, as the sailors had to really be careful on this crucial last day not to make any mistakes around the track and take advantage to seek out every bit of breeze.

While the wind seemed more stable in course area A, conditions were not ideal over on course area B, where the two person classes and the Laser standard and radial were racing. The wind shifted 50 degrees at times, forcing the Race Committee to abandon and restart several races, causing some major delays to the schedule. Despite the wind challenges, 2 races were competed for each of the 5 classes, albeit at a slow pace around the track. The Malaysian sailors were totally on fire, claiming wins in both the Laser Radial and Laser Standard. They dominated the two person dinghies as well, securing first, second and third places in the 420 fleet, whilst over in the 470 Olympic Class it was a first and second for Malaysia. Kazakhstan secured the Hobie 16 victory and second place – with strong performances.

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In the Optimist fleet, the Malaysian sailors showed their expertise in light winds, dominating first and second overall, from the solid and consistent scorelines of Muhd Dhiauddin Rozaini and Naquib Eiman Sharin.

A great outcome for Malaysia, with 5 of their sailors in the top 10 of the Optimist fleet overall. Third was Portugal’s Tomas Barreto. In the Laser 4.7, the series leader since day 1, Russia’s Eygney Vasilyev, didn’t manage to score any race wins today, but still easily claimed first overall from his 3 third place finishes.

Qatar’s Saleh Telfat couldn’t catch the Russian, but did wrap up two bullets to finish in second overall, with Turkey’s Ege Eros Guven in third.

All in all it, Sail the Gulf 2014 had a perfect combination of shoreside hospitality and organization and on water race management and weather conditions, and has proven itself as a Middle East success story.

Doha Sailing Club, the host venue, has excellent facilities and with all equipment provided, the event is easily accessible to teams from around the world – who just have to fly in and go sailing.

It is always warm and sunny here in Doha and together with the reliable breeze – which serves up everything from strong to light conditions – makes Qatar a very attractive venue for sailing.

The event had a bit of everything, from strong to light winds, always sunny and provided great memories for the almost 150 sailors.

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SKYSCRAPER

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CLOSING CEREMONY

Sail the Gulf wrapped up with a typically impressive and glamorous Medal and Closing Ceremony, showcasing a real flavor of Qatari hospitality. Alongside racing, the sailors have enjoyed the opportunity to discover some of the unique heritage and culture of Qatar, and you can be sure many have already committed to return for Sail the Gulf 2015. See you next year.

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RESULTS OPTIMIST 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

MAS MAS POR RUS MAS TUR ITA MAS NED MAS ITA TUR ITA RUS TUR UAE QAT BRN ROU QAT RUS QAT UAE UAE TUR EGY TUR BEL QAT TUR QAT ESP TUR ITA TUR QAT TUR ARG TUR TUR

LASER 4.7 Muhd Dhiauddin Rozaini Naquib Eiman Shahrin Tomas Barreto Dimitry Lazdin Muhammad Fauzi Kaman Shah Rasim Yasar Salvatore Picciurro Mohd Uzair Amin Florine Bramervaer Nur Nabila Natasya M. Nazri Sofia Giunchiglia Okyanus Arikan Claudio Puglisi Maksim Koltcov Muhammed Ali Kamis Abdulla Al-Amoudi Kheireddine Bouchema Khalid Showaiter Petru Neagu Ghanim Al Sewaidi Grigory Shnyr Abdurahman Al Nasr Ali Al Bousaeedi Ali Al Mohirbi Arman Durmus Seif Eldin Emad Efe Gumus Maxence Julian Boggio Zaid Awamleh Sarp Kole Yacine Benzarti Jorge Gayoso De Los Rios Dogac Cesur Michele Glorioso Tunc Erdoganlar Isra Al Sulaiti Ege Akgun Juliano Palazzi AARON SCHLINCK Dora Cinar

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

RUS QAT TUR BRN QAT QAT QAT QAT BRN UAE QAT UAE EGY QAT KSA KSA

Eygeny Vasilyev Saleh Telfat Ege Eros Guven Issa Aldoseri Adam Bettihthamou Abdulrahman Ajinah Ali Al Muftah Maryam Al Sulaiti Saoud Alnaar Hamdan Almansoori Gharissa Al Muftah Suhail Al Marzooqi Mohamed Ahmed R M Ibrahim Mohammed Al Sewaidi Abdulaziz Al-Tayeb Hazem Al-Muhanna

HOBIE 16 1 2 3 4 5

KAZ KAZ GER QAT EGY

Galymzhan Darigul - Zhanserik Kuanyshov Anuar Kaldykozhaev - Karzhau Daluov Steven Ulrich - Alex Gali Hasan Al Baker - Lisa Aradszki Mohamed Ismail - Said Mahmoud

LASER STANDARD

LASER RADIAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

MAS MAS EGY QAT KUW QAT EGY BRN KAZ QAT UAE UAE KAZ IND KSA GBR

Khairunneeta Mohd Afendy Nur Amirah Hamid Essam Elwy Faris Al-Bakri Ali Bu Hamoud Mohammed Al Mohannadi Mohamed Mansour Ebrahim Showaiter Karina Jangazova Eman Abo Yousef Abdulla Almeheiri Zayed Alhosani Yelena Romanova Prithvi Narayan Abdulla Al-Arab Paul Eedle

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

MAS QAT PAK EGY KGZ KAZ BRN BRN KAZ KAZ IRI IND KAZ PAK BRN BRN RUS BRN AUS UAE KSA

Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy Waleed Al Sharshani Muhammad Tanveer Ahmed Ragab Ilya Ignatev Ruslan Jangazov Abdilla Janahi Ebrahim Duaij Vladimir Chshankin Denis Passynkov Ahmed Ahmadi Abhimanyu Panwar Bagdat Yessetov Rehman Ullah Jassim Showaiter Omar Hazeem Lev Shnyr Mohamed Douwod Andrew Stigtier Obaid Almeheiri Ahmed Al-Ghamdi

420 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

MAS MAS MAS IND SUI SUI FIN

Ahmad Syukri Bin Abdul Aziz - Mohammed Faizal Norizan Mohammad Isan Bin Ali - Mohamad Fauzan Bin Ruslan Nuraisyah Binti Jamil - Umi Norwahidah Sallahuddin Upamanyu Gautama Dutta - Xerxes Sheri Bamboat Aurelia Fischer - Seraina Fischer Tamara Baumann - Linus Tim Frey Venla Vilhelmiina Soini - Viivi Elina Johanna Vilkki

470 1 2 3 4 5 6

MAS MAS PAK PAK/POR BRN QAT

Moh Akiyuddin Bin Mat Zaki - Mohammad Hafizuddin Bin Mazelan Khairunnisa Binti M. Afendy - Norashikin Binti Mohamad Sayed Cdr Muhammad Akram Tariq - Khalid Hussain Duarte Pardal Monteiro - Adeel Khan Omar Alnaar - Ahmed Alnaar Mohammed Al-Jaidah - Mojhammed Al-Mohannadi

SAIL THE GULF 2014 DOHA-QATAR