The sailors in the 2008 iShares Cup have all earned their place on the 12 Extreme 40s with years of sailing experience, countless hours on the water, and grueling training sessions in the gym. But some of the crew on Oman Sail earned their place the hard way, with one of the most testing selection regimes ever seen for a sailing team.
The Oman Sail Extreme 40 entry is part of a bigger project for the Sultanate of Oman, intended to make the sailing world aware of the country’s rugged coastline and world-class sailing opportunities. The aim is to develop and train a core team of Omani sailors who will represent the Arab nation both in Europe and at home at key events, providing sporting role models for their country, which has a long and proud maritime heritage. The project will culminate in a “Festival of the Sea” back in Oman in November, 2010 as part of the 40th National Day celebrations.
Representing their country as part of the Oman Sail team is a huge honour for the crew, and they each represent the elite of Oman’s forces. Members of The Royal Army of Oman; The Royal Air Force of Oman; The Royal Navy of Oman; The Royal Omani Police Force and The Sultan’s Special Forces were invited to take part in a special assessment to see if they were physically and mentally cut out for the task in hand.
Two of the team who came through the selection process are Mohsin Al-Busaidi, age 33, from the Royal Navy of Oman; and Mohammed Al Obaladani, age 24, and a member of The Sultan’s Special Forces, who were both at the last event in Hyères to get their first taste of Extreme 40 racing.
“I am a sailor for 10 years, in the national team in Oman. I was inspired to join this project because I want to do something special for my country, and myself also, and to be able to give something back” explained Mohsin, who has previously sailed Laser dinghies and Hobie cats.
“I live on the coast so the sea is in my blood, but I had never sailed before the selection process and I have never seen anything quite like the Extreme 40. The wind is blowing hard and I can’t wait to get out and experience her power.” says Mohammed.
The selection process that potential Oman Sail team hopefuls went through to join the Extreme 40 crew makes most other endurance tests look like a walk in the park. Mohsin explains: “In the selection we were fighting to take our seat here. I was fighting with my friends, my brothers. There were 40 people in the selection, and just eight were chosen.”
“We were two weeks in selection, which was two weeks without sleep! The first week we were at sea when we could maybe rest for a few minutes, and the second week we were on the land – which was six days without sleep, we were always working for 24 hours!” Mohammed adds.
The crew of Oman Sail are thrown forward by the impact as they collide with Tommy Hilfiger on Day 2 of the iShares Cup in Hyeres
Richard Walch
After seeing how the contenders coped with life at sea, they were then physically pushed to the limit in the desert, training in an 18km-long wadi — a riverbed in the desert providing the ultimate in testing terrain. “We spent a week in a wadi, running with 35kgs on our back, carrying huge rocks, and doing press-ups, all in the desert heat,” recalls Mohsin.
“There were two instructors each 500 metres apart. One gave me a rock and said, “Run to him and give it to him, then say ‘Happy Birthday!’” So I ran down the wadi, gave him the rock. He said, “What is this?” and threw it away, then gave me a bigger one so I had to run back to the first instructor. We did that five times.”
“Each time you got to the finish line, they would say “Your friends are ahead of you!” and give us another pile of rocks to run with. There was always another finish line,” says Mohammed.
“We also had to do exams and tests, to make us think and put us under pressure when we were tired. So you were fighting three things: you were fighting your friends for a place on the team, you were fighting yourself, and you were also fighting your own ambitions. There were times when you thought you could do no more, but then you feel inside your heart that you want to do something special with your life.
“I am part of the Sultan’s Special Forces of Oman, and the selections for that was hard, but this selection is extra hard.”
Having got through the selections the new recruits then arrived in the Isle of Wight for some intense sail training. “The first time we sailed in Cowes we went aground, we didn’t know about the depth there. We hit the bottom and then we capsized,” remembers Mohsin.
“When we capsized it was like being ejected: and the water was so cold!” adds Mohammed.
Whilst two of their team mates, Abdullah Al-Busaidi and Ahmed Al-Maamari, joined the Oman Sail crew at the first iShares Cup event in Lugano, for Mohammed and Mohsin, Hyères was their first opportunity to sail on board the Extreme 40, and they are learning every step of the way.
“Today we practice and we learn, tomorrow we sail as fifth man, and then hopefully we learn and become part of the team,” says Mohsin. The Omani crew are learning from some of the best sailors around, with skipper Chris Draper, who won an Olympic bronze medal at Athens in 2004 and was a multiple world champion in the high performance 49er class. “He is the best! I watched his video on sailing techniques at home for two years, and now I am to learn from him in the flesh. I can’t believe I am getting to sail with him!” says Mohsin.
“Maybe next year we come back and we are the crew!” adds Mohammed.
The Oman Sail team scored a fourth overall in the first event of the 2008 iShares Cup in Lugano, and ninth in Hyères after leading day one but then having to retire with damage on day two. They are currently seventh overall in the series.
The Minister for Tourism for Oman, Her Excellency Dr Rajha bint Abdulameer bin Ali said, “I am delighted by the progress our Oman Sail team are already making, both in their training and in the iShares Cup. Our early success reflects positively on the quality of our professional support.”
Find out more about Oman Sail and all the teams at
http://www.iSharesCup.com/teams
