The sixth edition of Sailing Arabia – The Tour will begin on February 15, 2016 with a new route and a combination of long distance open water legs and intense inport racing.

The tour has been revised at the request of sailors seeking new challenges and will see the fleet cross the Arabian Gulf twice with stop overs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Khasab, Sohar and Muscat over the course of two weeks.

“The changes have made Sailing Arabia – The Tour more interesting and will test the full skill range of the crews,” Salma Al Hashmi, director of marketing and events at Oman Sail, said. “They will experience different types of sailing, both upwind and downwind, different weather systems, different leg durations and the different tactical challenges presented by racing one day close to shore and the next out to sea.

“We have taken on-board all of the valuable feedback from the past five races and come up with a course we feel will build on Sailing Arabia – The Tour’s reputation as the premier offshore race in the Middle East.”  

Starting on February 15 in Dubai, the tour will kick off with an inshore race before the fleet head off on the first offshore leg to Abu Dhabi.

Two more inshore races in Abu Dhabi and Doha, with valuable points up for grabs, will combine with two of the trickiest offshore legs of the race, the first from Abu Dhabi to Doha through the notoriously difficult oilfields and the second from Doha to a new destination, Khasab in Oman’s northernmost Governorate.

This will take the fleet further into the Straits of Hormuz than has been previously attempted and give the crews a more demanding offshore challenge stretching more than 200 nautical miles. From Khasab, they will race back out into the Straits of Hormuz, round the Musandam Peninsula and down the coast of Oman to Sohar where they will be treated to an exciting day on shore including cultural activities and tours of heritage sites.

A fifth and final leg, a sprint from Sohar to The Wave, Muscat starting on February 28, will present a double points opportunity designed to end the region’s number one offshore race on an exciting high.  - TradeArabia News Service