(Dubai, United Arab Emirates)- This year's 21st edition of the RORC
Dubai to Muscat Race got off to a fantastic start on Saturday 17th
November 2012 with the Rally Class first to go and enjoying near perfect
sailing conditions with blazing sunshine, good breeze and flat blue
water. Competitors relished 12 knots of wind from the northwest
providing a fast reaching start along the glittering shoreline of Dubai.
The wind held through the night and by dawn on the second day, the
leading yachts had safely sailed through the Arabian Gulf and The
Straits of Hormuz.
The
IRC Racing division started on Sunday 18th November. An international
fleet of performance cruisers set off from Dubai for the 360 nautical
mile race to Muscat. By dawn on Monday 19th November, the IRC Racing
Division was approaching one of the trickiest parts of the course; the
complex tides of The Straits of Hormuz. On Monday night, the IRC fleet
was experiencing solid pressure of over 20 knots with thunderstorms and
squalls charging up the night sky as they past the islands that form the
northern part of Dubai in the Straits of Hormuz before the fleet turns
right and heads SSE down the Gulf of Oman towards the harbor of Muscat. At this stage of the game, Matt Britton and his merry bandits from the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club are leading the overall IRC Division 2 prize in the 360 nautical mile Dubai to Muscat Offshore Race. Sailing PRIVATEER, "the old bird of the J/92 fleet", as Matt describes her, they hope to remain in contention to the finish.
The international fleet of sailors from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa are expected to arrive in Muscat to participate in the Muscat Regatta. Two days of inshore racing are scheduled involving well over 100 dinghies and keelboats. Followed by the grand finale where 15 yachts are expected to take part in the Bank of Beirut Chairman's Cup with a $50,000 cash prize fund.
For more Dubai to Muscat Race sailing information Dubai Offshore Sailing Club has a great Facebook page.
