HISTORY - It was only a few centuries ago that Dutch Clippers, American Whalers, British and French Frigates, Spanish and Portuguese Galleons, pirate ships, wooden dhows from the distant Arabian coasts, and majestic three-masted ships sailed the Indian Ocean not only to discover new lands but also to trade their wares and return home with cargos of mysterious spices, exotic timbers and other worldly treasures.
The inhumane slave trade, the famous spice route, the slaughter of our magnificent whales and the constant land grab of colonial Europe brought forth the best mariners to our part of the
world. Even today, our ocean that is so rich in natural resources are being depleted of its fish stock while the pirates of Somalia have become world-famous for attacking vessels that wander close to their coastline.SAILING THE INDIAN OCEAN - While the sights of three-masted schooners are long gone, Seychelles has once again been discovered by the new-fangled ocean explorers. Today, one enjoys the views of sailing ships of all shapes and sizes cruising around our waters and many sailors are now adding Seychelles to their list of favourite ports of call.
With such a favourable sailing climate courtesy of two different monsoons (North-West between November and February and South-East between June and September), it is thus a dream to bring about an international yacht race to our side of the Indian Ocean. Seychelles has already hosted a leg of the international “Clipper Race”, and every year there is the Seychelles Yacht Race which is an open race starting from Mahé to several neigh-bouring islands such as Praslin, Silhouette and Denis Islands and returning back to Mahé after a week of challenging races. The Seychelles Yacht Club and Sail Training Scheme also organize several exciting races throughout the year.
THE EVENT - The idea is to host a Dubai to Seychelles Yacht race that would not only be challenging and demanding, but also a race that would attract a world-class fleet of yachts and well-known sailing celebrities and adversaries. The key is to place Seychelles in the lime-light and highlight not only the beauty of our islands but also offer our guests the opportunity to savour the special Seychellois hospitali-ty that endears in the hearts of our numerous visitors. Seychelles has much to offer in terms of world-class resorts, a deep harbour with excellent mooring, new marinas, friendly people, a malaria-free destination, and more importantly, one of the most efficient and safe ports in the region. Add the ability to sail to numerous islands such as Praslin, La Digue, Bird, Denis and even the Amirantes Islands, and you have one of the most envious backdrop for such an international event.
An event of this magnitude could bring many long-term benefits to our country, and could also coincide with our own national Regatta or Kre-ol Festival. Benefits would include worldwide publicity for Seychelles, a large influx of visitors during the off-peak tourist seasons and would definitely attract an affluent international sailing community to our shores.
For this event, sponsors from the Gulf States and from Seychelles would be paramount to the succ-ess of the event. As an example, the 54 nautical mile traditional dhow sailing race from Sir Bu Naair Island into Dubai this May will attract more than 100 dhows in the fleet and they will be competing for a large purse of US$ 1.63 million (AED 6 Million). Our Dubai-Seychelles race must therefore offer lucrative money prizes that will attract not only world-class racers but also global marketing coverage for the spon-sors.
In addition, the country would have to offer free berthing and mooring to visiting yachts. Port fees, trades tax and GST on fuel and spare parts would have to be waived. Air Seychelles, Destination Management Companies, hotels and other tourism service providers would have to offer special packages to the families, friends and also the media. Hotels would have to host cocktails, dinners and a prize-giving gala evening that measure up to an event of international stature. The Ministry of Tourism and Transport as well as the Seychelles Tourism Board would have to lend their full support to this project, as would the Seychelles Yacht Club, the Marine Charter Association, the Eden Island and The Wharf Hotel Marinas.
THE RACE - Depending on wind and current conditions, this nearly 3,000 nautical mile race would take between 4 to 6 weeks to complete, including stopover days. The race would start in Dubai and the first 360-mile leg would take the boats through the famous Straits of Hormuz onwards to its first stop in historic Muscat Oman, often nicknamed “Arabia’s Jewel”. In fact, the race could coincide with the Dubai to Muscat Offshore Sailing Race which takes place every January. Muscat’s old-walled port area is a history of sailing in itself and its seafront is very picturesque with old filigree houses, golden minarets and the well preserved 16th-century Portuguese forts of Al Jalali and Mirani. Alternatively, the race could also originate from the port of Doha in Qatar.
After a brief 2 to 3 day stopover, the second-leg of the race would take the boats to Salalah. Lying at approximately 18 degrees north, Salalah, the second town of the Sultanate of Oman and 1,000 km from Muscat, faces the expanse of the Indian Ocean. The mountains of Jibal Dhofar, which rise to 1,000m, encircle the Salalah plain and stretch westwards into Yemen. Sailors have made landfall on this coast for thousands of years en route from Africa, the Red Sea, India and beyond. A historical fact is that the branch of the Royal Family of Oman ruled Zanzibar, an island off the coast of East Africa, until 1964. The people have freely intermingled and African influences are particularly apparent in Dhofar, Oman's southern region, of which Salalah is the chief town. Salalah also has the benefit of the annual Indian monsoon locally known as the “Khareef” which extends from early June to mid September. The race could also coincide with the cultural highlight of the season, the Khareef Festival which takes place in July and August.
After a few days of rest and sightseeing, the final leg would see the boats race the nearly 1,500 miles from Salalah to the Seychelles, where the finish line would be Port Victoria on Mahé Island. Boats would be classified into different categories such as monohulls, catamarans, trimarans, schooners, dhows and so forth. All boats would be handicapped based on international yacht racing standards in order to determine the overall winner. In addition, members of the Gulf States such as UAE, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and others could compete in a special Dhow category, and race their respective dhows to bring back the glorious days of past when those incredible vessels with their distinct triangular sails would sail up and down the African coastline.
The safety of the yachts and sailors must also be guaranteed. One envisions a joint effort between the UAE, Oman, Yemen, French, Indian and American Navies who patrol the Gulf Peninsular, the northern region of the Indian Ocean and the Horn of Africa. The Seychelles Coast Guard would also play its role when the yachts enter the Seychelles territorial waters. Add GPS technology, satellite tracking and satellite telephones, and one can be assured that the yachts will be tracked safely from start to finish.
SUMMARY - In conclusion, such a race would bring back a sense of nostalgia for the participants and return the spirits of the olden sailing days back to the Indian Ocean. An international Dubai-Muscat-Salalah-Victoria Yacht Race would continue to foster the relationship that currently exists between the Gulf States and the Seychelles. With many Gulf companies such as Emirates and Qatar Airlines already flying into Seychelles and in the process of building world-class resorts in the country, this perennial event would serve as an added attraction to bring more visitors to our shores and thus bring favourable returns to such real-estate investments.
For companies and individuals in the Gulf States and also in Seychelles who would be interested in taking up this challenge and turning it into a reality, please contact Marc Houareau, Chairman, Marine Charter Association via email at marc@seychelles.net or on +248-676000.
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