Sailing Arabia The Tour – Superb competition
by Tanguy Blondel on 28 Feb 2012
Sailing Arabia The Tour 2012, international regatta organised by Oman Sail, has concluded with Courrier Dunkerque winning the second edition of the regatta.
Courrier Dunkerque - Sailing Arabia - The Tour 2012 © Mark Lloyd http://www.lloyd-images.com
Winning four of the six races, Daniel Souben and his men, 2010 World Farr 30 Champions, four-time winners of the French Crewed Championship and double winners of the Tour de France à la Voile, sailed a superb competition and established themselves as the major protagonists in world crewed racing. In so doing, the sailors from northern France have prepared for the 2012 M34 circuit in style and will unquestionably rank among the favourites in the Tour de France à la Voile, which will kick-off in the Urban Community of Dunkirk on 29 June-3 July for the 26th time!
The Dunkirk crew’s Farr 30 adventure has culminated in the Middle East with a superb, outright victory in Sailing Arabia – The Tour. This boat, which has given them so much pleasure over recent years, will now remain in Omani waters. Daniel Souben, Nicolas Pauchet, Vincent Vandekherkove, Erwan Le Roux, Antoine Carpentier, Bertrand Castélnérac and Guillaume Berenger haven’t been particular about details over the past three weeks of competition in the Persian Gulf and the Omani race zones. First across the finish line a total of four times, the 'Courrier Dunkerque' team has demonstrated great precision, both in the way the crew drive the boat and the navigation in the true sense of the term. Up against their formidable adversaries from the Tour de France à la Voile, title holder Bertrand Pacé and Cédric Pouligny, the sailors supported by the Urban Community of Dunkirk, Veolia Environnement, the Dunes of Flanders and DK Bus, were quite simply stronger!
The team from Dunkirk will now return to France in order to rediscover their M34 and warm up for the French Crewed Championship and notably the Spi Ouest France, in Brittany’s La Trinité-sur-Mer over Easter weekend.
Daniel Souben, skipper – manager of Courrier Dunkerque: 'We’re pleased with this victory. Sailing Arabia – The Tour has a fine future ahead of it. We encountered a number of different sailing conditions and we were pretty good. This competition has been good training for us and has enabled us to prepare for our 2012 season and objectives such as the Tour de France à la Voile'.
Final standing in Sailing Arabia The Tour 2012:
1 – Courrier Dunkerque – 10 Points
2 – Team CommercialBank – 22 Points
3 – Team BAE Systems – 27 Points
4 – Al Thuraya Bankmuscat – 37 Points
5 – Team Renaissance – 47 Points
6 – Team Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia – 57 Points
7 – Team Bahrain – 62 Points
8 – Team Muscat 2012 – 66 Points
9 – Ras Al Khaimah – 79 Sailing Arabia - The Tour website
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