The Omani women sailors have come a LONG way… and want to keep sailing ☺
With only two legs left, talk and thoughts have turned towards the end and what happens next. Of course we want a good result but for the goal of the team and what it was meant to achieve, Al Thurya has been a success. The Omani women who have raced with us on this race have been exemplary and hard-working. They have shown that Arabic women can do this just as well as their male counterparts. The offshore coach asked the women what they wanted to do and they told him they wanted to continue to do MORE.
Moving on is a BIG step – training and sailing with men…
He wanted to know if they would want to train with the men’s team because currently there are not enough women to continue on with just a women’s boat- because we professionals will all go back to our corners of the world and our lives despite them wanting us to stay and continue on this journey with them. It is heartening to see how they have the respect and camaraderie with the Omani male sailors – they have trained in the gym together and now raced on the same sea in harsh conditions. There is a real mutual respect that comes with sharing these experiences. The girls seemed really open to that concept.
However, when the coach (who is British I might add) started to inquire about sailing offshore with men, there was some balking. One of the sailors expressed concerns about pushing too hard and trying to change culture too fast. Heck, even westerners wonder about mixed teams offshore because although it seems simple to athletes, the idea of living in close proximity with the other sex makes some wonder. If you have ever bashed around in big waves and pulled sails down in forty knots with walls of seawater trying to wash you down the boat, you would realize that there is nothing to worry about because it’s like climbing Everest, but for some they see it like a Mediterranean cruise where it is all fun and potential trouble.
Back to our training ground in Mussanah…
Tomorrow we head off to Mussanah the home port of Oman Sail where we trained together in January. The Omani women will see their sailing school compatriots and friends for the first time since the start of the event. I’m really interested to see how our Omani teammates will be received by their peers as they tell their stories and experiences. This will be a long leg at 135 nautical miles. We will all be very tired with only an afternoon to recuperate before we start the last and final leg into Muscat the following morning. Only a few points separate some teams, which will make it a battle to the finish. Teams will now change tactics. Some boats will have to match racing in order to beat a particular boat in order to give them the point spread they need to win the event – regardless of the finish on this leg. Our goal will be to beat Renaissance, which has been sailing really well. They are full of locals, giving them a distinct advantage over us but hopefully our skill in going fast will prevail.
Wish us luck!
