Italian team Adelasia di Torres to race 2017 edition of EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour
by Oman Sail 19 Dec 2016 13:31 GMT
14 February - 1 March 2017
EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour © Lloyd Images
Team Adelasia di Torres from Sardinia in Italy has been announced as a brand new entry in the 2017 edition of EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour, which starts from Muscat in Oman next February.
The team has been put together by Costa based Renato Azara (pictured above), a keen sailor who after many years as managing director of Sardinia Yacht Services, the world-renowned yacht management agency on the Emerald Coast, has decided to go racing.
In his first season with 'Adelasia di Torres', he won the Formenton Trophy Regatta in the racing division, took a class win in the Rolex Middle Sea Race and a third place overall in the ORC group.
But now he says he is stepping up the game to be on the start line of the seventh edition of EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour.
"EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour will be an exciting adventure," he said. "My work in the international sphere has led me to develop a lot of contacts and friends in the Middle East and this high-level competition, which takes us from the Sultanate of Oman to Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai, will allow us to discover the area from a different perspective."
Azara will be joined by Duccio Colombi, founder and owner of Phi!Number and winner of 11 Italian Championships in different sailing categories, two European Championships and four World Championships, all with non-professional crews.
Caterina Nitto will also be on hand bringing 20 years of experience as a long-distance sailor, sailing instructor and captain of ships, sailboats and motorboats to bear on the exciting Team Adelasia di Torres campaign.
"Along with Caterina Nitto and Duccio Colombi, we hope to do well at our first EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour, although we know that there are some very strong teams racing and we have yet to learn the boat - we are looking forward to it!"
EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour is the only annual race of its type, with a mix of long offshore legs and intense in port racing, in the world and since it was first established in 2011, has become the most prestigious race in the Middle East with a reach and appeal that extends with each edition, among both recreational and professional sailors.
The teams race in identical Farr 30 boats and are in competition for around two weeks, completing more than 700 racing miles and stopping off at five different ports, which showcase the Gulf region to new sailors and to fans who follow the action online or via television images around the world.
In 2017, competition starts in Muscat, Oman with the first in-port races before the fleet heads north to Sohar and round the tip of the Musandam Peninsula to Khasab. Competitors must tackle the challenges posed by the congested Straits of Hormuz as they race to Abu Dhabi and then on to Doha for the second round of in-port races before setting off on the longest leg to Dubai and a final opportunity to notch up points in the last in-port races before the winner emerges.
The line-up for 2017 is to be announced in a series of press releases over the next few weeks but the field has never been more open and despite being debutants, the experienced Team Adelasia di Torres are sure to make an impression.
"It gives us great pleasure to welcome Adelasia di Torres to EFG Sailing Arabia - The Tour," said Oman Sail's Chief Marketing Officer, Salma Al Hashmi.
"Each year, our fleet represents a diverse mix of amateur and professional crews, repeat competitors and brand new teams looking for fresh challenges and we are confident that all of them will enjoy the opportunities presented to them by our new route this edition, both on and off the water."