The first of Oman Sail's celebrated Public Beach Sailing Events gets underway this weekend with crowds of water sports enthusiasts heading to the beach in Sohar to try their hands at sailing or just to have fun riding a banana boat. Since Oman Sail first launched their Public Beach Sailing Events in 2012, the popularity of these relaxed sporty events has soared. This year, three events are planned in Sohar, Sur and Muscat.

The Sohar event will take place at Silver Jubilee Park on Friday and Saturday 19-20 September from 10:00 AM –12:30 PM and 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM. It is set to be another crowd pleaser as families scramble to get on board the Hobie 16s and dinghies to get a flavour of why sailing has become Oman's fastest growing sport. Making sports accessible and allowing people to integrate them as part of a healthy lifestyle are the aims of these events, with guests able to choose between kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, try sailing and rides on a ringo or banana boat, which in the past two years have appealed to guests of all ages. Kids will also have their own activities in the shape of an educational art zone and a bouncy castle. 

These beach sailing events are organized by Oman Sail and supported by the sponsors of Oman Sail’s Omantel youth programme, where Omantel is title sponsor and Oman Shipping Company is co-sponsor. Visitors to the Community Beach Events will also get to understand the importance of the Omantel Youth Programme which is already yielding amazing results in line with Oman Sail's commitment to social welfare and development through the sport of sailing. Omantel will also host an area for Ozone, their recently launched youth club for 18-25 year olds offering a variety of benefits and offers such as discounted calling rates, free mobile broadband usage and ring tones.

Having fun is where it all starts and Oman Sail's success in staging the annual Public Beach Events and nurturing the enthusiasm and talent that emerges each year suggest a growing appetite for healthy, active lifestyles throughout Oman. This event will to be followed by similar water sports sprees in Muscat on October 17-18 and Sur in November 14th – 15th.