Oman Sail has announced the launch of the Oman Sailing Festival 2022, a nationwide initiative to introduce communities across the country to the sport. The Oman Sailing Festival will offer free Try Sailing, Para Sailing, Windsurfing and Kite Surfing sessions under the supervision of Oman Sail’s coaches, along with SME engagement and beach clean-up events to help conserve the local environment and keep the seas clear of litter and other items damaging to marine life.

The Oman Sailing Festival will begin on 4-9 October in Sohar, and then visit Mussanah from 11-14 October, Sur Al Hadeed in Seeb from 19-22 October, Duqm from 1-6 November and Salalah from 6-12 November. The Oman Sailing Festival will then continue in Mussanah from 23-26 November, Sur from 27 November to 4 December, Al Mouj Muscat from 7-11 December, and concluding in Musandam from 17-25 December 2022.

Three high profile sailing competitions will also be staged during the festival, focusing the attentions of the sailing community firmly on Oman.

The first event of the season will be the Arab Sailing Championships at the Barceló Mussanah Resort from 11-15 October 2022. Fifty sailors from 14 countries across the region will compete in Optimist, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, ILCA 7, RS:X and iQFOiL windsurfing and RS Venture para sailing. Sailors will be visiting from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia and the UAE for the first Arab Sailing Championships since 2019.

The Barceló Mussanah Resort will also host the RS Venture Connect World Championships, the first exclusively Para Sailing championship to be staged in Oman. Taking place from Sunday 20 November until Sunday 27 November, 36 teams from 15 nations, including members of Oman Sail’s SailFree team, will compete in the RS Venture boat, designed specifically for people with disabilities.

The final event will see a return to Omani waters for the RC44 Cup. Oman Sail hosted the inaugural round of the RC44 Cup in 2013 and the final event of the 2014 RC44 Cup and will now host the final round of this year’s campaign. Nine teams from across Europe are currently in a close-fought battle for supremacy at the top of the leaderboard and the winner will be crowned at the Al Mouj Marina after five days of intense racing from 7-11 December 2022.

Dr Khamis Al Jabri, CEO of Oman Sail, said, “This is an exciting time for sport in Oman and we are very proud to take a leading role in sharing the excitement of sailing, windsurfing and kite sailing with the community. We look forward to showcasing the potential of sailing to capture the imagination of people across Oman and reaching the next generation of sailors. The events will attract a diverse demographic to our nation, which benefits the national economy, and offers a glimpse at the highest level of the sport which can inspire the local population to pursue a new activity, train and, ultimately, represent the Sultanate of Oman.”

Dr Al Jabri added, “It is always a great honour for Oman Sail to be chosen as hosts for international sailing events and be able to lend our experience to other organisers as we work together to continue building Oman’s excellent reputation in the global sporting community.”

Each event will incorporate the need to maintain the natural environment and promoting sustainability. Oman Sail will host beach clean-up events and provide recycling facilities on site to reduce the human impact and raise awareness of the need to preserve Oman’s natural resources.

The sailing festival is supported by OQ, the National Mineral Water Company (Tanuf), Barceló Mussanah Resort, while RC44 is supported by Al Mouj Muscat, Oman’s premier lifestyle destination, as host venues.