The Oman Sailing Festival kicks off this week as Oman Sail brings sailing activities to communities along the whole length of the nation’s coastline. Starting in Sohar from 6-8 October, visitors will be able to enjoy free Try Sailing, Windsurfing and Kitesurfing sessions under the supervision of professional instructors from Oman Sail.

The next stop will be Mussanah from 12-14 October as part of the Arab Sailing Championships taking place at the same time at the Barceló Mussanah Resort with sessions in the RS Venture adaptable dinghy on offer. From there, the festival moves to Sur Al Hadeed in Seeb from 20-22 October.

Duqm hosts the next leg of the Oman Sailing Festival from 2-5 November and Salalah from 8-12 November before the festival heads to Mussanah from 24-26 November, during the RS Venture Connect World Championships, the first exclusively Para Sailing championship to be staged in Oman, where visitors can experience the RS Venture for themselves.

The festival then moves on to Sur from 28 November to 3 December, taking place alongside the Oman Maritime Heritage Festival, where there will also be the latest Ranking Race where sailors will compete for a place in the Oman national sailing squads and representatives from SeaOman will be available to share the variety of charter excursions on offer. The penultimate event will be held at Al Mouj Muscat from 7-11 December while nine teams from across Europe compete for the RC44 Cup at the final event of the season, before concluding in Musandam from 20-24 December 2022.

There will also be beach clean-up events to help conserve the local environment and keep the seas clear of litter and a special exhibition of local SMEs in each location.

Musab Al Balushi, Oman Sailing Festival Project Manager, said, “Oman is blessed with a wonderful coastline, and as Omanis we have a rich heritage of sailing and maritime activities. Our aim at Oman Sail is to reintroduce the community to sailing, windsurfing and kite surfing while also providing opportunities for people with disabilities to discover a new hobby that could become a lifelong passion.”

“The Oman Sailing Festival is also raising awareness of environmental issues and reminding communities that it is all of our responsibilities to keep our beautiful beaches and oceans clean for the marinelife and the future generations to enjoy as we do,” he added.

In Sohar from 6-8 October, visitors to the Oman Sailing Festival can try sailing using a versatile Bahia dinghy, ideal for beginners, as well as trying windsurfing and kite surfing. There will also be an SME activation featuring local businesses and craftspeople. The beach clean-up will take place every day of the event and from 4pm to 5pm.

The festival will be supported by Oman Air, National Mineral Water Company (Tanuf), Environment society of Oman (ESO) National University Science and Technology (International Maritime College).