In February 2009, Mohsin Al Busaidi shot to fame when he became the first ever Arab to sail non-stop around the world, an achievement which launched the Oman Sail project into the GCC.
Since then, the husband and father of one has become an ambassador for Oman – this month alone he became Oman’s Tourism Ambassador of the Year 2012 – as well as for the sport of sailing.
He has also contributed to the sport as a teacher and Skipper of Team Renaissance in this year’s Sailing Arabia – The Tour. Here, he talks to Sport360°’s Kara Martin.
What’s it like being a fulltime sailor, and now also a skipper in charge of a whole team?
It’s not easy, especially being the skipper of a new or young crew is difficult. Normally our day training involves fitness aspects such as two hours swimming; we do classes on sailing, the sails, about the rules etc for about two hours, we go for sailing about four hours daily, and if we’re not too tired, we might do another hour-long fitness session, but just cardio.
We need cardio because offshore we don’t move a lot, especially if the boat is very small; also because we eat a lot of sweets (we need the sugar for energy), You also need strength to hold the sails; sometimes if conditions are bad we end up having to hold the sails for up to twelve hours nonstop! And then you can imagine if you’re doing that for two or three days…
Why is sailing such a popular sport in Oman?
Maybe because we have a very big beach and a very nice coast. Also maybe about 40 per cent of Omanis are fishermen and so love to be in the water. So when sailing was introduced to Oman as a new sport, they all wanted to try it.
But I feel the kids like sailing more than adults. No one in my family was a sailor before me – it was just something I got involved in through a love for swimming and the water.
And you took that passion pretty far – sailing non-stop around the world?
Yes, it was very tough, very difficult, especially because in 2009 when we started, many people did not understand what we were doing. I was training for like one year before and everyone I knew was asking me ‘You go to the sea everyday and you come back without fish? Why?’, and ‘what is the point in sailing around the world?’ People thought I was crazy. I had a lot of pressure from the people around me, everyday [asking] why, why, why?
So why did you do it?
When Oman Sail star-ted, they asked if anyone wanted to do a sail round the world non-stop with a team, and there was a big competition introduced because there was only one spot available. So in the beginning it was nice to fight to be selected, plus back then I was already doing a lot of sailing in Dubai and Muscat.
I had the opportunity too to talk to many people about what it’s like sailing around the world, and eventually decided I wanted to do it too. And what was your favourite memory from that 76-day experience? The moment when I arrived back in Oman. I didn’t know that there would be a reception waiting for me and was surprised to see the thousands and thousands of people waiting and calling my name on the beach.
I spent about two and a half months at sea without seeing anyone except my crew, which was just the five of us in the boat, so to see so many people rushing towards me, shaking my hands, asking me questions….that was the best moment. I remember saying: “I didn’t do anything.” And they said: “No, you did a very big thing.”
What was the most difficult thing to deal with on the journey for you?
It’s tough in the Pacific Ocean, it’s so close to the South Pole. I’m from Oman so obviously it was very, very cold for me. I spent about two weeks there too. I was wearing more than three suits, plus my waterproof clothes, and I lost about 14kg. Sometimes I could not move my fingers.
Another thing that was difficult was staying in such a small boat for so long with a mixed crew – two from France, two from England and me – so we were not speaking English much. The main language in the boat was Sign Language [laughs].
Do you think one year was enough time to prepare for something as big as that?
Luckily for me I was sailing before that one year, but one year normally is not enough. I think one needs not less than three years preparation. Now you’re an inspiration and a mentor to Omani sailors.
How does that feel?
I feel proud because four years ago you would not see more than two to five sailing boats on the water together, and now when we do competitions we see more than 50, and sometimes more than 100 kids – girls and boys – in the water together. That makes me proud because that’s our dream. Now we have professionals who are travelling to Dubai, to Qatar, Bahrain, and our name is on the boats.
So, what are your expectations this year for Team Renaissance?
This year I have two on board from the youth team – every year I change the crew because I want to give more people a chance to sail, as well as to see how nice the rest of the GCC is. So far, so good, we’ve been in training for two months and they’re doing a very, very good job. Maybe we’ll be on the podium again.
* Sailing Arabia – The Tour 2013 kicks off on February 10, and takes in seven destinations from Bahrain to Muscat. Information: www.sailingarabiathetour.com
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