INTERVIEW: Adil Khalid – It’s not just about racing for Azzam’s figurehead

Matt Jones - Editor 08:23 11/12/2014
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  • Privileged position: Khalid on the ocean wave.

    Emirati Adil Khalid admits it will be a special moment when he sails into his home port – but bringing the Volvo Ocean Race trophy back to Abu Dhabi in seven months time is far more important for the 26-year-old.

    – Abu Dhabi Ocean Race battles in hope of home win

    Khalid is a key member of the crew aboard Azzam that currently lead the standings in the 12th edition of the event, having made waves three years ago when he became the first Emirati to race in the competition.

    With the coastline of the UAE rapidly approaching, Khalid struggles to find the words to describe what the next few days will mean to him, both personally and professionally.

    24-hour job: Adil Khalid and the crew have been at sea a total of 49 days over the two legs.

    “I don’t really know what to say. It will be a great thing coming back to Abu Dhabi. I will feel pride and it will be a very special leg for me, and the team,” he tells Sport360°.

    “It will be a dream come true for me and I want to make sure to grow the sport and make sailing one of the main sports in the UAE.

    “Football is the No1 sport in the country but I want sailing to be No2. That is my dream and I think it is possible.”

    Success in the Ocean Race can only help the promotion and progression of the sport, which is why Khalid knows where his and the crew’s long-term priorities lie.

    “The most important thing, of course, is to win the race first and second to win the Abu Dhabi leg,” he adds. “The main thing is to win the trophy and bring it home to Abu Dhabi and [to] the people who support us and those that have put their trust in us. We want to make them happy and we want to repay them.”

    This is, of course, Khalid’s second taste of the Volvo Ocean Race. He was part of the ADOR team that finished a disappointing
    fifth out of six teams in the 2011/12 race as they failed to finish the first leg after breaking their mast on the first night of the opening leg, hours after setting sail from Alicante.

    “That was a proud moment,” Khalid said of his first Volvo Ocean Race experience, which began when he was only 22.

    “I represented my country and was able to show the world that Arabic people can sail.”

    For Emirati crew member Khalid, the Ocean Race is more than a competition; it’s a rite of passage and a chance for him to grow the sport of sailing in the UAE

    So far, this year’s competition has made for a drastic change from the tumultuous times at the previous edition, with Abu Dhabi top of both the overall standings and the In-Port Race series, thanks to a victory in Cape Town and second-place in Alicante.

    “It was such a great thing and such a contrast to last time when we broke the mast,” Khalid says of Azzam’s change in fortunes this time around.

    Asked about his high and low points of the first leg from Alicante to Cape Town, Khalid said winning was obviously the highlight.

    “Being first as it was a really hard race. All the boats are one design so you had to make the right decisions and there was always lots to think about; it wasn’t just a case of us jumping on a boat and sailing away.

    “My favourite part of that [win] was the teamwork, eight people working hard and working constantly together, sometimes with
    no sleep for 24 or 48 hours, for 25 days.”

    As for least favourite?

    “When the winds went down around Table Mountain, we were three nautical miles from the finish line and we thought ‘oh my God’ we could lose it, but thank God we didn’t as all our hard work would have been undone.”

    Khalid has become the poster boy for UAE watersports and is happy to be portrayed as a role model for aspiring young Arab sportsmen and women to look up to.

    Khalid grew up sailing at Dubai International Marine Club, before later moving on to Abu Dhabi Sailing & Yacht Club when he
    was older, and he says interest in the sport has grown since he became the first Emirati to compete in the race.

    “The local clubs have more kids joining and more interest and support now and that’s down to my involvement and media exposure – that was my dream as a kid. I wanted to grow  up and represent my country and have future generations following my example,” he said.

    The skipper: Adil Khalid with Ian Walker.

    Grounded and humble, Khalid said he was pleased to be a figure for youngsters to look up to. “It’s great to have kids come up to me and say they want to grow up to be like me, it’s a big feeling. Parents say to me they want their children to grow up to be like me but I tell them they can be better than me.

    “I think it’s only a matter of time before we see more Emiratis in major sailing races and in the global media.”

    Spare time is as sparse as the oceans they sail are vast for crew members, so father-of-two Khalid made sure he took some time off to spend with his young family during the leg one stopover in South Africa.

    Even though he enjoyed some well-earned rest and relaxation with his friends and family back in Abu Dhabi, Khalid admitted he
    found time to make another small trip.

    “I went with my family to Mecca to pray, I wished for some good luck and prayed for more success for the team,” he said.

    ADOR sailed between Abu Dhabi and Muscat a lot during their training for the event, and Khalid believes that has stood the team
    in good stead as the fleet currently passes through the Gulf of Oman.

    “We’ve sailed it so we’re used to it and we have a really good, experienced team, especially with (navigator) Simon Fisher and
    (skipper) Ian Walker,” he adds. “There’s good communication between team members and we’re happy and smiling all the time.”

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