The team around him changes each year, but the constant presence of Sidney Gavignet guided EFG Bank Monaco to a third straight victory in the EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour (SATT).
Third place in the final leg from Sohar to Muscat on Monday was enough to seal top spot for the reigning champions, who finished seven points clear with wins in three of the five offshore stages and two of the three in-port races.
Gavignet’s victory in the sixth installment of the tour cements his place as the most successful skipper in event history, surpassing the two wins by fellow Frenchman Bertrand Pace (2012 and 2013).
“I’m very happy,” Gavignet told Sport360.
“Every year I come with a different team and that’s part of my personal challenge. To build a team is very exciting. I’ve been lucky this year because I put together some people I discovered. The team-work was easy and efficient, it was a great pleasure.”
Al Mouj, Muscat finished second overall, edging Great Britain’s Team Averda, who mustered a sixth-place finish on the last leg.
The Omani team, skippered by France’s Nico Lunven, got off to a slow start, but put themselves in position to finish as runners-up by heading into final leg less than a point behind second.
“We woke up too late in the race to win overall but this result is just what we need to make us excited for next year when we’re going to come back and win,” said their Omani sailor Azziz Al Obidani.
David Graham, CEO of EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour, was pleased with another successful event and the continued growth of Oman’s sailing calendar.
“EFG Sailing Arabia – The Tour was created by Oman Sail with a vision of building a sustainable, iconic sailboat race in the Gulf,” Graham said.
“We’re delighted that the event is now the region’s most challenging race and each year it becomes more and more globally renowned.”
