Hello everyone-
After some technical difficulties I am finally online here in Muscat, Oman. I am here joining Oman Sail’s all women’s team training in preparation for The Tour d’Arabia in feb. The Sultan Qaboos bin Said wants to establish Oman as a leader in developing opportunities for women and sailing is going to be one of the competitive venues for this. We have three young Omani women that will learn to compete and sail with us. That is the focus of this week. Also teaching them how to eat for performance in sports (rice and veggies won’t cut it), how to work out and well- a lot of other things!
First impression upon arrival- foreign. I have lived abroad and sailed around the world on international teams. I have repaired sails in an ancient prison in Argentina and dove with great whites in Africa… Here however- we aren’t in Kansas anymore Toto! I arrived at 1am- and arrivals was full of Arabic men, many(if not most) in the long/traditional dress. Only a handful of women, in full robes- some in full burkas. One other western woman with her family. Some aggressive staring going on in my direction- the kind if you did in new York you would get a punch in the nose… It is very desert like- though there are trees and scrubs. Architecture is very Arabic and beautiful. I definitely have the feel of being the Arabian Peninsula. We have sea snakes in the water so a swim requires some vigilance.
Sailing- we have been practicing against two other Arabic men’s teams- and have been beating them regularly. It is early days but it has heartened our supporters and the oragnizers. Yesterday I got a very warm welcome from our government liaison at the marina base when he found out I was ‘the American’…
Ok- off to breakfast. The time change is 12 hours and is still a killer…
Have a great day!
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