Sport • 29 December 2002

Sailing Dubai International Sailing Week Regatta

Fleri Soler now hopes to shine again in Dubai

Last week Matthew Fleri Soler finished on top of the Third Euromed Championships after he claimed the overall trophy and also won the Optimist Class. Peter Valentino and John Tabone were also successful after winning the two Laser classes. He had also won last year in Dubai showing great potential together with the other Maltese young sailors.

Fleri Soler and second-placed Benjamin Borg, who had held the lead before Friday week's racing had staved off a strong offensive from the top two Swedish sailors, Lisa Ericson (third) and Rebecka Harding (fourth).

These two hope to do well again in Dubain at the end of the month. The Dubai International Sailing Week Regatta 2003 will be held from the 24 to 31 January 2003 at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC), Dubai, U.A.E. The regatta will be organised by the DIMC in co-operation with the UAE Marine Sports Federation.

The Maltese are likely to do well as they did against the Swedes. When one considers that Sweden's Harding is herself a top Euro Optimist sailor and has already twice won the Nordic Championships, the Maltese have surely improved their standard.

Cremona who also triumphed in the young Cadet class, followed by Sean Borg in second place and William Camilleri immediately behind him are expected to do well if all make it to Dubai.

Other sailors who will have a good chance of making the grade are the youngest sailor girl Sarah Manduca and Nicholas Formosa.

Last year as the year before, the opening ceremony was held on the water. In total there were seven teams, Algeria, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Malta, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates, and a total of 42 competitors.

The first two races kicked off on the 29 January with young UAE sailor Omar Shaheen winning both races with a respectable margin with Matthew Fleri Soler of Malta getting a 2nd and a 4th, and another UAE Sailor, Khalifah Subah wrapping up third on the first day with a seventh and a second. As the regatta proceeded into the second day, Omar Shaheen continued with his consistency to pull in 3 fourth places to keep him at the top.

On the first two days, light to medium winds had been common, but on the third day it was a chance for the boys of Malta to prove their worth in the strong conditions, caused by a Shamal blowing through the Arabian Gulf. This upset weather forced the organisers to race the sailors inside the new marina canal, which brought out some interesting situations concerning rules, starts, and mark roundings.

In the three races, which were won by Benjamen Borg, Matthew Soler, and Daniel Calascione (all from Malta) respectively, fitness and stamina was going to be the telling factor here. Omar Shaheen could not keep up with the Maltese sailors as they sailed away to victory. The final was sailed in very light winds and a nice big swell, which seemed to have a very sickly effect on a lot of the competitors (and the committee boat for that matter). In the tricky conditions, Dina Ahmed Ramadan of Egypt proved the most consistent to come through in first, followed by young Maltese Cadet Karl Cremona in second, and in third was another Maltese sailor, Benjamen Borg.

The regatta ended with a closing ceremony and a disco for all the kids to try their dancing skills, in my opinion the Algerians won that one. Without any surprises except for one, the Maltese topped the team results, which was based on the sum of the top 4 sailors of that respective country without discards, with the U.A.E in a very respectable second, followed by Egypt in third.