The 2014 Sailing Arabia Tour has been reportedly shortened due to light wind conditions. According to sources, as soon as the weather forecast predicted light winds, the race committee immediately reduced the course for Leg 3 by 10 nautical miles.

In the original format, the Leg 3 of the Sailing Arabia Tour was supposed to cover seventy nautical miles which is now restricted to sixty nautical miles. The participant squads at Leg 3 would sail right from Abu Dhabi till Dubai.

The shortening of the course due to unfavorable weather conditions is followed to assure that the fleet reaches Dubai in the right time to prep up for following leg. In case, the set starting time goes as per the plan, then the estimated TOA in Dubai would be 1800-1900.

“We have reduced the Leg 3 course by ten miles so that we can have better time span to prep up for the next leg that will start at Dubai and go to Ras Khaimah. It would permit our crews to relax and rest a bit”, stated Gilles Chiorri, the race director. “ It seems as if the breeze would be light & we would most probably motor 2-3 hours & wait for  breeze from the sea to fill up from north-eastern side before we are setting them off.”

The Team Delft, packed with spirited university students won both the in-port competitions from the EFG Bank at the Abu Dhabi session of Arabia EFG Sailing. The team faced a disqualification from line honours placement during Leg 2, after a starboard/port incident with Monaco’s EFG Bank. However, the last win has surely worked to uplift their spirits.

The team skipper Koen Smedt dsaid-“We’re disappointed with the disqualification yet it motivated us in turn to triumph at in-port races.”