Oman Sail’s Team BAE Systems finished fourth yesterday at the 2012 edition of the Tour de France a la Voile – one of the sport’s toughest offshore competitions – just one point off the podium.
In little under a month, the 15-strong fleet has raced from Dieppe in the North of France on the Atlantic coast, to Seyne-Sur-Mer in the Mediterranean and the Oman Sail boat has maintained its position in the top half of the fleet throughout. After a final round of inshore racing yesterday, Team BAE Systems finished just one point behind Bretagne Credit Mutuel Elite in fourth place – an improvement on their fifth place overall in 2011.
Leigh McMillan (GBR), the tactician onboard commented: "I am proud to have been a part of the Team BAE Systems crew for this Tour de France a La Voile. And although the philosophy onboard is very much about knowledge transfer, we have all been on the same wavelength, whether European or Omani, it has felt as though I’ve been sailing with an all-professional crew. It has been a pleasure to race this event and I hope to be back next year, I like this inshore/offshore format, although it's a lot to pack into one month!”
Andy Carr, Managing Director, BAE Systems Oman, said: “I am delighted to congratulate Team BAE Systems on an outstanding performance in testing conditions. Team BAE Systems, the tri nation team with representatives from Oman, France and Britain, has demonstrated that close partnership and true cooperation delivers outstanding results.
“We have been following the race and the progress of the team closely; we have been impressed by their strong team bond and successful utilisation of individual strengths, and their ability to combine their skills to create a focused, high performing, professional team.
“We are proud of Team BAE Systems and, in particular, the achievements of the Omani sailors in this exciting race around the coast of France”.
With three firsts and three seconds during the event, Team BAE Systems can consider this Tour de France a la Voile a job well done. French skipper Cedric Pouligny underlines how much the Omani team members have developed during the event: "It's amazing how much the newcomers have progressed! Mohammed for example has shown great initiative on board and has progressed during each race. It wasn’t easy to start with… I thought we would do at least as well as last year [fifth]. But in my head I always go up a notch, so my goal was to do better. It is disappointing not to have made it on to the podium, we were so close, but overall, I think we have had a very good Tour!”
Ahmed Al Mamari, who is the pitman onboard Team BAE Systems was delighted with the result and has the last word on what has been an exciting month: "This is a strong achievement for us as a team, we feel stronger and more geared to compete with the very best. It is a fabulous opportunity to be able to compete in this mythical race, so I’d like to thank Oman Sail and BAE Systems.”
Overall ranking
1 : TPM Coych (904 pts)
2 : Courrier Dunkerque (882 pts)
3 : Bretagne Credit Mutuel Elite (836 pts)
4 : Team BAE Systems (835 pts)
5 : Ville de Genève (826 pts)
From : Oman Sail
Credit : Oman Sail
In little under a month, the 15-strong fleet has raced from Dieppe in the North of France on the Atlantic coast, to Seyne-Sur-Mer in the Mediterranean and the Oman Sail boat has maintained its position in the top half of the fleet throughout. After a final round of inshore racing yesterday, Team BAE Systems finished just one point behind Bretagne Credit Mutuel Elite in fourth place – an improvement on their fifth place overall in 2011.
Leigh McMillan (GBR), the tactician onboard commented: "I am proud to have been a part of the Team BAE Systems crew for this Tour de France a La Voile. And although the philosophy onboard is very much about knowledge transfer, we have all been on the same wavelength, whether European or Omani, it has felt as though I’ve been sailing with an all-professional crew. It has been a pleasure to race this event and I hope to be back next year, I like this inshore/offshore format, although it's a lot to pack into one month!”
Andy Carr, Managing Director, BAE Systems Oman, said: “I am delighted to congratulate Team BAE Systems on an outstanding performance in testing conditions. Team BAE Systems, the tri nation team with representatives from Oman, France and Britain, has demonstrated that close partnership and true cooperation delivers outstanding results.
“We have been following the race and the progress of the team closely; we have been impressed by their strong team bond and successful utilisation of individual strengths, and their ability to combine their skills to create a focused, high performing, professional team.
“We are proud of Team BAE Systems and, in particular, the achievements of the Omani sailors in this exciting race around the coast of France”.
With three firsts and three seconds during the event, Team BAE Systems can consider this Tour de France a la Voile a job well done. French skipper Cedric Pouligny underlines how much the Omani team members have developed during the event: "It's amazing how much the newcomers have progressed! Mohammed for example has shown great initiative on board and has progressed during each race. It wasn’t easy to start with… I thought we would do at least as well as last year [fifth]. But in my head I always go up a notch, so my goal was to do better. It is disappointing not to have made it on to the podium, we were so close, but overall, I think we have had a very good Tour!”
Ahmed Al Mamari, who is the pitman onboard Team BAE Systems was delighted with the result and has the last word on what has been an exciting month: "This is a strong achievement for us as a team, we feel stronger and more geared to compete with the very best. It is a fabulous opportunity to be able to compete in this mythical race, so I’d like to thank Oman Sail and BAE Systems.”
Overall ranking
1 : TPM Coych (904 pts)
2 : Courrier Dunkerque (882 pts)
3 : Bretagne Credit Mutuel Elite (836 pts)
4 : Team BAE Systems (835 pts)
5 : Ville de Genève (826 pts)
From : Oman Sail
