(Xtra-link/Louay Habib)

Hannes Weimer’s German Landmark 43, Atari 7, takes Line Honours in the 2015 Dubai to Muscat Race on Sunday 1 November, taking proximately three days to complete the 350-mile course.

“Taking Line Honours in a tough race was a real challenge.” Commented Hannes Weimer, dockside at Marina Bandar Al-Rowdha, Oman. “There were so many stop-and-goes, three or four times we managed to put some distance on our competitors and every time we just ran out of wind, sometimes six to eight hours of being becalmed. But it was a nice regatta, with a great and friendly team on the boat, so we had lots of fun. However, we did run out of food and soft drinks today.

Managing those transition zones is not easy; you always have to be switched on because you know you are going to lose a lot but you have to gain it back again. This was a slower race but much tougher than our previous race in a TP52, which we also took line honours with. We kept our spirits up, even though we have several Australians on board, who were a bit down, when they lost the World Cup Final on the last night. I knew that was coming so I didn’t have any New Zealanders on board! Maybe the nicest moment for us was at Musandam when we went through the islands. Shortly before we had been overtaken by Diablo and going through the islands gained us ten miles, that as well as the scenery was just amazing. We saw turtles, we saw dolphins, so it was really nice – a moment to remember.”

More yachts are expected to finish the Dubai to Muscat Race today and in the earlier hours of tomorrow. All of the competing yachts are equipped with Xtra-Link Trackers and Thuraya XT satellite phones. Daily updates including; blogs from the boats, pictures and video will be posted. To follow the fleet visit: www.xtra-link.com