Written by Emma Williams
photographed by Syed Fasiuddin

A big challenge, about to get tougher at every turn, faces the young wannabe sailors

At eight-thirty in the morning, the temperature is creeping over 30°C as eight men gather nervously at Marina Bander al Rowdha.

Standing only metres away are six others who a year ago were in the same position, aiming for an opportunity to compete on the global sailing circuit, and who have now earned their place on the Oman Sail team.

The potential recruits smile as they are led up the steps to the makeshift classroom above a storage container from where their journeys with Oman Sail will begin.

These aspiring male Omani nationals aged 18 to 30 have applied for a challenge, which gets tougher at every turn and the ultimate prize is a place on the sailing team.

In this first phase 38 men out of an original 150 applicants are invited to take part in one of the four, three-hour sessions aimed at challenging their physical and mental strength. After they sit down, they are briefed on what would happen that day before being shown a short film.

It is during this video that some of the smiles originally brimming with self-confidence begin to fade. Behind the group of recruits stand the current Oman Sail team and it is touching to watch their reactions to the film.

Some smile, some look nervous, but all faces show immense pride as the screen shows the selection process they had gone through and passed.

Scenes of Mohsin al Busaidi’s historic around-the-world adventure and return are played next to images of the team carrying weights and running through the dessert, giving the new recruits just a hint of what is to come if they progress through to phase two.

After this everyone clambers down the steep steps for a warmup, at the end of which the recruits are told they would be going for a jog up Sidab Street to the exercise area.

The group assembles again at the exercise area that overlooks the Gulf of Oman and the marina, where the recruits will be based if successful.

They are organised in pairs and told that while one of the pair exercises, the other would have to motivate him, and then they would swap.

Each individual does a minute of each exercise and the encouragement starts off quietly, a muttered, “Come on you can do it” at their partner; this would soon change.

After the introduction of new exercises, still lasting ‘only a minute’ some of their faces drop, but the eight recruits begin exercises aimed at working their core body strength.

Out of the five new exercises, the plank and throwdowns seem to be the breaking point for some of the recruits.

It is during round two that we first hear the recruits groan, but no one is ready to give up just yet. As the exercises continue, you can see some of the recruits’ reserves break down.

The question on everyone’s lips is as one instructor puts it, “Is that a smile or a grimace?”

Partners encourage each other but it seems more out of desperate desire of not wanting to take their turn alone.

To their credit the Oman Sail instructors carry on motivating the recruits throughout, even joining in with the exercises, finding humourous ways to outdo each other.

After two more rounds of exercise, the Oman Sail team consisting of Khamis al Anbouri, Abdullah al Busaidi, Mubarak al Battashi, Ahmed al Maamri, Saleh al Jabri and Ali Ambusaidi, jog with the recruits back to the marina where two other less physical activities await.

Four of the recruits are given a break, while the remaining four are taken to the spider’s web, which is used to access their leadership and team-building skills. After some amusing attempts at jumping through the web, the groups swap. Chris Biggins, training manager at Oman Sail, is at hand to talk about his expectations.

“First and foremost, dedication. Hence the physical tests to look at their determination and ability to keep going when the going gets tough. To be the best or just successful they must give their all to the training and later to the sport of sailing.”

The successful recruits are now informed and will progress to phase two, which consists of a weekend camp at Bandar al Khiran that will evaluate their ability to work as a team. There are also four female applications for this intake and the women will be assessed separately in late April.

For some of the recruits their time with Oman Sail has started and ended on a warm Thursday, but for the select few who have passed, it is only the beginning.