Muscat: The 44Cup Oman, the final event of the 2022 44Cup Tour, concluded in Muscat with three races held further out to sea due to light winds.
Team Nika won the second race of the day to claim the event trophy, but Charisma won the final race to bring a successful season to a fitting close. Having won three events back-to-back, including the class World Championship in Portorož in October, that win allows Charisma to move from fifth place to third and finish the season as overall 2022 44Cup winners by a margin of seven points.
After ten races across the weekend, Team Nika of Monaco finished in first place on 31 points with Sweden’s Artemis Racing three points behind in second. Tour winners Charisma also of Monaco finished third on 38.
The result kept Charisma ahead of the fleet in the season standings on 6 points. Slovakian team Ceeref powered by Hrastnik 1860 had a weekend to forget, finishing in eighth, held on to second spot overall, level on points with Team Nika.
The prize-giving was held in the square by the Al Mouj Marina and attended by guest of honour, His Excellency Abdulsalam Al Murshidi, Executive President of the Oman Investment Authority, alongside His Excellency Basil bin Ahmed Al-Rawas, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, Dr. Khamis Al Jabri, CEO of Oman Sail, and representatives from event sponsors.
Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony, RC44 Class President Chris Bake concluded, “It has been an incredible year for the 44Cup and we look forward to coming back to Oman for the start for our 2023 season.”
Oman Sail’s Team Asyad Shipping, making their first ever appearance in the RC44 class event, had won the respect of the full-time fleet with a series of promising performances and by showing determination to keep learning in an entirely new discipline.
Team Aqua owner and RC44 Class President Chris Bake thanked the hosts and complemented Oman Sail’s own crew, Team Asyad Shipping which competed here. He said, “It is a real pleasure having Oman Sail sail with us – it is an ambitious program and their team has done an incredible job.”
The 44Cup Oman was organised by Oman Sail and also supported by official event partners Oman Air, Al Mouj Muscat, Kempinski Hotel Muscat, Tanuf Water, Transom Catering, environmental partners Environment Society of Oman (ESO) and UN Clean Seas, Mercedes-EQ.
