Muscat – Five of Oman Sail’s Optimist youth squad joined over 100 sailors from across Asia in Thailand for The Admiral’s Cup 2025, with three achieving top 10 finishes in their fleets. Khamis Nasser al Mashaikhi finished in ninth place in the Gold fleet, Hood Saad al Nofli won the Silver fleet and teammate Mohammed Ziyad al Qasimi finished fourth.

Khamis al Mashaikhi started strongly by winning the opening race, and was consistent throughout, also notching a third-place finish in round eight of 11. The top seven places went to local sailors from the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand in a strong showing for the hosts.

Oman’s Hadeel Yousuf al Mushaifri finished 35th out of 51 and Tarteel Zaid al Hasani ended the event in 47th. Both have gained valuable experience as they continue to develop as sailors on the international stage.

Hood al Nofli showed remarkable character to recover from a shaky start to achieve six podium finishes from the last seven races – including three wins – to win the Silver fleet competition. Teammate Mohammed al Qasimi narrowly missed out on third but impressed as the regatta progressed, achieving two podium finishes.

Team Leader Hashim al Rashdi and Optimist Coach Sultan al Zadjali led the Omani delegation.

Al Rashdi said: “This was an excellent experience for all five of our sailors. Each sailor is at a different stage of development, so to end the Admiral’s Cup with a top-ten finish in the Gold fleet and a winner and fourth place in the Silver fleet is great. We worked on tactics and mentality in training, and it was evident in the performances that the sailors recognised their strengths and can shake off difficulties and approach each race with renewed focus. We will look to build on these performances throughout the coming season and have every confidence that the sailors will continue to improve.”

The Admiral’s Cup 2025 was organised and hosted by the Royal Varuna Yacht Club in Pattaya, Thailand, from February 6-10.

The team will represent Oman in several regattas throughout the year, including Winter Cup, GCC Beach Games in April, Oman Sailing Championships in August and the 14th edition of Mussanah Race Week in October and IODA in October-November in Oman.