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12 april - back from the arabian gulf

Cam Lewis and Larry Rosenfeld along with Team Adventure Director of Development Michael Shetzer have just returned from the Middle East where they attended the official signing and announcement of The Oryx Cup. The deal was inked by Sheikh Jassam bin Thamer al Thani, the vice president of the Qatar National Olympic Committee and Tracy Edwards, head of Maiden Ocean Racing Qatar. The event, which was a part of the Qatar Sports Marketing Expo was a huge success heralded by those in attendance as a new era in Formula 1 ocean racing. Tracy, who has pioneered two new global events that will originate out of the Arabian Gulf, also unveiled the initial design of the Oryx Cup which has been commissioned from the renown London jewelers William Asprey.

The Oryx Cup will start from Doha in Qatar in March 2005. This non-stop around-the-world-race will finish at the same location approximately two months later. The Oryx Cup is open to multihulls of 100 feet and longer. The prize for first place is a massive US $1 million, the biggest cash prize in sailing history. A second event, The Quest, will also start from Doha and will circumnavigate the world with stops. The Quest will start on December 20, 2006 and feature both ocean-going multihull and monohull yachts, over 100 ft and 90 ft respectively. There will be a total of seven stopovers during the challenge, including locations in the Far East and America. Potential stops under discussion from Doha are Mumbai, Auckland, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan, around Cape Horn to Rio, New York, UK and Russia. These countries are encouraged to field entries in the race and a local entry will certainly increase the likelihood of the race stopping there.

As one of only a handful of mega-catamarans in the world Team Adventure is well suited to compete in both events. Cam and Larry and the Team Adventure team are working hard to find sponsorship so that they can compete at the highest level. The trip to the Arabian Gulf was the first of many that will be undertaken in an effort to find the necessary dollars to field a top-notch effort.

For image of the signing ceremony click here

For image of Tracy with Sheikh Jassam bin Thamer al Thani click here

For image of the Oryx Cup click here

For image of the Qatar Sports Marketing Expo click here