No resting on laurels for crew while Azzam gets fresh tint of approval

Editor's note: Englishman Ian Walker again will be the skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing's boat, Azzam, in the Volvo Ocean Race, which begins in October. He is writing a monthly message for The National leading up to the race.

In the month since our sailing and shore teams came together, we have got off to a very positive start to our campaign.

While the shore team worked away on preparing our fantastic new yacht Azzam at the boatyard in Southampton, the sailing team enjoyed some of Abu Dhabi's famous sunshine and great winter climate.

Between planning and training meetings we had some fun experiencing what Abu Dhabi has to offer; we would need more than a week to sample all its attractions.

With such a line-up of varied activities, from golf at Saadiyat Island to touring the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, splashing around at Yas Waterworld, racing rounds at Yas Marina Circuit, and an afternoon of desert adventures at Arabian Nights Village, it is hard to pick a favourite.

We are looking forward to being back in December to try out even more.

After a long sail from Cape Town on the race’s second leg, Abu Dhabi will be a welcome sight and we will be ready for some rest and relaxation with our families over the festive season.

Our sports science manager, Pete Cunningham, put us through a rigorous fitness evaluation during the first week of our coming together in the UK.

Everybody clearly knows his physical goals for the race and has plans for how to reach them.

It was no surprise that Luke “Parko” Parkinson, 23, passed the fitness tests in flying colours.

The rest of us did well but, being professional athletes, we always work to get fitter.

With the introduction of the race’s “one-design” yachts, all the boats are built to an identical standard, so our only real input has been in designing the graphics. Painting the yacht alone took more than 1,900 hours.

The new Azzam's bright metallic paint job sets it apart from the rest of the fleet and has already attracted many admirers since emerging from the boat shed last week. Applying the sail design took a further three weeks.

After a flurry of activity fitting the keel and stepping the 30-metre-long mast, Azzam was launched on March 1.

Team members Carolyn Lashmar and Alex Wardell did the honours, jointly spraying the bow with sparkling date juice from the UAE as Azzam's sleek yellow keel touched the water for the first time.

This is the yacht that will hold all our hopes and dreams over the next 16 months.

Training on land began months ago in the gym, but the sailing team is eager to get on the water to put the new yacht through its paces.

The plan this week is to structurally test everything on board, flush out any gremlins in the systems, check over all the sails and then, when all is ready, set sail for our training base in Portugal.

This first offshore trip is about 1,000 miles, three to four days’ sail, and will be a good chance for the crew to settle in to some routines under the watchful eye of our coach, Neal McDonald.

There will be no rest for the shore team, however, as they have to pack up everything in the UK and set up our new base in Cascais, Portugal.

A key element to master in the Volvo Ocean Race is quickly and efficiently packing and unpacking, since once the race starts we never stay in any one place for longer than two weeks.

After nearly 12 months of planning with the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority and having watched three of our competitors already out there training, things are really about to get going for Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing and we are ready to give it our all.

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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

'Laal Kaptaan'

Director: Navdeep Singh

Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain

Rating: 2/5

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')

Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg

Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports

Killing of Qassem Suleimani

National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate

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Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble

Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence

Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground

Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: HyperSpace

Started: 2020

Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment

Number of staff: 210

Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage

Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid

Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

Scoreline

Germany 2

Werner 9', Sane 19'

Netherlands 2

Promes 85', Van Dijk 90'

Business Insights

Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
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MEYDAN RESULTS

6.30pm Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer).

7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner Galaxy Road, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Al Modayar, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m

Winner Lady Parma, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Zaajer, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: ARDH Collective

Based: Dubai

Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi

Sector: Sustainability

Total funding: Self funded

Number of employees: 4

RESULT

Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)

Company%20Profile

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TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

If you go

Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.