The search for Mohammed Al Alawi, the 26-year-old sailor from Oman Sail who fell overboard at 5:05 a.m. the day before yesterday morning while the MOD70 was sailing off the coast of Croatia in the direction of Trieste, where he was to take part in the 46th Barcolana, continues unabated, but hopes are thinning by the minute.
Right now, in addition to the Croatian and Italian Coast Guard, the team’s own trimaran and a smaller boat, the Extreme 40 also expected in the Julian capital, are engaged in the operation. Oman has also chartered additional boats and helicopters.
Al Alawi reportedly ended up in the water off Pula: at that time the wind was not blowing particularly hard, 15-18 knots, and the sea was not rough. Neither the details of the accident nor who was on watch aboard are yet known. It appears that clarification of the incident has been postponed to a press conference in Trieste. The sultanate team obviously canceled its participation in the Trieste events.
