Omani sailors Fahad Al Hasni Mohsin Al Busaidi were among the crew who helped sail the "Musandam-Oman Sail" yacht across the Atlantic Ocean, making it the first Arab yacht ever to complete a transatlantic race.
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(CNN) -- An Omani yacht has made history by becoming the first Arabic yacht to cross the Atlantic Ocean during the KRYS Ocean Race.
The competition, which features some of the world's fastest multihull yachts, started in New York City on July 7 and finished in the French maritime city of Brest less than a week later where they were greeted by hundreds of spectators attending the Les Tonnerres de Brest Festival.
The crew of the 70 feet trimaran "Musandam-Oman Sail" managed to take the lead early on in the race and held their position at the front of the fleet for the first 24 hours, before being struck by bad luck.
First Arab yacht to cross the Atlantic
One of the boat's foils - the wing-like structure that lifts the hull up out of the water and increases its speed -- snapped off, and for the remainder of the race the yacht could only sail at 70% of its normal performance capacity.
Since its launch in 2008, Oman Sail has taken nearly 6,000 Omani children sailing, over half of which have been females.
Oman's women take to the water
Despite this setback the crew managed to reach speeds up to 39 knots and finished the race in fourth place -- crossing the Atlantic in an impressive 5 days, 7 hours, 5 minutes and 38 seconds.
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"It was a real challenge to finish once we had lost the foil, our speed dropped so much so we knew we had to do something drastic to fix it," said Moshin Al Busaidi, the 37-year-old Omani sailor who shot to fame in 2009 when he became the first Arab to sail non-stop around the world in just 76 days.
To stand a chance of finishing the race in a decent time the crew of the Omani yacht decided to try and move one of the working foils on the port side of the vessel to replace the broken one on the starboard side.
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"We gave ourselves one hour to try and fix the boat or we would have lost too much time, we didn't know if it would work but I am glad it did. We still don't know how the foil broke but it is swimming with the fishes now," he said.
Al Busaidi, who had never sailed before joining the Sultan of Oman's Navy as young man, was joined aboard the "Musandam-Oman Sail" by his fellow 29-year-old countryman Fahad Al Hasni who has only been sailing for three years.
Despite his limited experience, Al Hasni proved to be a very gifted helmsman.
"He made our MOD70 go demonstrably faster," said British record-breaking sailor Brian Thompson who was part of the boat's international crew. "This was a major surprise for the rest of the crew. Fahad has only been sailing for three years but he has great control and the ability to concentrate for really long periods of time."
"It was fantastic to discover this talent amongst us," added the British multihull legend, who in April was a member of the fastest crew to race around the world.
Both Al Busaidi and Al Hasni are part of the "Oman Sail" project, which aims to encourage people across Omani society to take up the sport. In the past three years it has taught thousands of children how to sail and it is also helping to develop a women's squad in an effort to boost Oman's Olympic chances.
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After becoming the first Arab to sail around the world, Al Busaidi became a national hero in Oman and an ambassador for the "Omani Sail" project.
"I am very proud of what I have achieved so far but it is important for me to give something back to the community," said Al Busaidi, who is heading back to Oman for Ramadan before re-joining his crew for the summer's European sailing tour.
"Sailing changed my life for the better so I try and lead the kids, to try and help them change their lives too. I love my country and I want to help make it better," he added.
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The Krys Ocean Race started in New York City on July 7, the final destination was the French city of Brest. It took the "Musandam-Oman Sail" yacht 5 days, 7 hours, 5 minutes and 38 seconds to cross the Atlantic.
The "Musandam-Oman Sail" is a trimaran and was one of five new 70 feet multifhull yachts to compete in the Krys Ocean Race, which has attracted some of the biggest names in offshore racing.
The Omani crew started the race really strong but after 24 hours they lost their lead as one of the yacht's foils snapped off . The crew managed to fix the boat, but as a result they could only sail on the starboard side across the Atlantic. Despite this setback they managed to reach speeds up to 39 knots and finished fourth in the race.
The project was set up to encourage young Omanis to take up sailing. In the past three years it has taught thousands of children how to sail and it is also helping to develop a women's squad. Both Fahad Al Hasni Mohsin Al Busaidi are part of the program.
Mohsin Al Busaidi, 37, is a former petty officer in the Omani navy. He shot to fame in 2009 when he became the first Arab to sail non-stop around the world in just 76 days.
One of the young Omanis who has found his sea legs through the "Oman Sail" project is Fahad Al Hasni, 29. He was selected to be part of the "Musandam-Oman Sail" crew despite only having sailed for three years.
Presently both Omani and non-Omani sailors sail under the Oman Sail flag and this year's multihull crew consists of Omani, French, American and British sailors. The aim is for the Omani sailors to share the knowledge gained with their fellow countrymen and women in the training program back home.
Trainee female sailors prepare their boats for sailing during a training session in Massanah in Oman.
As her boat capsizes during training, a particpant of the programme tries to turn it around.
Oman Sail say that the programmes aim is to "not only instil confidence and teach valuable, transferable life skills but also create jobs and unique opportunities for women."
Following a training session in Massana, the female trainee sailors relax by jumping into the water.
Double Olympic gold medal winning sailor Shirley Robertson with a young sailor and her head mistress.
At the launch of the Oman Sail Womens Sailing Program, the head of media and marketing, Salma Al Hashmi presented the 30 women with their certificate.
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