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Rabat – Morocco’s Ibn Batouta’s sailing team – consisting of Mohamed Boussikouk and Omar Benseddick – will compete in Globe 40, the world’s first offshore race starting from Africa.
Commenting on their participation, the Moroccan athletes said that sailing across the world was their “childhood dream,” adding that the departure from Tangier is a tribute to the “greatest maritime explorer” Ibn Batouta “who opened the way to the sea.”
They noted, “This world tour is a first for us, especially as contact with the world elite generates a fertile link for the Moroccan and African maritime sector. It is a step to develop offshore racing in Morocco and Africa with many possibilities offered by the port infrastructures of Morocco.”
Ten sailing teams have registered so far for the nine-month race which will start in Tangier on June 16, 2022, and end in Lorient, France on March 13, 2023.
The participants will cross more than 30,000 miles (more than 48,200 kilometers) and stop in Cape Verde, Mauritius, Auckland, Tahiti, Ushuaia, Recife, and Grenada before reaching the European hub of Lorient for ocean racing.
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With his 43 years of sailing experience, Mohammed Boussikouk, skipper and former vice president of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Sailing, will lead the Moroccan team. He will be accompanied by Omar Benseddik, co-skipper, 54, winner of Ruta Sel Sol and El Massira Cup.
Boussikouk and Benseddick are the only African and Arab athletes competing in Globe 40 race.
On Sunday, Morocco’s General Consulate to Lorient Najoua El Berrak delivered the Moroccan flag to Boussikouk and Benseddick while expressing her support for the duo.
“We fully support our champions and wish them good luck,” El Berrak wrote on LinkedIn. “It is the first departure from the Kingdom which considers the great navigators in its long maritime history since the Middle Ages!
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