Adil Khalid hopes for many more Emirati sailors like him

Dubai - Adil Khalid became the first Arab and Emirati sailor to compete in the gruelling Volvo Ocean Race, dubbed the 'Everest of Sailing,' and last year went on to win it with the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

For someone who used to drag race when he was 15-16, the fast-paced nature of Extreme Sailing Series will be like a fish taking to water for Adil Khalid. And though stadium sailing may be oceans apart from ocean racing, the Emirati sailor is bracing up for a new challenge.
Adil Khalid became the first Arab and Emirati sailor to compete in the gruelling Volvo Ocean Race, dubbed the 'Everest of Sailing,' and last year went on to win it with the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing. After that high, the 28-year-old is prepping for action when he competes in the Extreme Sailing Series with Red Bull Extreme Sailing this season.
"It's nice to be back and promote sailing in Dubai. It is the place where we sailed as young kids and it is great to bring sailing here and start something new and hope for people to support it. I think there is a future for Extreme Sailing here," Khalid told the Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the season launch at the Dubai International Marine Club on Wednesday.
The teams are here and are using Dubai as a test event to get used to new fleet of GC32 catamarans and while the city doesn't feature in the eight-round calendar this season, Khalid said it is a matter of time before Dubai become a venue. "I think in the future, for sure, Dubai will feature in the calendar. This is my gut feeling. It will be a great event here when it is one of the stop overs and hopefully, there will be a team representing the UAE," he said.
"Maybe next year, this year, you never know, anything can happen. This is the UAE," gushed Khalid.
For now though, it is a learning curve for Khalid with his new team. "I had a great sail with the guys and it was a good learning experience as well. It was great to see the hardwork, how they control the boat and how they react to different situations. It was really interesting because it is totally different compared to Ocean Sailing. It is fast and extreme and you have to really be smooth on the boat," he observed.
Also on the horizon this year is his bid to qualify for a second Olympics. The Emirati had represented the UAE in the laser segment at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"This year is the Olympics and I have nothing left, basically 25 days in front of me before the qualifying event in Abu Dhabi and I'm looking forward to it and hopefully it is going to be another Olympics for me if I qualify. If not, I will try to qualify in May in China and I will try best to qualify and represent the UAE again," said Khalid.
And Khalid hopes that his achievements can spawn a generation of Emirati sailors. "My dream is to help the growth of sailing in the UAE. I want to promote sailing in the region and this is what I love and what I do in my life. We have some good sailors now and we also have six small girls aged between 10 to 14 and they are very good sailors and they are winning events. Sailing is in our blood. My dream is to promote sailing in the whole of UAE. I want to have more Emiratis in sailing. There should not be just one Adil Khalid, there should be hundreds, not just one," he concluded.