Azzura sets sail from France
Azzura, a magnificent state-of-the-art 75-ft sailing catamaran, which will add a new dimension to Oman’s sea tourism, set sail from France yesterday.

Adding more than a touch of French glamour to Oman’s tourism industry, Azzura will be based at Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa from November. The latest addition to Oman’s fast-developing sea tourism sector slipped from a pier, on the first leg of her long journey to the Sultanate from La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast.

Azzura, a catamaran which sails flat on the water, unlike more traditional mono-hulled boats, is capable of carrying up to 60 passengers in the comfort and safety of her 110 square metre deck.

Designed specifically as a day charter vessel, Azzura is one of only 55 of her kind in the world, and the first in the Middle East. Others are based in such mainstream tourism hotspots as the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Pacific Islands, Mexico and Cuba. All have been built by one of the world’s leading boat yards, Fountaine Pajot of France.

“From whale-watching to simply cruising and taking in the sights of the coast from Muttrah up towards Seeb on a sunset cruise, there is nothing to rival her. To be able to sit with nothing but the sound of the wind in her sails, cruising at a remarkable 12 knots, sipping a drink or nibbling on a snack at dawn, mid-day or sunset Azzura will offer our guests an experience that is unparalleled in Oman,” Captain Girardin said.