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At Le Meridien, our guests DISCOVER more than just a destination or a hotel... they DISCOVER a new way of seeing things. The team at the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina wish you new perspectives, stimulation and discovery in the new year to come.
You can now download free podcasts (12 videos at present) related to the Le Meridien LM100 initiative and the creative people we have onboard already. Please use the link below to load the podcast directly in iTunes and then enjoy on your computer or iPod!
What is LM100? Le Méridien’s experiences are defined and enriched by a group of cultural innovators and artists called Le Méridien100. The group comprises a global array of visionaries, from painters to photographers, musicians to designers, chefs to architects. LINK: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=270156795 (you must have iTunes installed)
What are Podcasts? A podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers. The term, like "radio", can refer either to the content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is also termed podcasting.
Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC), the dynamic club from the United Arab Emirates, organises the eighth and last event of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2007 from December 13-16. The Dubai Gold Cup is also the first overseas regatta for the RC 44 fleet. All RC 44’s have been transported together, on their custom-made containers, saving a lot of manpower, effort and extra costs to the teams.
The regatta will reassemble eight teams representing eight nations. Both, fleet and match races are scheduled. The winner of the Dubai Gold Cup will be the team with the smallest number of points in the combination of fleet and match races.
The three leaders of the RC 44 Championship Tour 2007 (Chris Bake’s Team Aqua with pro sailor Cameron Appleton, Russell Coutts’ Team Omega and Miroslav Reljanovic’s Cro-A-Sail) are comfortably established at the top of the RC 44 Championship Tour. However, the regatta promises to be intense with newcomers ES Bankers Dubai (Patrick De Barros / Dean Barker), Team Ceeref (Igor Lah / James Spithill) and Team Hiroshi - Città di Milano (Armando Giulietti / Sébastien Col).
The Dubai Gold Cup started on Thursday, with fleet races. A match racing round-robin was held on Friday and Saturday whilst the teams will complete the fleet race on Sunday. A short coastal race has been incorporated in the fleet race ranking. With such an exceptional group of some of the best sailors in the world, united in a great location, the event promises to be fantastic.
As Julien Di Biase, the RC 44 Class manager, explains: “The goal of the class is to get the owners and RC 44 sailors to race in good sailing conditions, but also to find venues where people can have fun once the boats are moored.” Speaking at a press conference held earlier in the week, DIMC Managing Director, Saeed Hareb welcomed the teams and extended his wishes to the participants.
The first RC 44 Champion will be crowned on Sunday, December 16. The Class Association is looking forward to concluding a first very successful season and is proud to announce that the 2008 program is already finalised.
The conditions were quite difficult during Wednesday’s practice race, with a fairly big leftover seaway, consequence of the strong “Shamaal” that blew during the previous days. However, the conditions didn’t stop the favourite teams to dominate the training session, with Team Aqua, Team Omega, Cro-A-Sail and Team Ceeref in the front of the fleet.
The Dubai Gold Cup is the first overseas regatta for the RC 44 fleet. An exceptional group of some of the best sailors in the world is reassembled here, with amongst others Dean Barker, James Spithill, Russell Coutts, Sébastien Col, Cameron Appleton, Morten Henrikson and many more.
Many teams are new, even though some of them have already competed in Trieste or Portofino. Amongst them, Maciej Nawrocki’s Team Organika, Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref, Patrick De Barros’ ES Bankers Dubai and Armando Giulietti’s Team Hiroshi – Citta di Milano.
The first day of the Dubai Gold Cup exceeded the sailors’ expectations, with three races sailed despite the light wind forecast. Indeed, a fairly regular sea breeze started blowing after lunch time, allowing the eight strong RC 44 fleet to set sail and compete in light but good conditions.
Clearly on great form, Vittorio Codecasa, the 65 years old helmsman onboard Russell Coutts’ Team Omega – and President of the Swan 45 Class – took the best start in the first race. He was also first to reach the windward mark and set the trend: he was not going to let any competitor sail a single mark ahead of him throughout the afternoon!
The first race was very intense, with Isao Mita’s Beecom – always very good by light wind - chasing Team Omega and being pressurised by Team Aqua. Less lucky, James Spithill and Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref struggled to come back after arriving too late on the starting line, finishing the race in sixth.
The young Australian sailing talent took his revenge on race two, coaching his owner Igor Lah perfectly over the starting line and throughout the race, finishing second. Also looking for a revenge, Miroslav Reljanovic and the team of Cro-A-Sail, disappointing eighth of the first race, started well and sailed a consistent race concluded in fourth. But the good surprise of the day came from Armando Giulietti’s Team Hiroshi – Citta di Milano, who managed to improve from his previous fourth place and finish third. A great achievement for this new team.
Team Omega took once again a great start in race three, benefiting from an early lead ahead of Cro-A-Sail and Team Hiroshi. The racing was fierce, and the umpires – who were judging directly on the water – had a lot of work. First victim, Team Ceeref was penalised for a classic port-starboard situation against Team Aqua. Soon after, it was Chris Bake’s turn to maker a 360° after a close encounter with Team Hiroshi. This was the conclusion to a very bad day for Chris Bake’s team, who didn’t manage to confirm their leadership over the RC 44 Class on day one.
They said:
Armando Giulietti, Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano: “It’s a new boat for us, so we needed to find the right adjustments. We are obviously happy with our result. I am grateful to our pro sailor Sébastien Col, who has been doing a great job. Before every race, we talk and analyze what we need to achieve. We set clear goals. Then we don’t talk too much during the race. Lorenzo Bodini is very helpful with the main sail and Sébastien gives me some advice. There is a great mentality on board. No “Italian shouting”.
Yoichi Yabe, world Class sailing photographer and guest on board Beecom: “It’s always great to be on board during a race; it’s a real privilege. From a photographer’s point of view, it is interesting too. The boats look good and the sailing is aggressive and very exciting.”
James Spithill, pro-sailor, Team Ceeref: “This boat is good for the crewmembers, because there is work for everyone. On other classes, half the crewmembers are just sitting on the rail. Here it’s full on.”
Patrick De Barros, Team ES Bankers Dubai: “Alongside the racing, we organized a corporate day with ES Bank. It’s a Portuguese group who has just been granted a license here in Dubai, so the Gold Cup is a great platform to organize such an event. We had the CEO and some personalities from the local finance on board; everybody was happy, it was great. I’m the only one unhappy: our results were not too good but we’ll come back!”
Vittorio Codecasa, guest helmsman, Team Omega: “The boat is great, very sensitive to steer. Compared with the Swan 45, it’s a completely different concept. It’s purely racing oriented. With the Swan I can cross the Atlantic. Here it’s like a dinghy. I like it.”
Dean Barker, Team ES Bankers Dubai: “The conditions were tough on day one, with big waves and fairly light wind. All you need is a bad wave to stop your boat. Patrick De Barros did a good job at the helm although I think we have some space for improvement.”
Igor Lah, owner, Team Ceeref: “This Class fully meets my expectations. I was looking for something new. I think it is a good mixture between mathematics and feeling. It’s very interesting. I really have the feeling that the boat listens to me, and reacts directly and precisely to what I do.”
The teams involved:
(Name of team, owner, pro sailor)
Team Aqua, Chris Bake / Cameron Appleton
Team ES Bankers Dubai, Patrick De Barros / Dean Barker
Team Ceeref, Igor Lah / James Spithill
Team Organika, Maciej Nawrocki / Mateusz Kusznierewicz
Team Omega, Russell Coutts
Cro-A-Sail, Miroslav Reljanovic / Morten Henrikson
Team Hiroshi - Città di Milano, Armando Giulietti / Sébastien Col
Team Beecom, Isao Mita / Kevin Harrap
The RC 44 is a light displacement, high performance One Design sailing boat. It was designed by three-time America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts, together with Slovenian naval architect Andrej Justin. The RC 44 was created for top level racing in international regattas under strictly controlled Class Rules. The concept and the design features of the RC 44 are dedicated to the amateur helmsmen racing in fleet and match racing sailing events. www.rc44.com
Starwood Privilege has just been launched here in UAE covering 6 UAE Hotels, including your favourite, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina! There are 129 participating Starwood Hotels and Resorts throughout Europe, Africa, Asia/Pacific and the Middle East…
Now, as a member you dine for free for an entire year once you are accompanied by another paying guest. Add to it, you are entitled to accommodation privileges which grant you - 5% off lowest rate of the day at time of booking in EMEA different from 50% OFF CERTIFICATE.. Finally there are bouquets of local certificates to be utilised at the hosting hotel of your choice & global certificates to be used at any participating Hotel.
The membership also entitles you to a local certificate, which at the Mina is a “3 Course Dinner for 2 people, in our fine dining restaurant, including a bottle of house wine”.
Global certificate options include Room upgrades, dining gift cards, suite upgrade, 50% off lowest room rate at time of booking, Celebratory cake etc…
Last but not least, we are delighted to enrol you as an SPG Plus member free of charge. For full details on the program terms and conditions, information on point redemption, tier levels and program benefits, please visit www.spg.com (Please note that the Le Meridien Mina Seyahi is not currently an SPG member, however your membership would still entitle you to earn SPG points at other participating hotels)
For further details please feel free to log on to www.starwoodhotels.com/privilege. Please read terms & conditions.
Contact us now to have this package as your x-mas gift at:
Starwood Privilege Office
Tel: +971-4-3977171
Fax: +971-4-3961391
uae@starwoodprivilege.co.uk
Happy festivities…!
The 4th International Film Festival started in Dubai today, the 9th of December. This is the ideal chance for movie buffs and the casual movie-goer alike to enjoy films from various parts of the world. The year 2007 features nine categories showcasing the best creations of the year and visits from various Hollywood celebrities, including George Clooney. The festival runs till the 16th of December in various locations across the city.
The Mina Seyahi Complex is just as famous for its relaxed ambience, superb beachfront and fantastic swimming pools, as it is for its water sports acclaim. The Mina has gone to extra lengths to ensure that guests and visitors can enjoy swimming at the complex in safer, more enjoyable waters! The Engineering team at the Mina uses chlorination techniques that utilize natural salt instead of manufactured chlorine, to make the water more enjoyable, safer and pleasant. Read on...
POOL CHLORINATION WITH SALT - How it Works:
The system empoyed makes its own chlorine for swimming pools by converting mild saline pool water (about 1/6th the concentration of seawater) into chlorine. The saline water is electrolyzed as it passes through a system cell and produces sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine) for the swimming pool. Sodium hypochlorite is chlorine in a usable form which purifies and sterilizes the water. Clear benefits include:
| MANUFACTURED CHLORINE | NATURAL SALT | |
Linked to cancer | Yes | No |
Toxic to lungs | Yes | No |
Absorbs through skin | Yes | No |
Dry, brittle, beached/green hair | Yes | No |
Harmful to eyes | Yes | No |
Harmful to skin | Yes | No |
Explosive, unsafe to handle | Yes | No |
Dangerous to store | Yes | No |
Toxic to landscaping & common storage places | Yes | No |
Complicates Pool Chemistry | Yes | No |
Requires daily maintenance | Yes | No |
Offensive Odor | Yes | No |
Evaporates | Yes | No |
Fades pool accessories: floats, rafts, plastic balls/toys, swimwear | Yes | No |
Leaks hazardous benzine from pipes | Yes | No |
Forms carcinogenic thrihalomethane | Yes | No |
Creates chloramines | Yes | No |
Requires continual use of cyanuric acid | Yes | No |
Harmful to the environment | Yes | No |
More than $40 a year to maintain healthy water conditions | Yes | No |
Kills algae | Yes | Yes |
Kills bacteria | Yes | Yes |
Kills viruses | No | Yes |
Looking for a swim? Why not try the Mina...for safe, enjoyable pools and trademark service, beach, water sports and dining!
Introducing Footprints Band playing nightly... Jack and Bonnie are now The Dhow house Band playing Jazz and light music to entertain you while you dine on the al fresco upper deck. Jack is our very own George Benson, who originates from Madagascar will entertain you with his guitar and saxophone playing while Bonnie from South Africa will delight your ears with her soft mellow voice and cool moves . Playing sounds from Diana Krall to Louis Armstrong.
They play from 7.30pm until 11.30pm nightly except Saturdays and Tuesdays where you will find them jamming with DJ Martin @ Barasti Jazz night. So why not treat a loved one or some friends to a great night out On the Dhow upper deck for great Sushi, great Seafood, great Service and now great Sounds. All located off shore at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi with views of the Mina Seyahi complex and palm island with a casual dinning atmosphere with the sounds of Footprints. Bookings are recommended and can be made by calling (04) 318 1374