DUBAI // When Bernard Schopfer, the RC44 series' communications manager, strolled on to the balcony at Dubai International Marine Club to end any hope of racing on the first day of the Sea Dubai RC44 Cup, no one had expected anything else. The sun was out all day but wind remained conspicuously absent.
Having spent 90 midday minutes marooned in a windless Persian Gulf, the 10 identical RC44 yachts - lined along the DIMC jetty by the time Schopfer relayed his news - would stay docked until this morning.
"We hope the wind will be back and it should be better," said Schopfer. "It is a thermal breeze, a sea breeze, and it needs some time to re-activate after the shamal of the past few days. It has completely stopped. Hopefully in one day, certainly two, the famous Dubai sea breeze will be re-activated and we will be able to race normally."
Despite Schopfer's optimism, whether the weather can reboot in time to save the match-race format remains unclear.
"At this stage we are not sure if the match races will be completed, but we are hoping so," he said.
"In theory it should build up after a calm day and we're very confident it will. It happens though, we accept it. When you do an outdoor sport, linked with nature, it is the sort of thing you have to be ready for."
While the RC44 teams must compete against each other in one-on-one duels during the two-day match-race formats, a minimum of four flights must be undertaken for a winner to be decided. It is a scenario Noel Drennan, the mainsail trimmer on the BMW Oracle Racing vessel, is confident will happen today.
"Four flights need to be completed to have some sort of result. It's not the ideal way to do it, it's obviously better if we all race each other," he said.
"That is possible, even if we do it all in one day, we've done it in previous regattas. They can also call it a knock-out system at any given time, which I'm sure will be implemented, and we will get a notice saying we have an early start [this] morning.
"Even if we end up with more [than four] races but don't complete the full schedule, there is a system for getting an overall result because it is a combined system of the fleet and match race results - it all works out so the best boat will win overall."
With double points on offer in the Dubai season-ender, Drennan's crew - firm fixtures in global news in recent months because of the long-running 33rd America's Cup venue saga - sit fourth in the overall rankings. A strong showing is essential if the team are to rein in leaders Artemis.
"We need to have a really good result here," said Drennan. "It's double points so it's disappointing not to race and it will be unfortunate to go to a format where we don't race against everybody. Hopefully we won't end up in that situation."
It appears the wind, a sailor's best friend, or their worst enemy, could determine that.
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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch, Matt Renshaw, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (captain), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador