The danger, the excitement, the romance – the ocean has it all, and this country is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and clean sea on the planet. So it is little wonder, then, that it proves such a draw to those with a spirit of independence and adventure. The Arabian Gulf has a rich maritime tradition of providing natural resources that have provided people with a living for centuries, and now it’s providing them with all manner of sporting activities.
This weekend, a group of competition yachts will be sailed from Sir Bani Yas Island, southwest of Abu Dhabi, in a race to Dubai. For the victors it will be a perfect finale to a week’s worth of sailing up and down the UAE’s coastline, and the entire competition will have served as a forerunner to the Volvo Ocean Race, which will return to these shores later in the year.
Organised by the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club (DOSC) in partnership with Rotana Jet, Anantara Hotels and Resorts and TDIC, Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company, the Sir Bani Yas Island Race and Rally is a step in the right direction to get the UAE’s residents excited about ocean racing.
Yacht racing is something that technology is just catching up with. It’s been happening since time immemorial, but up until recently it hasn’t exactly been what you’d call a spectator sport. The competitions often last for many months, and it has been impossible to accurately portray the excitement, the challenges and the dedication of the crews taking part to a wide audience, simply because there was no way of seeing first-hand what’s been going on. As a result, the masses have tended to stay away, leaving it to those taking part, often viewing it as an elitist and cliquey activity only for those with sufficient funds to indulge in their passions. The tide, if you’ll pardon the pun, is at last turning.
Last Friday I caught up with some of the competitors in this new event, after they had arrived in Abu Dhabi for lunch at the beautiful marina at the Emirates Palace hotel. I spoke with them about what drove them to take up ocean racing and found them to be down-to-earth, fun-loving (albeit, in the main, very wealthy) individuals who see the sport as a perfect way to leave behind their secular lives for a few glorious days yet still be able to put into practice the very skills that helped them become successes in their own lives. It was quite an eye-opener.
But before we consider the people taking part and why, perhaps it’s timely to look at exactly what is involved in the Sir Bani Yas race. At the outset it’s worth mentioning that this is not a hard-core competition and some of the teams taking part are in it for the fun rather than the glory but, essentially, a flotilla of 13 different yachts raced from Dubai last weekend to Abu Dhabi, where they stopped before heading off to Sir Bani Yas (this leg was a cruise, rather than a timed competition), after which, some of them stayed for a short break on the island. The others flew back to either Abu Dhabi or Dubai. The second leg of the race this weekend involves the teams flying back to Sir Bani Yas and getting back to Dubai – no stop – in the shortest possible time. The points gained go towards the tallies already accrued by competitors in the Dubai Off Shore Series championship.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
And indeed it is, otherwise these men, women and children wouldn’t be doing it. But when you delve into what’s involved in competing on the open sea, you soon come to realise that this is a most technically challenging sport – right up there with flying when it comes to strategy and the skill of getting to where you need to be in the shortest possible time. It’s all too much for someone like me, who can just about keep up with the rules of tennis.
But the rewards involved can be extraordinary for those taking part. To get the best time and stay ahead of the competition (and often the other yachts can’t be seen from the one you happen to be aboard) takes efficient teamwork. Imagine a few days, never mind months, cooped up in minuscule quarters with people you might not be that familiar with, having to work together in sometimes adverse conditions (no wind, too much wind, squalls, errant ships – the ocean can throw up unexpected horrors with no warning whatsoever) with no escape if it all gets too much. But imagine, too, when it all comes together like clockwork, when you’re working against the elements and you succeed in getting to your destination ahead of your competitors. Especially if that destination is the unspeakably beautiful Sir Bani Yas Island, a desert island paradise if ever there was one.
“Our season runs from mid-September till the end of May,” one of the competitors, Calum McKie, who has worked here since 2002 as a petroleum engineer, told me, “and in that time there’s something going on almost every weekend. So it’s a busy few months. One weekend it might be racing dinghies, the next it could be racing huge yachts – DOSC is a very active club.
“In many ways Abu Dhabi is better for sailors than Dubai, where the currents have kept the coast fairly straight. Here it’s a lagoon environment, you have the mangroves along the coast and then there are the islands – there’s a great deal of beauty to be enjoyed here for people on the sea.”
The official route from Abu Dhabi to Sir Bani Yas is about 120 nautical miles, which means an overnight sail, setting off at about 3pm and arriving at the island the following day. So it’s not for those just starting out, unless you’re a crew member rather than captain of the ship.
Barry Brand, an advertising executive based in Abu Dhabi, sat with McKie as we spoke, having arrived on the same yacht (called Lady Lucy). “Yes, it’s my real name, nobody believes it,” he joked. McKie has been sailing for years, having started when he lived in the UK, but for Brand, this has been a totally new experience. “I was living in Beirut before I moved here,” he told me, “and when I was there I met Greg [Vogt, whose yacht it is they were sailing on] and he invited me to go sailing with him and I got bitten by the bug. It’s a great way to see a country, gives you a totally different perspective.
“It’s completely about teamwork – a physical effort combined with a lot of technical knowledge, meteorology and luck,” McKie added, “and when that all comes together it’s incredibly satisfying.” Brand, however, summed it up perfectly: “I think it appeals to men’s love of data. I’m still learning, but it’s fascinating.”
Butti Al Muhairi, an Emirati crew member for the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Team, was also on hand, and he’s in the oil business, too, working as a wellhead platform operator in the Umm Al Dhalakh field, so he knows a thing or two about high-pressure environments and the importance of safety. He sailed his first dhow in 1991 and has, over the years, raced them with great success before graduating to yacht racing. “Of course, the people of this country have been racing on the sea for centuries,” he said. “But this is something different. It’s a very exciting sport that is now capturing the imaginations of people all over the world, and we’re seeing more and more Emiratis getting involved. It will take time, obviously, a bit like it has been with motor racing, but young people here are starting to embrace sailing and that has to be a good thing.”
Something else that has to be a good thing is seeing – and staying on – Sir Bani Yas. After arriving at the island last Saturday, one of the family crews that had sailed there decided to stay on for a few days and experienced something very special, indeed. According to Deirdre Donnelly, who works for TDIC and is based on the island, one of the girls wants to be a vet and the family enquired if it would be possible to see first-hand how the animals are tended to. “We arranged for a five-hour safari drive so they could see how the animals are managed,” said Donnelly this week. “We’ve never done anything on that level before, they had an amazing time and met some of the country’s top vets, even helped to tag some of the hyenas – it’s just part and parcel of what we can do for our visitors.”
Adventure, romance, technical challenges, competition, and unique experiences with natural wildlife – the Sir Bani Yas Island Race and Rally seemingly has it all. It’s bound to take place again next year so get those sea legs ready – it’s a uniquely wonderful way to experience the UAE.
• For more information visit www.dosc.ae
khackett@thenational.ae