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Sailing is growing ever more
popular in Dubai as an increasing number of people take
to the sea in boats ranging from one-man dinghies to
multi-million dollar yachts. And with massive new
waterfront property developments like The Palm and The
World set to open over the next few years, the appeal of
sailing among city residents is expected to grow even
further.
Dubai has
four main sailing centres – the Dubai Offshore Sailing
Club (DOSC), the Jebel Ali Sailing Club, the Dubai
International Marine Club (DIMC) and the Dubai Creek
Golf and Yacht Club– each of which has its own purpose
built harbour where boats of every size and shape can be
found – from sleek catamarans to traditional sailing
dhows.
According
to Steven Kelly, manager of the Dubai Offshore Sailing
Club, sailing appeals to people of all nationalities in
Dubai who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle, with many parents
introducing their children to the sport from the age of
six.
“The
attraction of sailing is that it’s a fresh air sport and
there’s so many different types of sailing – there’s
single-handed and double-handed dinghies, right up to
the bigger boats which will have a crew of 10 or more
when they are racing, “ he says. “It’s very much a team
sport, especially with the bigger boats, and a case of
being at one with nature - using the power of nature to
propel your self along. Anyone can drive a boat with an
engine, but harnessing the power of the wind is a little
bit different and takes a lot more skill.”
The history
of the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club dates back to 1974
when a group of friends, led by Colonel Guy Temple of
the Dubai Defence Force, decided to explore the
possibility of starting a sailing club. Their first
thought was to use one of the three fishing harbours
recently constructed on the Jumeirah coast and on 11
August 1974, HH Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the
late Ruler of Dubai, granted an area of land in the Umm
Suqeim Harbour.
The club
was immediately named the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club,
under the patronage of HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, Commander in Chief of the Dubai Defence Force,
who had asked his father for the land to be granted, and
the first sailing races were held in October 1974.
At that
time, the club boasted very modest facilities,
consisting of a compound with hard standing for boat
storage, a launching ramp and an area shaded by a
barasti roof. In June 1976, the first clubhouse was
built and the club grew so much that on three separate
occasions Sheikh Ahmed asked his father to grant
additional land so the club could expand.
Today the
club boasts a modern clubhouse and facilities, with its
own fleet of sailing dinghies, ranging from Optimists -
which are used to teach young children - to slightly
larger Toppers and Lasers. Many club members also own
Cruisers and other types of yachts and keelboats, which
are berthed in the marina.
In fact,
the club has grown so popular that there is a sizeable
waiting list to join and it is increasingly difficult
for non-members to book sailing lessons with the club’s
five instructors as priority is always given to members.
“Sailing is
getting more popular here with children and adults
alike,” Mr Kelly explains. “We have a waiting list for
sailing lessons so we have very little time for
non-members to come in and take lessons. The only
exception to that is for people applying for membership.
If someone is on the waiting list, then we encourage
them to take lessons or to bring their kids in for them
to take lessons.”
For those
looking to start the sport for the first time, Mr Kelly
advises joining one of Dubai’s sailing clubs and taking
some lessons before deciding whether to splash out on
your own boat – with the level of expense involved
depending on what sort of sailing you wish to become
involved with.
“If you are
interested in the bigger boats and want to get into
racing then it does become very expensive,” he warns.
“As well as buying the boat, you will need to replace
sails and things like that every few years to give
yourself the best advantage. But, if you want your kids
to find out for the first time if they are interested in
sailing, it’s not an expensive sport to start with –
lessons cost around Dh 60 per hour. If they are
interested, then you could look at buying a boat, with a
second-hand Laser costing around Dh 2,000-5,000.”
The sailing
season in the UAE starts around the middle of September
and goes until the end of May – missing out the summer
months when it is just too hot – with ideal wind
conditions prevailing throughout most of the season.
“You have
the offshore winds in the morning and the onshore winds
in the afternoon, and generally you get wind speeds of
10-15 knots almost every afternoon,” Mr Kelly says.
“It’s very regular, which makes sailing here very good.”
The Maktoum
family’s patronage of sailing in Dubai also led to the
creation of the Jebel Ali Sailing Club in 1977, with the
late Sheikh Rashid granting the land for that club as
well. The recent creation of The Palm and Dubai Marina,
however, threatened the club’s existence until HH Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and
UAE Defence Minister, stepped in and offered to move the
club to The Palm, with developer Nakheel bearing the
expenses for an Dh8 million clubhouse at the new island
location.
“This will
definitely make us one of the foremost sailing clubs in
the Gulf and we are excited about it," Club Commodore
Ramsey Assal commented at the time of the announcement,
paying tribute to Sheikh Mohammed’s generosity in
securing the future of the club.
"It's a
fantastic site for a sailing club,” added club
spokeswoman Sharon Allison. “From the new clubhouse we
will be able to watch our sailors racing, which will be
amazing. Nakheel have been truly supportive by first
giving us a magnificent site from which to operate and
offering to fund the building.”
As well as
becoming the new home to the club, waterfront
developments like The Palm are helping to solve another
problem faced by Dubai’s sailors – the limited number of
mooring spaces currently available in the city. Around
7,000 new berths are reportedly needed to cope with
future demand from boat owners, which will be met by the
creation of new marinas and berthing spaces at many of
the residential development projects currently taking
place along the Dubai coastline.
“With the
new developments there will be a lot more berths, which
is very much in demand in Dubai at the moment,” Mr Kelly
says. “We are inundated with requests for berth spaces
at DOSC, but we are only able to offer them to our
members. We had an extension of another 14 berths added
a few months ago and they have already been filled.”
When The
Palm and The World become home to their first residents,
the sight of yachts moored at the bottom of people’s
gardens will become a common sight and enthusiasts say
the sport of sailing will continue to grow from strength
to strength in Dubai. | 
