Posts Tagged ‘Dhow’
Dhow Race in Dubai, by Tyler Doyle
On a recent trip to Dubai from a chase boat, I watched 80 Dhows race along the coast of Dubai. The race organized by the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club began at the World Islands and finished at the Burj Al Arab. Each Dhow carried between 15 and 20 people aboard. The Dhows are made from teak with carbon fibre spars and masts and are very light. The 60 foot Dhows weigh only 1-3 tons. Water ballast and sand bag ballast are used to ballast the powerful boats. Doyle had sails on two boats in the race. Ahmed Almehairi (#47) used one of our mainsails to achieve an 8th place finish while Mohammed Khalfan (#22) used one of our aft mast sails and finished just under 20th place out of 90. Unlike most sailboat races starts, Dhows wait for a signal before hoisting the huge booms that hold the sails.
Most of the pictures are taken from a chase boat during the race but some are from the practice day on board Mohammed Khalfan’s #22.
