Traditional 22ft Dhow Championships at Dubai - Preview
by Sharon Allison 22 Oct 2009 10:30 BST
24 October 2009
The Traditional 22 ft Dhow Sailing Championships takes place on Saturday © Sharon Allison
An intriguing link
As heat 1 of the Traditional 22ft Dhow Sailing Championships takes to the water on Saturday 24th October it will be interesting to see who wins and to take a good look at the design of their boat and sail. The 22 ft dhow is the training boat not just for new sailors but it is also the
prototype for the 43 ft & 60 ft racing dhows and a real family affair. Fathers
look to the boat to teach their sons how to sail but also they use it as a tool to
test improvements to the increase the effectiveness of their larger racing
dhows.
The UAE Marine Sports Federation supports and encourages the sailors to think
about not just their sailing but also about the design of the boat and sail as long
as they keep within certain guidelines. There is fierce competition between the
teams that must include two sailors less than seventeen years of age. Most of
the training is done during the racing. The programme has been a success and
the fleet has flourished since its inception in 1999 and now boasts a start line of
over 70 boats. Dubai International Marine Club runs a Championship through the
year and a series of match races to put the sailors through their paces.
The boats, with their shallow hulls and keels are portable and easy to store, cost
around US$4,000 to make and made mostly in the families back yard with the
sails sewn by local tailors. It is an evolving family industry and will be interesting
to see how it develops in the future. A new inclusion for this season is that sand
bags that have traditionally been used for ballast in the keel and for stability in
stronger winds has been banned as an environmental measure. The result will
surely be a change in design and a fascinating race on Saturday.