When the dhow racing season begins in Dubai, an element of historic drama comes to one of the most forward-looking cities on Earth. James Bennett reports from the Gulf.
Photos by Henry Dallal www.henrydallalphotography.com

The warm breeze glides through your hair, the sea glistens before your eyes, and everything is as calm and perfect as it can be. Suddenly an orange flare goes into the air, a crew member shouts instructions and the race is on. Today is all about winning.

Hundreds of crew haul in ropes to rhythmic chanting as the dhows, racing parallel to each other, surge out of Dubai’s marina. The sound of their white sails tight with wind competes with rallying cries from the crew as the traditional racing vessels elegantly cut through the Arabian Gulf. The United Arab Emirates’ annual dhow-racing season is underway.

Constructed of local hardwoods with one or more lateen sails and between 12 and 30 crew, dhows were traditionally used for trading exotic commodities between the Arabian Gulf, India and the East African coast. Now, they are being raced as well.

Built without a weighted keel, the large boats are as unstable as a racing dinghy. A similar sized modern yacht would carry between 2,000 and 2,500 kilos of lead or iron in the keel – racing dhows, however, accomplish this by using around 50 sandbags as well as shifting the weight of the crew members, who lean dangerously over the side to counter balance as necessary. If the wind dies down, the skipper can choose either to dump some sandbags overboard to reduce weight or move his crew around.

The dhow’s impact, however, has been far from lost. They are used for racing, transportation and trading vast amounts of goods from fridges to Fiats between the UAE and its neighbours. Not only that, they attract millions of tourists to Dubai Creek, a natural seawater inlet that runs into the historical centre of the city, for a pleasant daytime, or romantic evening, cruise.

The race season, however, offers the best opportunity to witness dhows at their most spectacular. Unlike racing yachts, where pre-race manoeuvring is crucial, racing dhows sit still, sails down – until the starter’s gun explodes and each boat’s 12-man crew springs into action, hoisting the masthead to its full 30m-extension, in a blend of boating knowledge, seaman-ship and sheer brute force.

Dhows, however, do not just belong to the Gulf. Ships of this kind are also home to sailors and racing enthusiasts alike in Iran, India, Yemen, East Africa and South-East Asia. Nevertheless, Dubai is probably the best place to see them in action – not only for their sheer number, but for the biggest variety of curved and extraordinarily streamlined wooden vessels, too. With many moored along the winding Creek that cuts through the city’s souks, Dubai remains the most active dhow port in the Arabian Peninsula.

Until the early 1960s, dhows made commercial journeys between the Persian Gulf and East Africa using only sails to propel themselves. The freight consisted mainly of dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the Persian Gulf. They sailed south with the monsoon in winter or early spring and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer. Many of these ships, however, have sadly had their masts and flowing white sails removed, replaced instead by rough-sounding engines, GPS systems and all the mod-cons you could wish for while working for days offshore.

Even with these changes, however, a number of Dubai’s boatyards still operate using the same traditional materials and techniques used several centuries ago. Hulls are constructed in the open under palm fronds, surrounded by piles of seasoned logs. Work is extremely labour-intensive with timber sawn and chiselled by hand, while few or no drawings are used as each design exists in the mind of the master ship builder – a bank of knowledge that has been handed down from generation to generation.

If hoisting a 30m pole and heavy sail is not your idea of fun, take a dhow tour instead. The majority of dhow cruise vessels allow up to 12 guests to relax, enjoy a variety of watersports, fine food, good music and to get a taste of a traditional dhow – it is a great way to see how Dubai used to be the trading hub of the Middle East, without any hard labour. Whether you are racing or cruising, taking a dhow out along the beautiful Arabian shoreline and Dubai Creek you will see that its traditions still hold true in 21st-century Arabia.

Dubai’s dhow racing: a history

In the mid-1980s, Dubai’s deputy ruler, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, conceived a sailing competition to bring back the traditions that once made the region the envy of the sailing world.

The first races

The Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) began organising racing in 1986 with only a handful of surviving dhows. The races were a success and encouraged owners to improve boating standards but without affecting the basic, traditional designs.

Strict controls

Today, the DIMC inspects each racing dhow to ensure specifications are met and that competition is both safe and fair. The hull must be constructed from teak, which may be varnished but not painted. The mast and bowsprit – the pole that extends from the prow – must also be wooden, however, in a concession to the superior performance of modern materials, the spar – which supports the sail – may be made either of aluminium or carbon fibre. Similarly, sails that originally would have been cotton may now be made of less cumbersome spun or laminated polyester cloth.

Dhow cruises

Many five-star dhow cruises are run by some of the city’s major hotels, with many companies offering pick-up and drop-off services. The Radisson SAS Cruise on the Al Mansour dhow, for example, offers a full-service bar, choice of lunch and dinner cruises and runs daily.

More information

www.dimc-uae.com
www.timeoutdubai.com

Where to stay

Al Bustan
Rotana Hotel
Casablanca
Road
Al Garhoud
Dubai
Tel: (+9714)
2820 000
www.rotana.com

Dubai Marriott
Executive
Apartments
Riggat Albuteen St
Dubai
Tel: (+9714) 213 1000
www.marriott.com

Hyatt Regency Dubai
PO Box 5588
Dubai
Tel: (+9714)
2091 234
www.dubai.regency.hyatt.com