Dubai Traditional 22ft Sailing Dhow Race

by DIMC on 25 Sep 2011 Team Dahees won the Traditional 22ft Dhow Sailing Race by 30 seconds ahead of Al Sharid, closely followed by the Al Zeeb on Friday as the 2011/2-12 Watersports Season got underway.

It was a fast and closely fought race organized by Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) in Mina Seyahi and Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed Al Marzouoqi skippering Dahees rounded the first mark in the lead and managed to stay in front to the finish. ‘We got a good position on the start line and found clean air which helped us a lot. We were looking forward to sailing again and we are really happy to win,’ said the skipper.

Last season’s winners, Al Zeeb, favorites for today had problems at the start, but sailed a great race to come in third. ‘It was very frustrating on the start line,’ said Ebrahim Ismail Al Marzouqi, skipper of Al Zeeb. ‘We got caught in the ropes of the boat next to us and it really cost us time, but in the end we got a good result.’

Two late entries bought the total number of boats entering the race to fifty-seven and with winds gusting west-northwest up to fourteen knots with a fairly flat sea it turned out to be a quick race with the first boats finishing in less than 30 minutes.

‘The conditions were very good today, not too difficult and we kept the course quite short,’ said Saeed Hareb, CEO of DIMC. ‘It has given the sailors an easy start and it wasn’t too daunting for any newcomers to the sport.’

The 22ft sailing dhow can have a maximum of five and minimum of three crew on board whilst racing and skippers today had opted for a complete mix on the dhows. It meant those with less crew had to work harder hiking out to keep the boat flat for optimum speed.

Results
Position, Boat No. Boat Name, Skipper, Owner
1st. 18, Dahess, Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed Al Marzouoqi
2nd. 60, Al Sharid, Majid Hamed Khadim Al Muhairi, Ahmed Khadim Al Muhairi
3rd. 1, Al Zeeb, Ebrahim Ismail Al Marzouqi,
4th. 2, Al Wasf, Mohammed Hamad Al Ghashaih

The next 22ft sailing dhow race will be held in Mina Seyahi on October 8th, more information about the races can be found at www.dimc.ae