A match for the 22ft Dhows in Dubai
by Sharon Allison 5 Nov 2009 18:08 AEDT
7 November 2009
The top twenty Traditional 22ft Sailing Dhows from last season's Championship league will compete in two races this Saturday 7th November in a play off to take eight from each race who will go forward to take part in the very popular match racing series. Match racing was introduced to the 22ft dhows 2 years ago to develop and test the sailors’ skills and handling of the boat. Up until that time the boats had only raced on one tack across the wind and other points of sailing were not often practiced as the traditional design of the boat made it tricky to maneuver.
The dhow was the working boat of the Gulf in the days of the pearl trade and used for
diving trips in the sea of the Arabian Gulf. Boats were built to be practical and safe in two
sizes, 43 ft for shorter trips and 60 ft for the long trips away sometimes-lasting months
over the cooler winter. As the pearl trade died out in the region many boats became
redundant and it was feared that the traditions of the UAE would die out. To counteract
this Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum asked Dubai International Marine Club to
organize a long distance race for the Dhows in 1991. It was the start of a revival of these
beautiful boats, which now race regularly throughout the season. To continue the
development and growth of this fleet the Harib family developed the 22ft dhow to
encourage their children to sail and as President of the UAE Marine Sports Federation and
Managing Director of Dubai International Marine Club, Saeed Harib continues to encourage
the youth to sail and at the same time focus on their heritage. The dhows are only sailed
by crews from the region who are very proud of their roots and culture and want to keep it
safe.
Match racing tests two boats against each other around a triangular course, not an easy
task on a boat with a fairly basic design. Needless to say modifications and new materials
are gradually being introduced to enhance the boats performance, but guidelines set by
the UAE Marine Sports Association must be followed. The match racing has added new
interest and an upset in the results, which were an interesting contrast to the fleet race
results last season.