The Shifting Sands

Saddling up in the pond for the main channel with the conveyor belt to to top of the channel behind me My old Army mates, Dan and Cam, needed a little bit of R and R from the challenges of life in Dubai.  So a trip to Wadi Adventures seemed like a great boy's day out given that our families had absconded to cooler climes. We started with an hour of surfing in the wave pool with the intermediate wave which is an A Frame. This means we were able to have multiple surfers on the wave where "one guy can break right, one's left simultaneous"  (just like Apocalypse Now but without helicopters, mortar fire and napalm). Unfortunately, I don't have any photos as no one wanted to miss a wave to get the camera. Thank goodness it was only an hour as, with 90 seconds between waves, my arms were very heavy by the end of the session.   The photos show the middle third of the main channel. Plenty of angles and crossing curre...

For me, every new country has an Expat bucket list. These are the things that you "must" do before leaving the country.  The easiest and number one on my list for Dubai was a sea kayak trip around the northern tip of the Musandam Penisula. The Peninsula is an Omani exclave seperated from the rest of Oman by the UAE and which forms the southern shore of the Straits of Hormuz. A larger type of Omani fishing boat. Still a very traditional design. Prior to 1971, the UK administered the Trucial States or Trucial Oman.  The was a loose connection of sheikdoms with little formal government and included Bahrain and Qatar.  The British wanted to withdraw from the region but there was much debate between the sheikhs about control of regions. In the end, Bahrain and Qatar withdrew from the process and established their own states and in each of the remaining regions the locals were asked to identify with a sheikh as a mechanism for determining contro...

My morning paddle was not as exotic as the title sounds.  The "World" is a series of artificial islands created off the coast of Dubai, roughly in the shape of the World. Within the world there are groups of sand islands each shaped in such a way that they look like one of the continents. It seemed like a good destination for a morning training paddle. Dubai skyscrapers obscrured by the mist What had been interesting was the recent high levels of humidity which combined with no breeze which created a mist on the coast.  As a result, I headed out to the World on a compas bearing.  It is always pleasant paddling on a still morning without seeing land. I must admit, the World was a bit of a dissapointment.  There has been almost no construction on any of the islands so there is not much to see.  The islands are surrounded by a break water and as soon as I paddled into the entry of the breakwater I was intercepted by World Se...

The crew practicing lashing the halyards Dan, a friend from the Army, has been a long time resident in the Middle East. He has adapted to many aspects of middle eastern life. He speaks Arabic, is comfortable with all the local customs but best of all he has a  jalboot, the Zou Zou. This class is recognizable by its straight stem and transom and  a triangular lanteen sail.   The jalboot is the class of boat with which Emiraties compete in 22”, 43” and 60” divisions.  Although Dan belives that the sporting variants lack charm.   Dan and I have been planning a long trip around the Musandam Peninsula, an Omani Governate to the north of Duabi.  Dan would sail in his Jalboot and me in my sea kayak meeting up in the evenings. Last Friday, Dan was planning to head out for a sail with some kids from his sailing c lub and invited us along. Kate and Ada were keen and it was a great opportunity for me to get out on the water in my kay...