Nigel sails half way round the world while Sue spends a day in Qatar

It was what you might describe as a ‘full on’ weekend.

I took Thursday off work to give three full days of sailing on the RYA Day Skipper Practical run by Dubai Offshore Cruising Club. A multinational group of five students and one instructor living aboard a 44 foot Bavaria sailing boat.

We took it in turns to manage the boat, plot courses, fix positions and call the gybes and tacks. I came home with blisters on my hands having done more tacking and gybing in three hours on Saturday than in a whole weeks sailing in Mallorca.

The plan was to anchor close to shore on Thursday night but a forecast of high winds drove us into the Burgh Arab marina where we were certainly in a class of our own. The only other sailing boat was a three masted affair about four times the length of us. Every other boat was a variation on the theme of gin palace/megayacht. An impressive spot to tie up for the night.

The next day we practiced manoeuvring, berthing and leaving in the marina. Just imagining the potential repair bills if there was collision was enough incentive to get it right.

The next plan was to spend the night anchored close to the Dubai Palm Island. At 6pm we pulled in to Party Central. It seemed as though every gin place in Dubai had come here for a Halloween Party. The thumping bass and flashing lights drove us out to sea for a fabulous 4 hour night sail around ‘The Palm’ and back to the DOSC marina where the Halloween Party finished at around 1am. At least we got some sleep.

The final day saw us sail half way around the world only to turn around and retrace our steps. Only in Dubai would anyone contemplate building artificial islands in the shape of a map of the world. This was started before the last financial crisis and work has come to a grinding halt. So from the sea it is an unimpressive collection of sand banks surrounded by marker buoys indicating that it is restricted site.

Another two days next weekend should see me officially qualified to charter a yacht anywhere in the world.

Meanwhile from Abu Dhabi Sue took a Saturday trip to Dohar in Qatar to check out the Museum of Islamic Art and various other places that they will be taking New York University students next week. The first of many trips that she will be doing.

We both slept well on Saturday night.