Nico stepped onboard one of a fleet of traditional dhow boats in Abu Dhabi yesterday, with 1 million US dollars up for grabs it was a very competitive day for the crews. Nico commented, “It was a really enjoyable day – with this race you get to do some really special things and this was certainly one of them. To be out there racing with 100 odd dhows like they have been for hundreds of years was pretty amazing. The imagery of them all sailing downwind neck and neck was just really cool. In a way it was just like any other competitive boat race in the word when at the end there it came down to the wire and it was boat on boat pushing for every metre of advantage. I think everybody aboard was working as hard as on any other boat. There was an old guy down the back who would just yell at everyone myself included whether to hike or not and they were completely focused on getting everything they could out of the boat. They put up with some harsh conditions. The boat is so slippery so you move around at your own peril, none of the timber work is smoothed off and you get splinters all day long, so maybe they’re a bit tougher than Volvo guys! After seeing these guys in action I’m actually thinking of telling the boys at our next crew briefing that they need to harden up a bit and match the dhow sailors"
From Yacht Racing to camel racing....
After a sprint race into Abu Dhabi some of the CAMPER team traded the sea for a day in the desert as they headed out to watch traditional camel racing. The camel races that are held regularly in the desert just outside Abu Dhabi have robots as jockeys rather than real people! It is hard to believe that the camels are controlled by robots, we kid you not! But each camel's owner races alongside in a car giving instructions to the camel through a speaker on the camel's back, whilst the robot is remote controlled and in charge of getting the camel around the track as fast as possible.
A few of the CAMPER team went to experience it first hand, including our trimmer, ‘Sheik’ Adam Minoprio – “It was unbelievable jostling for space on the tarmac alongside the camels that are racing around the most enormous track and controlled by robots! This place is amazing, I have never seen anything like it before" After a few races, the team vistied a traditional village where they met some camels up close and peronal, tried out the local dress and even took a camel ride. But it was longer day than expected as the team bus was stuck in the sand, and not even the crew could dig them out!
