Gone with the wind

Inspired by our recent experience with the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing Team and with the cooler winter months upon us, we decided it was high time we gave sailing a go for ourselves, albeit on a much smaller scale. This is where Noukhada comes in.

Co-founded by Mark Freeman and Don Ravis in 2008, Noukhada Adventure Company is styled as an eco-friendly tour operator that started out doing kayak tours around the mangroves but now offers a wide range of activities including sailing experiences on Hobie 16 and 18 catamarans.

Being a complete sailing novice – bar a few trips in a powerboat and a couple of days spent on Azzam – we don’t really have any idea what a Hobie cat is. But as we arrive at the launch site in Al Bahia, just ten minutes drive past Yas Island, and meet Noukhada’s co-founder Mark, we soon find out.

Essentially a small, double hulled catamaran 16ft in length (hence Hobie 16), the boat can travel up to about 25 knots depending upon the wind. However, as Mark explains, the real joy of this sailboat is the freedom it offers: a Hobie cat can sail in just six inches of water and can be launched from the beach, so it’s ideal for exploring Abu Dhabi’s many islands, plus it is far more environmentally friendly than a mangrove-mangling powerboat.

Strapping on our lifejacket, Mark gives us a quick safety briefing and explains the basics of the boat. There’s a single mast at the front and just two sails to contend with – the jib sail ahead of the mast, which can sometimes be replaced with a spinnaker for more speed, and the larger main sail behind the mast.

Pushing the Hobie out into the sea, we both jump onto one side of the boat and hunker down on the trampoline-like webbing that bridges the gap between the two pontoons. Mark trims the sails and we soon begin to pick up speed as we sail out into the wonderfully calm expanse of open water adjacent to the Sheikh Khalifa highway.

We’re manning the jib sail and Mark has control of the main sail and the rudder as he talks us through some simple manoeuvres. Initially, most of it goes straight over our head but as the morning progresses, we gradually begin to grasp the basics of ‘tacking’ (turning the boat into and across the wind) and ‘jibing’ (turning away from the wind, slowly letting the sail out and then carefully filling the mainsheet as it swings across the boat).

One of the real joys of sailing has to be the mechanical bliss of the whole thing: pull a rope here, let one out there, swing this round and so on. You slowly find yourself slipping into a zone of calm concentration as you forget all about the worries of everyday life and focus on the moment. It’s a trance-like state that, as the cool, salty wind hits you, is liberating.

All too soon our time is up, so we come about and tack back towards the launch point, where a couple of families are excitedly preparing for their turn on the Hobies.

As we float slowly shoreward, we gently land the boat on the beach and jump off into the shallow water. Mark promises us that next time he’ll take us out for longer and give us a tour round Saadiyat and some of the surrounding islands. That’s definitely a promise we’ll be taking him up on.

Jon Muller

What? Noukhada Sailing Experience
Where? Al Bahia, near Yas Island
Cost: AED 300 per hour per boat
We say: Switch off and let your worries sail away
Contact: 02 650 3600 or www.noukhada.ae