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Sailing off of Qatar

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ruachwrights
Captain

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USA
258 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/09/2012 : 12:38:25

Traveling to see family in Doha end of February. I hope to be able to rent some kind of sailboat while I'm there. There seems to be a fleet of Colgates to charter and some fishing dhows. Anybody ever sail a dhow?

Hopefully there will not be to many sand storms. The prospect of sailing on the crystal blue waters of the gulf lifts my spirits. Here is a link of what a dhow looks like and how it behaves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cnj1h_tM1w

Vern Wright

97 Catalina 250 TR/ WK
Hull #301
Attleboro, MA

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2012 : 09:52:21

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Anybody ever sail a dhow?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Nope!

But there seems to be lots of info on the web about big dhows, medium sized dhows, small dhows, commercial dhows, racing dhows, and dhows in various Indian Ocean countries!

The little 22-foot dhows look like centerboard daysailers with spinnaker only! That big lateen sail must really make them fly!

IMHO, now is the time to line up a friend or relative with local knowledge of the Persian Gulf, the Arabic language, and the 22-foot dhow to make your trip just perfect!

Edited by - JohnP on 01/10/2012 09:56:09

dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2012 : 10:05:01

It looks as if the upper boom rotates at the top of the mast when they tack the boat.

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2012 : 11:08:07

I just realized that I have sailed a small version of a dhow. The Sunfish has a lateen sail and is similarly sailed with the use of only one sheet.

I learned to dump the wind when overpowered on a Sunfish, and it looks like that's what you would do on a dhow, also.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2012 : 13:26:49

I've sailed briefly on a dhow in Karachi Bay in Pakistan, it was a kick in the pants, but unfortunately it was just long enough to go crabbing in the bay & back.

I remember Doha as a pretty place although we never got to go ashore. We pulled in to get some work done in the yards, we'd gotten some damage going through the Suez, plus they wanted to paint the topsides.

I hope you can find someone to sail with out there, the desert winds are pretty constant so it should be a good ride.

Pictures!

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2012 : 14:27:20

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JohnP

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Interesting observations about tacking this sail. Almost looks as though you'd have to gybe in order to tack?

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 01/10/2012 : 15:16:52

Found this: [url="http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264272"]Tacking a dhow[/url]

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 01/11/2012 : 10:54:40

Here's a video of some [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcFrsHtCLZg"]dhow racing[/url]. The crew jibes the sail like a spinnaker, except that only one sheet is used, and it is passed around the stem of the boat from the starboard to port before coming about.

You will also notice the hiking board used to manage the boat's heel with crew climbing to windward when needd. There are traditional "log canoes" on the Chesapeake Bay that have multiple hiking boards, and some folks have fun racing these crazy boats every year around the Bay! It's very wet sailing!

This video shows [url="http://vimeo.com/5554744"]a big dhow jibing[/url], but it looks like they must have 2 sheets on the clew of the sail, because no one climbs out onto the bowsprit to pass the sheet around.

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 01/11/2012 : 12:03:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JohnP
 
This video shows [url="http://vimeo.com/5554744"]a big dhow jibing[/url], but it looks like they must have 2 sheets on the clew of the sail, because no one climbs out onto the bowsprit to pass the sheet around.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I'm particulalry impressed by the docking techniques.

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JohnP
Master Marine Consultant

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1520 Posts

Response Posted - 01/11/2012 : 13:30:57

I'm still searching for info on sailing a dhow!

Here is a link to a blog written by some US sailors who chartered a small dhow and went sailing with a crew of locals. They give us some nice photos and a discussion of jibing and tacking a dhow. It may be really hard to sail a dhow single-handed because of the complexity of jibing, just like handling a symmetrical spinnaker single-handed.

[url="http://svmarcy.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html"]Sailing a Madagascar dhow[/url]

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