‘World’s biggest dhow’ to set sail from Dubai

Tucked away in a boatyard in Dubai’s historical shipbuilding quarter, “Jadaf” is a record breaker in the making.

Nearly 90 meters long and 10 meters high, the wooden dhow modeled on traditional Arabian cargo ships will be the largest of its kind in history, according to the makers.

Ahmed Obaid, who heads up the team working day and night to put the finishing touches on the nautical giant, hopes it will embark on its maiden voyage in March.

For him and his brother, size matters.

“We have this dream,” he says. “We want to see our UAE traditions in the Guinness Book of Records. That’s why we are building this huge boat.”

Third-generation shipbuilder Ahmed Obaid, pictured, is building what he says will be the longest dhow in the world.

Predominantly made of wood, the 6,000 ton handcrafted structure is partly held up by metal beams, a modernization of the traditional design.

Thousands of dhows still navigate Dubai Creek and carry goods across the Gulf, although many are unable to compete with modern cargo vessels and are having to find alternative uses.

Some dhows are now being used for racing. The Al-Gaffal dhow race takes place off the coast of Dubai in May every year.

Starting at Sir Bu Nair Island near the Iranian coast, the race finishes at the Dubai International Marine Club and is held in honor of the pearl divers who depended on the boats for their trade for centuries.

Once used for fishing, the smaller wooden dhows are used as water taxis.

'World's biggest dhow' to set sail from Dubai

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World records are big in Dubai. It is the city with the most records in the Middle East, according to Guinness World Records, including the world’s tallest building, the tallest hotel, the tallest residential building, and even the longest handmade gold chain.

Once complete, Obaid’s boat will just about beat an 83.7 meter-long dhow built in Kuwait that currently holds the title.

Reviving an ancient art

Aged 47, the third-generation dhow builder hopes to breathe new life into the art of Arabian dhow making.

“Our ancestors worked at sea,” Obaid says. “They lived a hard life. They made sacrifices and put a lot of effort into this craft.”

Sunset in Dubai —

From the outside, Dubai seemed to arrive on the world stage as a fully formed global metropolis. In about five decades, what was once a sleepy outpost in the desert has risen to become one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. But to understand Dubai's accelerated growth we have to look to its past.

Dubai in the 1950s —

For centuries Dubai's economy depended on fishing and pearl diving, but it became more widely known as port from the beginning of the 20th century, when the emirate abolished custom duties on imports, opening up Dubai to merchants from the region and beyond.

Dubai, 1961 —

Indian and regional traders made it an economic and cultural crossroads. Traders and Bedouins made up the majority of its inhabitants until the 1960s.

Brick yard in Dubai, 1961 —

Small scale, traditional building techniques using local materials, such as bricks made at this yard, characterized the city before its building boom.

The Cement Wharf in Dubai, 1967 —

In 1966 the Fateh oilfield was discovered offshore from Dubai. Following the discovery, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai from 1958 to 1990, initiated large scale development programs. The Cement Wharf in Dubai, pictured above, flourished during that period because of the construction boom.

Dubai Creek, 1967 —

Dubai has a long history of sailing boats trading with Iran, Pakistan, and further afield.

Dubai in 1969 —

The new oil exports drastically expanded Dubai's economy and trade.

Dubai Creek, 1971 —

In 1971, Dubai became a founding member of the United Arab Emirates. Pictured, Dubai Creek crowded with dhows. On the right is the National Bank of Dubai.

Dubai in 1984 —

Despite the fast development taking place in Dubai, traditional ways of life continued to coexist alongside skyscrapers and cranes.

Jumeirah Emirates Twin Towers, 1999 —

The massive construction project Sheikh Rashid started in the 1960s was taken further by his son Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum throughout the 1990s and the 2000s. Among the many building projects, Jumeirah Emirates Hotel and the Emirates Office Tower were completed in 2000.

Palm Islands, 2002 —

The dredger barge pictured pumps sand onto the sea to create the Palm Islands of Dubai -- one of the city's most extravagant projects and the world's largest artificial islands, built in the noughties.

Palm Islands, 2007 —

This is a view of the Palm Islands in 2007. The islands house hotels, spas, beaches and residential buildings. In the foreground is the luxury hotel Atlantis The Palm, still under construction at this time.

Palm Islands, 2009 —

In the foreground, Atlantis The Palm, which opened in September 2008.

Tall towers along Sheikh Zayed Road, 2005 —

Throughout the 2000s and until the financial crash in 2008, Dubai's government undertook huge construction projects to cement the emirate's position as a financial, business and tourist hub.

Dubai airport extension, 2005 —

Dubai International Airport is the emirate's primary airport, but Al Maktoum International Airport was built as part of the Dubai World Central development. Around 23 miles from Dubai, once completed the airport will have capacity for more than 160 million passengers a year.

Burj Khalifa, 2005 —

An eye-catching symbol of Dubai's ambitions is the Burj Khalifa, pictured under construction in 2005.

Burj Dubai from the skies, 2009 —

By 2010, Burj Khalifa was completed. At 162 floors and a height of 828 meters, it is the tallest building on Earth.

Dubai's rapid development required the construction of a transport infrastructure to meet the needs of more than 2.5 million residents.

Dubai, 2006 —

Over 90 per cent of the emirate's residents live in the capital city and its suburban areas.

Dubai, 2007 —

Immigrants make up just under 85 per cent of Dubai's population, according to the 2015 World Migration Report. South Asians, especially Indian and Pakistanis, are the biggest immigrant groups, and often work in construction.

Dubai under fog —

The 2008 global financial crisis brought a cloud over Dubai's economy leading to massive debt. Many real estate projects struggled to find buyers, and new projects were put on hold.

Hot air balloons, 2015 —

Since then, Dubai has launched a series of cultural initiatives to boost tourism. The World Air Games in 2015 were part of a strategy to put the city on the arts and sports world map.

Burj Khalifa after completion, 2015 —

And in recent years, construction has resumed, with countless ambitious projects underway.

Dubai's evolution: From desert oasis to global metropolis

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A team of 25 have been working on the boat for two years. Aside from an electric wood cutter and a few basic tools, the magnificent vessel of around 6,000 tons is made by hand using a technique his father taught him as a boy, Obaid explains – stressing that the process is more like art than conventional construction.

“We don’t have engineers. We don’t have blueprints to work from,” he says.

Building a boat this size doesn’t come without challenges. With the traditional dhows made completely of wood, Obaid’s design includes steel frames inside the boat. It’s a modern touch that will help strengthen the giant structure, which is more than twice the size and weight of traditional models seen in Dubai Creek, which tip the scales at around 2,500 tons, Obaid says.

The giant handmade vessel will set sail in March

Historic trade routes

Once completed, Obaid’s vessel will carry goods from the UAE to the East African coast, one of many historical trade routes.

The dhows have a long history. While models may vary in shape and size today, a dhow was traditionally a wooden two-masted Arab sailing vessel used in trade across the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Made of wood, it commonly had slanting, triangular sails and a sharp upward bow at the front.

“There has always been trade and little boats crossing the Arabian Gulf going to Iran, nearby Pakistan, as they do today,” says British historian Peter Hellyer, who moved to Dubai some 40 years ago.

They even embarked on journeys further afield, he adds.

“There are records from China of Arabs from the Southern Gulf reaching all the way to Canton 2,000 years ago,” he says.

However, these days, many other the dhows are forced to make way for more modern means of transportation. Some are converted into floating restaurants, used as cruise ships for tourists or to compete in the annual Al-Gaffal dhow race.

Obaid hopes his project will help people reconnect with Dubai’s rich maritime history.

“It flows in our blood, in our veins, ” he says.