Winter winds raise waves and the spirits of surfers

Eugene Harnan

• Last Updated: January 04. 2009 9:30AM UAE / January 4. 2009 5:30AM GMT

DUBAI // The shamal wind yesterday blew in a perfect start to the winter surfing season, with surfers rushing to replace sunbathers on the public beach next to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

“It’s pumping out there,” said Joel Fitzgerald, a former professional surfer from Sydney, Australia, whose father Terry was the 1975 Australian surfing champion.

“The beach is nice and it’s perfect for tourists to come to Dubai to surf or learn how to surf. The best beaches for surfing are all owned by the hotels. They should open them up to surfers too, because it could bring in an extra 20 per cent revenue for them.”

Kim Bowra, who has been surfing for more than 15 years, said the waves were shaping up well. “It’s windy and when the wind is up, the surf is up,” Mr Bowra said.

Scott Chambers, of Surf Dubai, said: “It’s the first proper swell of the season and it looks like it is going to be a good winter for surfing.”

The waves are expected to last until the middle of this week, with Wednesday bringing the best conditions.

“We get the swells from the north-west and it will be an onshore wind blowing in for the next four days straight,” Mr Chambers said. “On the last day the winds will drop and there should be perfect waves for surfing.”

Arnaud Rueff, from France, said: “I’ve been out an hour and a half and the waves are really strong, with a lot of effort to get out past the breaks. They are coming in sets of four but the waves are a bit messy today.”

Further down Jumeirah Beach, kite surfers were taking advantage of the shamal wind that was gradually picking up. It was the first day in nearly two years that David Nolan from Dublin, who picked up kite surfing in Ecuador, had made it into the water.

“I’m waiting for somebody to talk me through it again because if it goes wrong out there, it can go exceptionally wrong,” Mr Nolan said. “Normally the wind on this beach is inconsistent but today it’s brilliant.”

Cedric Le Rast, from France, was one of the first kite surfers in Dubai when he began seven years ago.

“The wind is still not really there, but it will pick up more in the afternoon and we should get some good air,” Mr Le Rast said.

Andy Van den Brokeke, from the UK, was taking a rest from his earlier session and was waiting for the wind to pick up even more.

“It’s the first windy day for a long time and usually early to mid February it’s better. But it is good to see the waves back,” Mr Van den Brokeke said.

Out at sea, waves reached almost seven metres, according the Dubai Meteorological Office, leading the coastguard to issue a ban on sailing.

Onshore winds are expected to reach up to 80 knots in the next few days.

“The UAE is sitting on the border of gale-force winds, with the Northern Emirates recording lesser winds,” a spokesman for the meteorological office said.

The shamal, a north-westerly wind that blows over Iraq and down towards the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, hit Dubai yesterday and was expected to last until Tuesday, but it did not bring its usual sandstorms.

“The shamal didn’t pick up any dust because of rain that fell two weeks ago in Iraq,” the spokesman said. “Visibility is good but the main concern is for the marine forecast.”

eharnan@thenational.ae