Dubai Yacht Charter
Dubai luxury yacht charters, and indeed yachting in general, is developing very quickly in this part of the Persian Gulf, along with many other industries. In Middle Eastern terms, Dubai is already a major luxury yacht center with facilities to welcome or supply luxury charter yachts from motor megayachts and sailing super yachts. Enjoying so much Gulf coast, boating is central to most of Dubai’s extensive development program. New luxury yacht harbours and marinas are springing to meet the increasing demand for yachting. If you are going to be holidaying or doing business in the area, what better way to unwind than to charter a luxury yacht and experience some unique and interesting waterways?
The International Dubai Boat Show, which is moving from strength to strength, is indicative of the successful yachting developement in the Middle East region. The Dubai Boat Show showcases new luxury yachts for sale and for charter in the Gulf region. The Dubai Boat Show (DIBS) is already looking to be bigger than the previous shows. Superyacht builders and designers are lining up to bring their luxury yachts for display to some of the world’s most notable yacht enthusiasts.
Dubai is the southernmost city above the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Its is a tax-free hub that is fast becoming a modern-day Hong Kong as mixed with Las Vegas and Palm Beach. Dubai has a bustling commercial harbour, a modern high-rise skyline, and an economy that is the envy of the world. Ruled by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai is the fastest-growing Emirate in the region. There is much luxury yacht development but there are also many established events in Dubai with the $4 million Dubai Horse Racing Classic now dominating the international calendar – along with many other interesting events such as Dubai’s offshore power boat racing.
It was Sheikh Maktoum’s father who led his Bedouin tribe out of a nomadic desert existence into the commercial ways of the West. He had the foresight to lay the foundations for this remarkable tax-free economy. Now his son is carrying on the plan, whose 525-foot ‘Platinum’ is one of the world’s largest private mega yachts.
Five-star hotels and epic shopping sprees aren’t the only reason to visit Dubai. There are also some fantastic luxury yacht charter areas. The water has always been fundamental to the peoples of this area. Fishing, pearling and general trading have long been the principal occupations in the Gulf States.
There is an abundance of traditional wooden dhows and other quant trader vessels. While the pearling trade has all but ceased, the fast vessels that were developed to bring the jewels back to market are now built for racing.
Dubai has 49 miles of natural coastline but the development of three large offshore island groups has extended this beach frontage to 930 miles. Add to this 50 miles of canal frontage carved into the desert to provide an attractive backdrop for inland waterway developments. If you’re into boats and yachting, then Dubai’s made for you. It has been dredged and bulldozed and landscaped into islands sculpted in familiar forms.
Three island chains are being constructed out in the shallow waters of the Gulf which, when viewed from outer space, resemble the fronds of a palm tree and a miniature view of the world. These are ‘The World’, “Jebel Ali Palm,” bigger than Manhattan, and the smaller “Palm Jumeirah”.
There is also an equally ambitious canal system being cut deep into the desert that will rival Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway Neighbors Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are also going to build residential islands off their coasts, in the shapes, respectively, of a pearl, a crescent, and a wave. What more interesting place to charter a luxury yacht? It is a type of marina biosphere, a watery, gated community/aquatic theme park as big as a small country—that is a small country—populated by celebrities and multimillionaires and those who serve them.
Persian Gulf States are shaping up to be the next big destination for high rollers. For the past decade, the oil-rich states of Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Oman have been pouring their oil billions into trade and tourism. Some think of Dubai as the new South of France.