Water World

It rained last Saturday night and Sunday. When I went to work, the emergencies were extensive as this amount of rain doesn't fall at once in this part of the world and the city simply cannot drain fast enough. Leaks on roofs that prohibited air conditioning from running, etc. All the maintenance guys were soaked because they don't own raincoats or umbrellas.

This was also the weekend of my first sailing lesson. It hasn't rained in the 14 weeks I've been here and just in time for my first sailing lesson, the heavens open. We had the lesson anyway and had to successfully exit a forced capsize in order to proceed to lesson # 2. The sailing academy is on a quiet stretch of beach where the jet skis don't really hang out. After 16 hours of instruction, one can move onto private lessons and then take the racing instruction. This is the 3rd city where I live by the water - it's high time to learn these essentials!

I was invited on an 80 foot dhow the day after the sailing lesson. A dhow is a handmade wooden boat with design origins dating back centuries. Modern dhows are equipped with a single engine that makes getting in/out of the marina easy but once out, the sail is raised. The particular pleasure of this invitation was that an Omani crew would work the dhow and they play a bagpipe, drums, and finger cymbals, and sing while they work.




This is a typical dhow against the 21st century skyline.


























Nothing but joy on that vessel.