Those suffering from sea sickness need hurl no more. Blokarting has beached itself firmly onto an empty, windswept carpark near you. Invented 10 years ago by a Kiwi father and son, the sport has become a global phenomenon with over 10,000 of the contraptions littering vast open spaces worldwide.
Although still in its infancy in the UAE, this safe and easy-to-master craze has stirred up enough interest locally to warrant the formation leagues and regular races, all organised through blokartme.com. At just Dh11,000 apiece for a basic blokart (Dh15,000 if you choose to pimp your ride) the sport is far from prohibitive, and with each blokart able to pack down into a 30kg holdall, two of which would fill out the average trunk, it's as portable as it is easy to operate. Bike handle bars and a rope is as hard as it gets. So, no mooring, drenchings, compass reading, sowesters or sea shanties, but all other downsides of sailing such as lack of wind and rope burn still translate themselves into this onshore equivalent.
Indeed without the whirl of crosswind you're left with a rather expensive and eccentric-looking wheelchair, but as soon as the wind whips up there's no greater buzz than getting your blokart up on two wheels and tackling the elements head on. The thrill of feeling the momentum build as the sail fills and wheels start to turn is what makes the sport so addictive, but the annoying thing is seeing a kid thunder past you at 100kph (yes they can reach those speeds) while your still dabbing a wet finger to the wind.
- It's Father's Day on June 20th. So consider honouring the ‘old man' with a one-hour blokart experience via www.dreamdays.ae, email info@dreamdays.ae, or call 800-2080 toll free
Dh550, two blokarts, four people, one hour
