Cab drivers and jet skiers play spoilsport at Ras Al Akhdar

Swimmers at Abu Dhabi's open beaches are finding it hard to enjoy a cool summer splash.

Reason: reckless jet skis that whirr by too close and taxi drivers who apparently take time off their duty to ogle women bathers.

Slackening police patrols seem to have encouraged such people - and the problem is getting worse by the day as some jet-ski riders get too close for comfort and plough their way through a sea of crowded swimmers, splashing water on all and sundry, scaring kids out of their wits and even threatening the lives of those trying to escape the sizzling summer heat.

Scared by such mundane but monstrous machines (or may be machinations), some swimmers rush out of the water to seek haven on the sand, only to bump into men staring at women in swimsuits trying to enjoying the sunshine.

Most of these idle-gazers are taxi drivers who take their friends - and time out from their daily grind - for what to them is an innocuous gazing spell at the open beach in Ras Al Akhdar.

"They don't harass us but their eyes do," says a woman, lying on the sand with her two kids. "They just come and sit here and never take their eyes off us."

Scores of these men are seen everyday sitting on the sand staring at women or wandering on the beach. But they never go swimming. Sometimes they are told off by the women or their companions. They listen and walk away quietly - not away from the beach but to gaze at others who might be less aggressive and put up with their probing eyes.

Police say they cannot stop those men from entering the beach and would only intervene when they harass someone or make obscene gestures.

"The problem is these people are not bad, but they are not aware that what they are doing is rude," says another woman. "It is just that they think they have the right to stare. It is very embarrassing and makes me feel uncomfortable. But what can I do, there are so many of them?"

When asked what he was doing walking on the stretch of sand next to the walled ladies beach with his clothes on, Amjad Khan looked amused - he was taking a break from his work and enjoying some fresh air but was not interested in swimming. He likes to walk near the water, look at the azure sea and enjoy the cool breeze.

Taxi driver Kashkar Khan said he goes to the beach for a walk, a spell of tranquillity. "I try to escape the city's hustle and bustle by coming here. Is there any law against this?" he asks, sitting close to a family of bathers.

Calm and serene Ras Al Akhdar, stretching westward from the corniche, is an extension of the ladies beach. But the peace is often shattered by the roar of jetskis, with the riders vying with each other to demonstrate their prowess at the sport.

They jump, cut across and splash water on each other in a frightening show that takes nearby swimmers off guard. "There should be continuous police patrols here. They cannot allow them to keep doing this, disturbing people and endangering lives," said an irate bather.

"I was swimming with my wife and children last week when one of the jet skis nearly ran in on us. When I shouted at the rider, he got angry and began whizzing past us, splashing water on my family. I was furious but helpless. I simply pulled my family out of the water and trotted back."