Celtic Longboats invade Dubai's Creek

A popular Celtic tradition has found its way to Dubai with rowers in Longboats becoming a regular sight among the dhows and abras on the Creek. John Rees, a sports teacher for 25 years, has brought the boats to Dubai in a bid to introduce modern rowing to the wide array of sports on offer in the UAE.

The boats are crewed by four oarsmen and a cox and already schools and other rowing enthusiasts are taking up the sport.

"Traditional rowing has always been a strong part of the heritage of the UAE but I wanted to introduce modern rowing as well," Rees said. "The Longboat is a good introduction to that, and is just a step away from sculling.

"It takes time to teach someone how to sail or canoe, but you need much less time to learn to row. You just need a lot of fitness and coaching to get the teamwork together."

The Celtic Longboat has its origins in Wales and Ireland, but has been developed into a modern craft. Traditionally they were made of tarred-skin and wood, but nowadays are made of fibreglass with carbon fibre oars.

Rees, a former Welsh schoolboy sailing champion and Gulf rugby referee, said the concept has already caught on fast and he hopes the activity will now spread to other parts of the country.

"We already have 80 people taking part and we have only being going six weeks," he said. "We also have some schools which have introduced it as an extracurricular activity for their pupils on Thursday mornings.

"A committee has been formed to set up a rowing club and once that happens it is hoped other clubs will be set up which can compete against each other."

Among the schools which have formed teams are Jumeirah College, English College, Dubai College, American School of Dubai and Rashid School for Boys. Rees, who is being supported by the UAE Marine Sports Federation, has brought four of the Longboats to Dubai but is looking to add more next year as the sport develops.