Features
DUBAI MOON HEADS TO THE CANNES SUN
We follow Nomad 75 SUV Owner, Bader Bin Mubarak, on his epic family voyage from the Dubai International Boat Show to the Cannes Yachting Festival.
Yachts
If you had just bought Dubai Moon, hull number one of the Nomad 75 SUV range at the Dubai International Boat Show, what would you do first? Head to your favourite marina and reveal your new purchase to family and friends? Maybe take an early morning breakfast in the freshly completed cockpit? Well, if you’re Bader Bin Mubarak, your priority is to grab the crew, head east of Port Rashid and set sail for the South of France.
“We had this idea to spend the summer in the Med,” said Bader, who was already the owner of a Nomad 65. “So we decided to buy a bigger boat at the boat show. Not so big, but something that was comfortable for a family, and the Nomad 75 was perfect, with four big bedrooms, lots of space – everything we needed to spend time on the water.”
The decision to buy was not a difficult one as Bader was already impressed with the 75 after a 48-hour sea trial where he joined the Gulf Craft crew as they delivered the SUV to the Kuwait Boat Show.
However, the deciding factor came much closer to home: “My sister!” exclaims Bader, “She visits the Nomad 75 on the first day of the boat show and says to me, ‘Brother please, this one! I think the 65 will be a bit tight!’ all these excuses,” jokes Bader. “I only needed someone to give me the smallest of encouragement to buy it.” And he did, the next day.
This is actually the second time that Dubai Moon has been featured in Yachts.
DUBAI TO SALALAH
Bader’s preparation for the trip was basically a quick “yalla!” before setting the autopilot. Not the most comprehensive groundwork for a huge trip, but Bader is a skilled captain in his own right, having grown up in a shipbuilding family. In fact, his old Nomad 65 was the first yacht that his family actually hadn’t built themselves.
With her crew of four taking shifts, Dubai Moon joined the marine traffic in the Straight of Hormuz, feeling very small amongst the massive crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and containers ships.
Once past the tankers, the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean kept the crew alert with 30-knot-plus headwinds and two metre high seas. However, the SUV’s semi displacement hull took the rough conditions in its stride, providing a comfortable ride for those on board as they headed to Salalah and the Nomad’s first fuel stop. In four days, the 75 had only used 55% of its total fuel capacity.
“They brought us a tanker, which needed a special permit. The tankers were a minimum of 10,00 gallons. We didn’t want 10,000 gallons!”
SALALAH, JEDDAH, CYPRUS
Starting the second leg from Salalah, the Nomad took seven days at an average cruising speed of around 10 knots to complete the journey of 1400 Nautical miles.
It was a relatively uneventful leg, however, the trip was about to encounter its first obstacle, in Saudi. “We spent five days in Jeddah,” said Bader. “We just wanted fuel – there was no fuel station, so they brought us a tanker, which needed a special permit. The tankers were a minimum of 10,00 gallons. We didn’t want 10,000 gallons!” Eventually, after a fair bit of paperwork, Dubai Moon left Jeddah and headed for another potential paperwork nightmare at Suez.
The expected inconvenience never materialised though, as the pilot came on board and that was it, no problems at all and the 75-foot Nomad joined Dilbar, Savanah, Titiana and Rocket for the next journey, which was to come to a halt 30 miles north of Port Sayed.
“The engines automatically shut down,” commented Bader. “The liquid in the separator was a very bad colour – we’d been supplied with dirty diesel in Jeddah.” Anyone who’s ever had a good look around a Nomad will know that they’re designed to be straightforward to maintain, so the crew transferred the bad diesel to the spare tanks, filtered the clean diesel, cleaned the filters and continued to Cyprus, where they arrived next morning.
THE MEDITERRANEAN
Dubai Moon was met by Gulf Graft technicians in Cyprus, where they gave the Nomad a check-up before the crew headed west along the Turkish coast.
Bader’s Mediterranean goal was complete and with the adventures of the Red Sea a distant memory, the family joined the SUV and began to enjoy summer on board.
With no real schedule to stick to, Bader anchored at bays in Turkey, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. The Nomad’s final Mediterranean adventure ends at the Cannes Yachting Festival, where she will take her place on the Gulf Craft stand.
“Next time we will take extra fuel tanks. That way we don’t have to stop and take on dirty diesel!”
COMING HOME
From the day he was born Bader was surrounded by boats and the family spent every Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the water. It comes as no surprise to find that Bader (important meetings aside) will be personally bringing Dubai Moon back to the UAE after Cannes. “Next time we will take a couple of extra fuel tanks,” comments Bader. “That way we don’t have to stop and take on dirty diesel!”
The trip took 18 days instead of the 15 predicted, but with the lack of a Red Sea pit stop and the knowledge learned, the return journey should take 14 days maximum. Let the next Dubai Moon adventure commence!
