Visitors flock to the Dubai Pre-Owned Boat Show held at the Dubai Creek marina. Delores Johnson / The National
Visitors flock to the Dubai Pre-Owned Boat Show held at the Dubai Creek marina. Delores Johnson / The National

Dubai boat sale boom is sign of economic recovery



DUBAI // Boat dealers felt a more positive attitude about the emirate’s economy at this weekend’s used boat show with a Dh15.5 million yacht as its biggest catch.

The three-day Dubai Pre-Owned Boat Show, held at the Dubai Creek marina, took Dh1 million in sales on its first day on Thursday.

Organisers said they were expecting to see many more visitors yesterday and today, so they were confident that over the weekend they would surpass last year’s sales of Dh15 million.

Guerman Goutorov is the owner of the show’s most expensive vessel, the 2010 Azimut, an Italian-made 25.6-metre yacht equipped with four cabins, cabin space for five crew, a Jacuzzi and fully fitted kitchen. The Canadian expat, who has been in the UAE for 30 years, said he upsized to a 32m vessel and wanted to sell the current yacht.

“We’ve had a few offers,” he said, from buyers from countries including Turkey, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Mr Goutorov, the chairman of Streit Group, manufacturers of armoured vehicles, said Dubai was an ideal place for boating fans.

“Unlike Europe, you have nine months of the year when you can use the boat, rather than three or four maximum. The weather is good and the sea conditions are always so right, except for maybe 10 days a year.”

He said the market was improving as financial stability was returning to the emirate: “There are more wealthy people coming and more trust in the country.”

Brett Noble, co-founder of dealers Bush and Noble, said: “The market has grown a lot considering where we were in 2009-2010. There’s been steady growth in the last 12 months and there are a lot of people either buying for the first time or upgrading.”

The company had seven vessels – from six metres to 32 metres – on sale at the show, which also had children’s entertainment and watersports on offer.

“There’s more confidence in the market and people are feeling more confident about where things are going,” Mr Noble said. “There’s a lot more money coming into the country from some of the region’s more troubled countries, families relocating here, and we are seeing that.”

British expatriate Joseph Grub has recently arrived in the UAE. He has three vessels in Asia but was looking for a boat that could double as a home while living in Dubai.

“I’m interested to live on a boat although I have an apartment, so I’m looking into that and the logistics of it,” he said.

Peter Joseph from Trinidad and Tobago was hoping to sell his 7.6m cuddy cabin hydrosport vessel, which is designed for overnight camping.

“I don’t have the time I used to to spend on it so it’s just sitting outside,” he said.

The boat had provided perfect entertainment for him and his children, getting the family outside rather than going to the malls, seeing films or doing expensive activities.

“Just going to the movies would cost us Dh800 while going out on the boat, we just pay Dh100 for gas. It’s just good to get the kids outside, off the iPads and out in nature. There’s a lot of sea life here so you can see turtles, dolphins. It’s nice to reconnect with nature a little bit.”

mswan@thenational.ae

Schedule:

Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)

Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)

Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four

Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 

Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)

Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)

Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 28: Final (Dubai)

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin

Teaching your child to save

Pre-school (three - five years)

You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.

Early childhood (six - eight years)

Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.

Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)

Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.

Young teens (12 - 14 years)

Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.

Teenage (15 - 18 years)

Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.

Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)

Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.

* JP Morgan Private Bank 

While you're here
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Sam Smith

Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi

When: Saturday November 24

Rating: 4/5

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

THE LOWDOWN

Romeo Akbar Walter

Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher 

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now