The man who saved my life tries for record

Apart from a minor cut on my nose, the worst injury I sustained as a result of being shipwrecked in the Atlantic in 2004 was an impressive bruise on my right arm, pummelled repeatedly by the man who had just saved my life. Peter Bray and I, along with fellow Britons Mark Stubbs and John Wills, had set out from St John's, Newfoundland, on June 30 to beat the record for rowing across the Atlantic. Alert for icebergs carried south from Greenland on the Labrador current, we endured the short seas of the Grand Banks, hitched a ride on the Gulf Stream and, in conditions that ranged from eerie dead calm to awesome brutality, set about the business of rowing two hours on, two hours off, in two-man watches, for what we hoped would be the next 45 days.

In the event, it was 39 days before an Atlantic storm snapped our 7.3-metre carbon-fibre boat clean in two. By then, we were within little more than 320km of our objective, Britain's Bishop Rock lighthouse. On course to shatter the record of 55 days, we could almost taste the fish and chips awaiting us, along with our loved ones. Failure sucks. Today, almost five years later, if the weather window opens on cue Pete will set out again from St John's, this time alone, to finish the job. He hopes to beat the record for a solo, unsupported row of 64 days.

Since 1896 there have been 42 attempts to row across the Atlantic "the hard way", from west to east; 19 have succeeded, 23 failed and five men have died trying - three of them alone, doing what Pete is now attempting. Not that he will be dwelling on such things. For a man who spent much of his army career dealing with the darker things of life, he has an extraordinary ability to look on the bright side and it is unusual to catch him without a smile on his weathered face. He is also no stranger to the perils of the Atlantic; in 2001 he became the first person to kayak across, solo and unsupported, reaching Ireland in 76 days.

On the dark, storm-thrashed night of Aug 8 2004, I was pleased to see that smile. At first, we did not believe our shore-based weatherman when he told us that an unseasonably early hurricane was heading our way. The good news was that Alex was mutating into a mere storm. The bad news was that he planned to meet up with a couple of pals - at our place. All we could do was don survival suits, stream the sea anchor - little more than a gesture in the conditions - retreat to our two twin-coffin-sized "cabins" and seal the hatches.

We had all seen the Atlantic have a bad day before, but those were tantrums compared with the apocalyptic madness now unleashed. The boat rolled, pitched and yawed, grabbing air, slamming down and submarining repeatedly. The noise was deafening, drowning out thought; the thunder of a thousand drummers pounding on the hull combined with the unearthly, subhuman screams of the wind. Something had to give and, in the dark hours before dawn, it did. With hands and feet braced against the walls of the aft cabin, above the din I heard the sound of an approaching train. Odd, I began to think, but the thought had barely formed when we were struck with the force of an explosion.

Instantly, I was under water, fighting for my life in the tangled shards and debris of the wreckage, yet gazing down and watching my efforts with a serene detachment. Blessed are the tricks the mind plays to spare us. I was close to taking that last, lung-flooding breath when, to my surprise, I surfaced. So far as I could see in the maelstrom, I was little better off. Perhaps two metres away, I spotted what was left of the boat, upside down, torn clean in half and swept by monstrous, breaking waves. Of the others, there was no sign. As I struggled to kick-start my brain, I realised that instead of rising and falling with the waves, my head was going under and staying there. Resurfacing demanded a superhuman effort. There was no way I could reach the wreckage.

Because it had been so hot in the cabin, I had undone the big zip across the chest of my survival suit and pulled the rubber neck seal over my head. Big mistake. Now the survival suit, instead of saving me, was filling with Atlantic and drowning me. That's when Pete appeared from under the boat, grinning like he was having fun. A former boat specialist and diver with the SAS, he probably was. He hauled me to the hull, buying me just enough time to reseal my suit and squeeze out the worst of the water. As the other two appeared, Pete twice dived back under, retrieving our grab-bag - with flares, GPS and satellite telephone - and life raft.

Once we were in it, our faces lit only by the flash of the strobe light on our emergency beacon, the cold of the sea reached my core and I began to shiver uncontrollably. All I wanted to do was sleep; hypothermia, I can tell you, is a fine way to go. Luckily for me, Pete and the others were not ready to share the life raft with a corpse. We spent the next few hours singing and talking rubbish, with Pete punching me every time I started to doze off. Later, as the crew of a boat sponsored by a brand of apple, we faced the final, but welcome, ignominy of being rescued by a banana boat.

As we slumped exhausted in the wardroom on board the Scandinavian Reefer, Pete began talking about "the next time" and selected a DVD for us to watch. It was the first time I had seen The Perfect Storm, but I dozed off before the ending. @Email:jgornall@thenational.ae

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

Main report

Ten years on, the UAE's stateless people reflect on how life has improved and on the challenges ahead

The specs

Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo

Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm

Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km

On sale: December

Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Specs

Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)

Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)

Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EResults%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHong%20Kong%2052-5%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESouth%20Korea%2055-5%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EMalaysia%206-70%20Hong%20Kong%3Cbr%3EUAE%2036-32%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2021%2C%207.30pm%20kick-off%3A%20UAE%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EAt%20The%20Sevens%2C%20Dubai%20(admission%20is%20free).%3Cbr%3ESaturday%3A%20Hong%20Kong%20v%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20

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Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

More on this story:

Special report: Unwed expat mothers in legal limbo hope new visa laws will help them

A mother’s plea for her children ‘illegally’ in UAE to be sent home to India

Overstay visa families told to settle cases before seeking amnesty

Company%C2%A0profile

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The story in numbers

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.

The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre

Buy farm-fresh food

The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.

In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.

In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.

In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.