Jumeirah Regatta is now firmly established as one of the highlights of the national sailing calendar and an event with growing international appeal.

Sponsored by the Jumeirah Group, the Dubai based luxury hotel management company, the regatta brings together much of the top young sailing talent from across the Emirates as well as many of the UAE’s most experienced fleet racing competitors.

For the first time the regatta will feature a category for foiling moths, and with entries already arriving from Abu Dhabi as well as Dubai, the overall line-up of cruisers, dinghies and catamarans could pass 100 for the first time. Jumeirah Regatta will be split between the Jumeirah Beach Hotel,whose north beach will host the dinghies, Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, which will launch the cruisers, and Mina Seyahi Watersports Club, the event base for the Catamarans. Separate courses will be set for each of the three divisions, and competition will be as keen as ever as three generations of competitors share the stage for what has become one of the most popular events in UAE sailing. The growth of the Jumeirah Regatta into a major fixture with all-round significance is highlighted by the fact that, for the first time since it was launched in 1991, the event is likely to feature more cruiser and catamaran sailors than juniors over its two race courses.

Jumeirah is a coastal residential area in Dubai, United Arab Emirates mainly comprising low rise private dwellings.

It has both expensive and large detached properties as well as more modest town houses built in a variety of architectural styles. The area is popular with Western expatriates working in the emirate and is familiar to many tourists visiting Dubai.

While the fleet of cruisers and catamarans compete outside the UAE Championships, the Jumeirah Regatta title has become a prestigious prize in its own right, and at the same time the event is a perfect warm-up for the Maktoum Sailing Trophy in February. It is the region’s most experienced fleet-racing specialists as well as many of the UAE’s brightest young sailing talents. While the cruisers and catamarans battled for honours, most of the UAE’s most talented young sailors fought out the third of five rounds in this year’s UAE National Sailing Championships in seven dinghy classes. All winners were awarded with the Jumeirah designed crystal trophy made by Precise. The 2008 Jumeirah Regatta was run over two courses, one being set off Dubai Offshore Sailing Club for the cruisers and dinghies and the other off Mina Seyahi Sailing Club for the catamarans. Toby O'Connell completed a successful title defence in the Jumeirah Regatta to extend an impressive winning sequence in his 50-foot yacht Yo!. Victory for Yo! was no surprise. Sailing is one of the most popular Water Sports in Duba and UAE.

The conditions are almost perfect with minimum water currents in the Gulf. The winds are usually calm but at times strong enough to challenge even the experienced sailors. Fixed keel, dinghy and board are available for sailing.

Water Sports in Dubai has become a major tourist attraction to travel to the city. The same waters that once attracted the pearl divers of the past to look for the pearls now draw crowds in large numbers for various water sports like swimming, sailing and scuba diving. Both the residents and the tourists love to indulge in Water Sports in Dubai. The cool and placid waters of the Arabian Sea are right for Water Sports in Dubai. Very high temperatures all the year round and naturally clear water makes Water Sports in Dubai very inviting and tempting. With facilities for water sports par excellence, any body is game for the Water Sports in Dubai. Many hotels located on the Jumeirah coastline offers private beaches and various facilities for Water Sports in Dubai.