Guy’s chatter
In may this year, six amigos decided to take in the surf on Masirah Island, Oman; to see for ourselves the beautiful and peaceful waters with fantastic winds we had been hearing so much about.
Joe, Neil, Nick and I set off from Dubai. Martin and Sami were setting off from Muscat as the arrangement was to meet up together at the Masirah Island ferry crossing in Oman.
The beginning
Joe, Neil and I started our journey from Dubai at 10 p.m. with the GPS co-ordinates logged in for Masirah. After an hour and a half driving we all had a brew and stretch of the legs at the Al Ain border control, this was the first stop on the journey.
The Border control officer then noticed that Neil’s passport looked damaged; this resulted in a waste of two hours as they debated on the acceptability of the passport and was then the end of the road for Neil. We all felt sorry for him, but I felt sorrier for his girlfriend who had accidentally put the passport through the wash which resulted in the damage.
The long way down
After the passport control, we had been driving for another couple of hours when we realised we were driving North to Muscat instead of South to Nizwa. We soon found out that Nick had put the highway route instead of the quickest route into the GPS.
Once we had corrected the GPS we then took turns in driving through the night. By first light, which was about 5 a.m., we had finally reached Muscat, bearing in mind we should not have been heading to Muscat in the first place.
After reaching Muscat we turned right at the roundabout clock tower which we knew previously from Martin, (which was where we should have been). At last, we were on the right track. Pushing on, we made good time and finally stopped in the small town of Nizwa. The town was very friendly and we were able to obtain refreshments and much needed fuel after our detour. We were then prepared and happy to complete the final 160km drive to the ferry crossing. A few hours later, we arrived at the ferry crossing and finally met up with Martin and Sami.
The ferry cost was 10 Omani Rials (OMR) per car, which is about 95 AED. At first sight, the ferry looked as though it had been in WWII but the little engine was fully capable of the one-and-a-half hour journey across the Indian Ocean.
Masirah Island
It was 12:30 midday on the second day when we had landed at last on the island. We now had to go and collect ice for the cooler boxes from the fish factory, but as we approached the place, we all noticed a 9 ft leopard shark being taken inside. At this point, we all stopped and looked at each other with fear in our eyes as it suddenly dawned on us that this shark had just been caught from the waters we were about to Kiteurf on. The fishermen had obviously seen our fear and reassured us that the shark had been caught out in the depths of the ocean.
Hotel
The hotel we chose was very basic and clean, with the staff very friendly and welcoming. We only wanted somewhere to put our heads at night and the hotel was just what we needed, especially for 10 OMR and 10 minutes from the ferry.
With the hotel sorted, we all piled back into the cars. 45 minutes later after a drive down a barren hilly road with a few shackled camels, we found the kite beach we had been so looking forward to seeing. For the kite beach, we were so glad that we had 4×4’s as these are a must for this leg of the journey.
Kitesurfing – on the water at last!!
Joe began to pump up the 13.5-metre RRD Obsession, Nick on the 14-metre Naish Park and I was on the 14 metre Naish Bolt whilst Martin and Sami set to on the 14 metre North Vegas. The wind speed was between 15 to18 knots which is a clean wind for the more confident kitesurfer, and unfortunately not found as often in Dubai as I would like. It only took three hours of kiting for us all to be shattered and hungry, so off we went to clean up and find somewhere to eat.
We found a local restaurant which offered Turkish cuisine so we ate and chatted for a few hours before calling it a night.
On the second day, we spent hours on the water enjoying the constant winds and clear waters and by the third day, the wind speed has increased to 20+ knots.
Everyone was in good spirits and after a full morning of tricks, broken kite lines, lost sun glasses and few upset tummies, it was time to leave Masirah, but not for too long, I hope.
Published in July 2012
