Dhow sailboat race -- watching the boats sail

In my previous post, I showed preparations for a dhow sailboat race on the Corniche.

I had not expected to be able to watch the preparations for sailing. I had kind of expected to get there and see a sailboat race right away. It was a fun treat to watch how they get the boats ready.

The boats are pulled to the starting "line" of the race by the small power boats. They take 1 to 3 at a time.  Here are three boats; the one in the middle (facing toward the left and the shore) is actually being pulled by another power boat. It looks like a tangled mess here, and even as I watched I was in awe that there never was a tangle of rope lines.

Here they are being pulled out:

And the race begins. The wind was not strong, but enough to fill the sails. I think it's quite a beautiful sight. Most sailboats are; these have loads of character.

And some live action:

Again, in this area of the Breakwater, the wind is mellow. Once they go further past, they pick up the wind that comes in from the Gulf, where the wind isn't blocked by the Breakwater and by the little peninsula that Heritage Village sits upon.