Waves in Dubai?

A picture is worth 1000 words. Dubai March 07

Surfing with the Grateful Dead

Strange--is it not?--that of the myriads who

Before us passed the door of Darkness through,

Not one returns to tell us of the road

Which to discover we must travel too.

Omar Khayyam

For an avid surfer life in Dubai can be a bit frustrating. While one can surf from time to time in Dubai, the conditions are generally less than ideal. The largest swells are usually created by strong onshore winds that create messy conditions and the doldrums can take hold for quite extended periods. However, just 600km to the south the Indian Ocean serves up beautiful long rollers along the Omani coast between Salalah and Ras Al Had. Equipped with a 4x4, GPS, extra tires, and ample supplies of water and food the more adventurous make regular treks to the barren Omani coast where the line-up is always empty save for the occasional tiger shark

On the last trip in July, I intended to link up with my son and several other younger surfers who had left Dubai several days before to explore some potential new breaks. After a number of hours searching the coast I finally located their camp high on a steep point that jutted out sharply into the ocean. The long clean powerful rights were peeling down the line from the point and as I pulled up I watched a lone surfer take off on a wave and then carve his way along the coast for a good distance before peeling off the lip.

I greeted the crew - Khalid (Lebanese-Australian), Santiago (Columbian), Mubarak (German - Emirati), James (Zimbabwean) and my son Clint. They had been out in the surf all morning and were resting under a tarp they had set up. After the usual greetings I took a stroll around the camp and noticed it was located in an unusual and excessively rocky area surrounded by soft white sand for hundreds of yards and there was something strange about the rocks. They seemed to be arranged, to a certain degree, symmetrically - with the odd flat stone sticking up almost vertically every 6-8 feet. Then I realized the boys "surf camp" had been pitched smack in the middle of an old Muslim cemetery!With no village visible for miles, I pondered the origin and the age of this necropolis and wondered at the lives spent, now marked only by simple stones.

The Omani coast is treacherous. Perhaps these were the graves of some crew shipwrecked in a barren land. Or perhaps, they were simply fishermen whose village of Barasti reed huts has long been swept away by the wind and sand. The combination of death and isolation impressed me with the fleeting nature of life. As Omar said "One thing is certain and the rest is lies: The Flower that once has blown for ever dies"As Muslims believe in the literal resurrection of the dead on judgment day, cemeteries are fairly holy places and the presence of infidels amongst the dearly departed is considered a rather serious violation of religious protocol - essentially amounting to desecration. What I found most interesting was the two Muslims in the crew (Khalid & Mubarak) had not noticed they were sleeping in the middle of a graveyard. As the sun was rapidly setting the crew broke camp and moved to a respectful distance down the beach. Those souls long dead we left behind but that same evening we toasted them with wine and asked their forgiveness for our trespass.

Death Detoured

“Ah make the most of what yet we may spend,Before we too into dust descend”
Omar Khayyam

On Sunday 8 October 2006 I was surfing with my son Clint. It was the day after a strong shamal had pushed down the Gulf bringing 2m high waves to the coast of Dubai (yes! one can surf in Dubai). While the swell had fallen off a bit the wind was offshore and the waves were peaking up nicely before breaking very quickly down the line. It required a strong paddle and very quick takeoff to stay out in front of the wave. It was low tide and the waves were breaking in transition from about 4ft deep water very quickly into less than 1 ft. After a few decent rides I jumped on a very fast, steep wave. I got in one turn off the lip when the wave closed out on top of me in about 9 inches of water slamming my head hard into the sand. I heard a very distinct "crack" and immediately wondered if that was it - the end of my adventure! I jumped up quickly, held the back of my head and then realized I couldn't move my neck. A quick check of fingers and toes to find all functioning without numbness but I knew something was seriously wrong. Without moving my head I lay down flat on the board and pulled myself to shore where I sat on my board for a minute.

Once it was clear that my condition was not going to pass, I staggered up to the truck and dragged myself into the driver's seat. I blew the horn and flashed the lights until Clint, who was well outside catching some nice barrels, realized something was wrong and came running up the beach. With his help I drove to our house which is only 800m from the beach and called for an ambulance. In Dubai, the emergency response number is 999 (inverted 666!!) and is manned by Emiratis who have little skill in English. If I was not fluent in Arabic I am sure the ambulance crew would have never found me. As it was it took them more than 45 minutes to arrive and after some encouragement from me (they thought I was just fine!) off we went to the hospital. At the emergency room the Duty Doc checked me out by conducting some physical tests of muscle strength and reflexes and said it was probably only soft tissue damage but they would run a CT scan just in case. So they carted me off to radiology, scanned my skull and cervical spine and then wheeled me back to ER.

A few minutes later the Duty Doc rushes in - "Any trouble breathing?
"No".
"Do you still have feeling in all extremities?"
"Yes"...
"Well you have a fractured vertebrae in a very sensitive location whatever you do don't move your neck!
"Ok"...

Turns out to be fractured C2 (hangman's fracture). Severe fractures of this vertebrae are almost entirely fatal as they result in immediate cessation of vital functions (breathing and heartbeat). Luckily this was a "minor" fracture with very little displacement. The outcome is I spent a night in the hospital and must wear a C collar for the next 3 months. While uncomfortable and inconvenient it is a fate preferable to both of the other options which are death or having a very delicate surgery where they put a screw through the bone!