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2018 January February 2018

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The magazine for the marina industry

Dubai International Boat

Dubai International Boat Show 27 Feb - 3 Mar 2018 Dubai Canal, Jumeirah 5 DAYS OF SMOOTH SELLING Anchor your business in the region’s bn industry boating industry. As home to more than 60% of GCC’s total maritime industry, make sure that you’re a part of the most comprehensive marine equipment exhibition in the MENA region. Join us: For exhibiting & sponsorship opportunities call us on +971 4 308 6620 /6204 or email dubai.boatshow@dwtc.com boatshowdubai.com ORGANISED BY OFFICIAL MAGAZINE PARTNER OFFICIAL AIRLINE PARTNER OFFICIAL COURIER HANDLER OFFICIAL PUBLISHER

MARINA PLANNING & DESIGN CGI of Marasi Bay at night highlights the range of berth sizes and public spaces. Marasi Business Bay: from mirage to reality Building one of the most innovative marina designs in a hot desert climate and working with a multitude of different cultures, materials and time-scales is proving challenging but rewarding. Oscar Siches gives an update on Dubai’s ambitious Marasi project, set to complete in 2023. While the marina and nautical industries have grown in parallel, development and innovation in marinas has always trailed behind yacht design as the industry is conservative and reluctant to implement change. For example, marinas only began offering electricity in the 1970s, when yachts fitted fridges and air conditioning. They offered Wi-Fi in the early 2000s when laptops became ubiquitous. Marina designers and operators tend to drag on proven facts and only improve when clients make a specific request. They do not, in general, innovate. But the Marasi project in Dubai is breaking with that safe but negative tendency. The project began in 2015 when Dubai Properties, the state land development company in Dubai, approached Homeport FZA, a European marina design and management company established in the Emirates, to create the design concept for the Marasi project. As the project engineering firm, Homeport engaged International Waterfront Consultants (IWC), which has good experience in the region. When complete, Marasi Bay will have a group of four marinas within the Dubai Canal, a 7.4km (4.6mi) artificial waterway dug from the tip of Dubai Creek back to the Persian Gulf, 4m (13ft) deep at low tide and with an average width of 120m (394ft). The canal runs through the highly-developed Business Bay and downtown Dubai areas, among towers of unusual design, four hotels and under six bridges (three for vehicles, three for pedestrians), providing an 8.5m (27ft) air draft for vessels to sail through at high tide. The Marasi promenade features 450 restaurants, seating areas, cafés and parking. With completion expected in 2023, Dubai looks set to achieve another architectural and engineering feat. Dubai Properties had three firm principles for the design: it must not be standard, it must not be boring, and it must be sustainable. All four marinas were to be designed in a canal section of 2.8km (1.7mi). Homeport was chosen to design and manage the project because of its experience and involvement in Anchor Marina at Palm Jumeirah and Festival Marina. As concept designer, I was quick to recognise the similarity between the canal section and parts of the Intercoastal Waterway in Florida, US. In the South Florida section, it becomes a lively waterway full of marinas, condominiums, restaurants, boatyards and bars. It is possible to set a few days’ sailing programme without having to sail to the open sea. The Dubai Canal may become a smaller version, but with plentiful traffic proving an attraction for passers-by. Ferry stops are being added and new ferry schedules drawn up, for fast and slow vessels. The four marinas are grouped around a 60m (197ft) wide channel that runs through the centre. Four distinct marinas The marinas have been designed for all types of visitor, with consideration of the potential use of nearby upland. The first, called Park 3, was ready in December 2017 at the Business Bay circle. With 176 berths from 8 to 35m (26 to 115ft) and located 700m (765yd) away from the Burj Khalifa building and near Dubai Mall, this marina will feature two floating restaurants. Nine floating houses are located nearby, connected by gangways to a 250m (820ft) long, 5m (16ft) wide pontoon. Another, almost Stainless steel pedestals, custom-made by Plus Marine, and Septech floating pontoons were installed within a tricky timeframe. www.marinaworld.com - January/February 2018 25

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