Now that the weather has finally dropped below melting point in Dubai, winter brings it with a smorgasbord of winter-friendly activities to add to your Must Try list. Claiming ‘beach season’ well and truly open again, there are few better places to spend the day than at sea making the most of our Arabian Gulf-fringed megalopolis.
To help you capitalise on your surrounds and find the outdoor sport to suit you, leading watersports centre SeaYou is a one-stop-shop of kayaking, stand-up paddle boards (SUP), windsurfing, sailboats and loads more.
The company was first launched in 2011, by a French couple who started renting out kayaks and SUPs from public beaches in Dubai, before partnering, in 2013, with Sofitel Dubai The Palm hotel where SeaYou has been located ever since.
Skip forward to now, and SeaYou has found new owners and earned itself a name as the leading non-motorised watersports company in Dubai, with a whole roster of unique experiences on the menu, from kayaking and paddle boarding tours around Palm Jumeirah, as well as sailing and windsurfing lessons, wind foiling, and team building activities, such as dragon boat racing.
In terms of kit, SeaYou carries some of the latest and best equipment in the market, thanks to having the exclusive dealership rights for some of the biggest brands in watersports. How does this translate? Well, SeaYou’s SUP fleet is big enough to accommodate 130 people on the water at once - making it perfect for group bookings, birthdays or team bonding - and its fleet of sailboats has recreational boats, as well as racing boats (high performance), and a catamaran, great for a family of four. SeaYou’s French-made single-touring, double and triple-seated kayaks can accommodate groups of up to 30, as well. They also have four Dragonboats, equating to 64 people on the water at once, if a race is on the cards, and when it comes to ability, you can choose boards and sails of all sizes, for all levels, so everyone can join in.
Whether you’re young or old, fit or in the throes of getting fitter, SeaYou’s team of instructors will ensure you’re all in incredibly safe hands whatever activity you choose. Hailing from pretty epic backgrounds, all with a deep passion for watersports, the team includes a professional coach from France and two former Olympians from the Philippines and Sri Lanka. And with safety top priority, all the instructors are fully certified with life-guarding qualifications and they have a ‘no life-jacket, no go’ policy.
Now, the location is also something to shout about… Its prime spot at Sofitel Dubai The Palm affords SeaYou customers some of the best views of the city. Just imagine paddling around the Palm on a guided kayak tour or joining SeaYou’s new night-time SUP session all set to a backdrop of Dubai Marina, Burj Al Arab, Atlantis Dubai and the soon-to-be-launched The Palm Fountain. As the only company authorised to paddle out after dusk, you know you’ll be experiencing Dubai from a completely unique vantage point.
Something else we love about SeaYou is its commitment to the environment. As a business that treats the ocean as its playground, the team feels it’s important to take care of it, so the company commits to donating Dhs5 from every booking to a local marine conservation group whose aim is to fight plastic and keep it out of our oceans, educate people on the importance of recycling, encourage responsible fishing, and plant mangrove trees, which are very important to our surrounding environment.
So, if you’re on the hunt for something to do this winter and have a passion for watersports or just want to dive straight in and try something new, then check out SeaYou for something filled with action, adventure and one-of-a-kind memories.
