DUBAI // It may not have been a very sunny afternoon yesterday in Dubai, but Ray Davies did not seem to mind.
The Kiwi has proven his worth over the past four days at the Sea Dubai RC44s Gold Cup, guiding the Dutch yacht No Way Back to what was considered an unlikely overall triumph in six-event international series.
The No Way Back crew arrived in the UAE trailing Team Aqua and Team Artemis after the total points from five previous regattas had totted up and sensed that overall honours were beyond them in a highly competitive class featuring identical boats.
But a combination of their own brilliant sailing and the failure of Aqua and Artemis to perform to their potential opened the door for them to capitalise.
"We're all ecstatic about this," said Davies, a former member of the Team New Zealand America's Cup team who began to get a sniff of the main award on Saturday when he and his colleagues swept to an emphatic victory in the DHL long-distance race, which carried a high premium of points.
"It's been a great week for us. We knew we had to have a solid regatta to stand any chance and rely on a bit of help from elsewhere.
"Fortunately some of the other teams had a bad match racing regatta which got us right back in the hunt and once we were in the running we took our opportunity superbly.
"We came here as underdogs so there was no pressure on us, unlike the situation facing the crews who were ahead of us. There was a really awesome atmosphere on the boat. Everything came together for us over the last couple of days."
The spirit in the No Way Back camp was typified in the penultimate race of the programme when they were penalised for an illegal tacking manoeuvre at the first mark which relegated them to last position.
"The boys were not fazed by that setback and just got straight back to the jobs they were doing," said Davies.
"Their attitude was tremendous and we somehow managed to make up a great deal of ground to finish fifth which was brilliant for team spirit."
The writing was on the wall for Aqua after the match racing series which got under way a day late because of an absence of wind on Wednesday.
The UAE team, owned by Canadian businessman Chris Bake, finished last of the 10 boats in that curtailed programme with Artemis finishing second bottom.
Aqua had chances to win several of the 10 fleet races but could not accept any of them. With chief rivals Artemis managing only one win out of 10, both boats were vulnerable to Davies's expertise on the high seas. And the joyful Kiwi certainly made them pay.
The uncharacteristically poor showing of the Aqua team in home waters led to them falling from first to fourth in the overall rankings.
Sweden's Artemis, owned by Torbjorn Torqvist and skippered by New Zealand's Dean Barker, held on to second place with the Slovenian entry Ceeref profiting from their match racing triumph here to claim third overall in the annual standings.
Sea Dubai, the second of the UAE entries, finished ninth out of the 11 teams who have taken part at the six different venues in 2009.
Their team, led by Emirati Yousef Latej, were helped by two victories on home waters in the fleet series, the last of them fittingly rounding off the annual programme.
@Email:wjohnson@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 366Nm
Price: Dh200,000
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Vikram%20Vedha
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
