The Englishman Ian Walker again will be skipper of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s boat, Azzam. He is writing a monthly message for The National leading up to the race.
Over the past 10 days we have had the first of our planned maintenance breaks for our yacht Azzam. We have now sailed 7,000 miles so it is time for Azzam to take a well-deserved rest.
A 65-foot carbon fibre ocean going race yacht like Azzam needs a lot of looking after, particularly if you intend to push them hard in tough weather conditions without any failures.
These maintenance periods are crucial for catching up on planned jobs and regular routine maintenance. Every boat has a job list and it is the job of our shore manager, Guy Barron, to log all the sailors’ job requests and dovetail these with all the routine maintenance work that has to be carried out.
Guy is a veteran of the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup and has project managed several new race yacht builds. He has forgotten more about race yachts than most people will ever know and I trust his judgment on all things technical.
These maintenance slots are when he can really get his teeth into things without the pressure of the sailors wanting to take Azzam sailing every day. Guy has a six-man team working full-time for him, including a boatbuilder, a rigger, a sailmaker and an engineer.
Sailors get very precious about their boats and none more so than us with Azzam. She is more than just a Volvo 65 to us, as she carries the hopes and expectations of our team, our supporters and a whole nation – and she is also our home for most of the next year.
We will be relying on her to keep us safe in some of the wildest, most remote oceans so we need to make sure she is maintained to perfection and every shore team member fully understands that the quality of their work and the minutest attention to detail could make the difference between winning and losing – that is how crucial these guys are.
During this maintenance slot we have replaced all the standing rigging, serviced the mast, the winches, the critical water maker, the engine and all the deck gear. The underwater paint has been touched up and some allowable modifications made inside Azzam.
All of the sails have been serviced by our sailmaker, prior to two long transatlantic trips – to Rhode Island and back this June and early July. We will be there in time for Independence Day.
Everyone on the team knows that any gear failure at this stage could badly derail our final race preparations. That is why everything on Azzam has been checked and checked again and every piece of work has been fully documented for future reference.
Our goal, come race time, is that the crews never have to slow down because of a breakage or issue with the boat. Even throttling back for 30 minutes to make a repair could make the difference between winning and losing a race leg. Remember that in the last race we won the 11-day seventh leg from Miami to Lisbon by a mere four minutes.
As well as maintaining Azzam, another big task for the shore team is preparing for the race. We need to have two identical shore bases ready to go so that they can be shipped from one stopover to the next.
We have to have two of everything as the fleet is too fast to just ship our equipment from one stopover to the next. Instead, the shore bases leapfrog each other to get there ahead of the yachts. This means we need two sail lofts plus materials, four workshop containers, two support motor boats, two sets of spares, two full sets of tools, and so on.
When so much was being done by the shore crew I felt guilty taking a few days off, but soon it will be the sailors turn to put in the hours and it will be the shore team that take a well-deserved rest.
After an excellent few days in Abu Dhabi, where I found time for a quick sail with some media on home waters thanks to the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club, and caught up on the exciting plans for the Christmas and New Year festivities at the Abu Dhabi stopover, I was also able to spend some time at home in England with my wife and two daughters.
I have just said my goodbyes and am now on my way back to Portugal to rejoin the team.
We have the two transatlantic crossings ahead of us and then we will be in the UK for Cowes Week and the Round Britain and Ireland Race in August. It is never easy saying goodbye to my girls but it was particularly hard this time as I will be missing my eldest daughter Zoe’s birthday – again.
Next year her birthday will be four days after the end of the race and I have promised her faithfully that I will be home. It is going to be a very busy year.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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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
More on Quran memorisation:
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
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BRIEF SCORES
England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)
Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1
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'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
