My Jumeirah Carl de Villiers, owner of Fahrenheit Beachsports, loves his seaside ‘hood

“My days in Dubai start and end out on the water, and that’s why I really love Jumeirah – it’s literally in line with the beach! I like to get in some early morning fishing from my stand up paddleboard (01) before the day properly begins. I enjoy the solitude and the pursuit of hunting fish out on the bay. I also love the peace and quiet. Once the sun is up, I’ll take out our guests for a wakesurf session from Fahrenheit’s HQ at the Dubai Marine Beach Resort (02), or if I’m not working I’ll join a surfing session with Surf School Arabia (03). There are a few really nice spots in Jumeirah to catch a break. Dubai is one of the world’s best places to take part in the action. The watersports community (04) in the Emirates grows bigger every year. Away from the ocean, the recently developed Boxpark area has helped make this neighbourhood special – I'm a big fan of the new Roxy cinemas (05) there. They've got retro leather armchairs. Foodwise, I reckon Jumeirah has some of the most authentic and reasonably priced restaurants in all of Dubai. There are so many hidden gems. My absolute favourite place is Al Ijaza Café (06) on Beach Road. It’s awesome, cheap and authentic Middle Eastern Cuisine. You can easily spot it; it's the one with a massive line of cars outside. They also do epic fruits juice mixes (07). At sunset, I’m usually back out on the water for one last wakeboarding session. It’s great to see how happy people are once they’ve waked. I try to jam in a session myself to get the same feeling. As I always say, life is better on water.”