Boys learn finer skills of sailing
‘Mastering the ropes important in traditional dhow’
Trainees are taught rowing with the newly-tied pedals
KUWAIT CITY, July 12: Day two of training at the Kuwait Sea Sports Club began with lots of excitement Tuesday as the trainees arrived to the Pearl Diving Training centre in their Lungis.
The training for Al Ghous Festival 2016 on Tuesday dealt the finer skills of sailing, when captains took their charges through the tasks of plaiting ropes and tying knots to upend masts and hoist sails. Trainees were taken on speed boat to board one of the dhows where they learnt the art of roping and tying the pedals and mast.
Heritage Supervisor, Hamed Al-Sayyar said that on Saturday the dhows will be taken into the sea and washed. “That will give the boys a first-hand feel of the boats.”
The day began as usual with physical exercises. After the jog, the boys did stretches and tummy crunches, topping it off with a swim. Two days into the training and the boys have started getting into the groove of the program.
The swim as usual was followed by shower and breakfast. The regimens were acquiring a quotidian banality, and the boys went through them like they were enacting a part of a wellrehearsed play. The initial diffidence and fumbling were almost gone with everyone beginning to master his part well.
Breakfast was finished with relish. It is the only time the air lightens a bit, and there is a stir of banter and laughter. The breakfast is made up mainly of tea, qubus and cream served on large platters with 4 to 5 trainees sitting around a platter on the floor to enjoy themselves.
Progress
The captains left the boys alone to have their fun, while they charted out the plans for the day. They do not follow a pre-planned schedule, and take it ahead on a day-to-day basis based on the progress of the boys and their grasping abilities.
Heritage Committee official Capt Jawad Al-Qallaf, a former navy captain who is in charge of swimming and everything related to the sea, said mastering the ropes is important because in a traditional dhow, sails decide everything. “The way to control the sail is by using the ropes”. Capt Al-Qallaf retired from the navy in 2003 after a 30-year-service.
While, the captains were making
Captain Al-Qallaf
the preparations for the classes, the boys helped in carrying the tools to the hall. The props used were ropes and nets.
Guests coming to the Sea Club were drawn to these queer activities going on at the club.
The sailors were also taught to wear the Indian Lungi, a piece of cloth used as covering from waist downwards. This attracted curious looks from guests as well.
The trainees sat in groups and learnt the art of joining the two ends of a rope to which wooden pulleys would then be attached. The boys cut out ropes to about a meter in length, and undid the plaits from either end, which were then interwoven to form a strong loop. Before interweaving, the loose ends of the undone plaits were tied up with strings to prevent them from coming unstuck into finer fibers.
Tuesday also saw a special session by a veteran captain, who took the boys through the cultural aspects of pearl diving. He gave a rundown of the history of pearl diving and how it informed the sea traditions of Kuwait.
Songs
In the coming days, the boys will also be tutored in the sea songs and percussion instruments by seafaring music grandmaster Samir Al-Sayyar. The songs in those days were an endemic part of the sea life, because it took away the stress and pains of faring the sea. The prospect of learning songs and dance excited the boys.
This was the main lesson for the day. Boys took turns to try their hand at these skills. In a few days time, the boys would have to take out these skills on a real boat, when tall masts would have to be erected and sails unfurled on them.
After the special session, the boys watched the rope demonstrations by the captains keenly. The captains made the task look very easy which the boys found otherwise while trying to imitate them.
To pull the ropes to their maximum tension calls for a lot of physical strength. And young boys struggled straining their bodies as muscles rippled out and veins throbbed.
One captain explained that it would be even more difficult on the real Dhow because there you would have strong winds against which you would be hoisting the sail. “Powerful winds are difficult to control.” And the challenge is in harnessing them to your advantage.
Another day ended, and the young sailors were a little more molded for a sea life. The journey is nearing with every passing day when the boys would sail into the legends of the past, and into the enchanting secrets of the world.