ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)

With just four days to the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix, a host of the world’s elite athletes traded their high-speed F50 catamarans for surfboards on Tuesday at Surf Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest wave pool.

Drivers Sebastien Schneiter (Switzerland), Diego Botin (Spain), and Peter Burling (New Zealand) joined crew members Tom Ramshaw and Paul Campbell James (Canada), Peter Kinney (USA), James Wierzbowski and Felix Van Den Hoevel (Germany) at the cutting-edge facility on Hudayriyat Island.

The athletes were also joined by World Test Championship winning New Zealand cricketer Trent Boult and UAE daredevil influencer Ahmed Al Shehhi, who brings a diverse background in air sports including skydiving, paragliding, and speed riding.

The morning offered the athletes a unique opportunity to experience another watersport that demands precision, balance, and split-second decision-making – skills they would do well to hone one more time before they board the catamarans in the waters off Mina Zayed on Saturday and Sunday.

“It was a lot of fun. Having this experience in the best wave pool in the world is a unique opportunity for us and it lived up to the expectations,” said defending SailGP champion Botin, who started sailing and surfing at the same time as a youngster.

“It’s quite different to the ocean. It’s really hard to read the wave because you can’t predict it – it just happens – so you really need to know the wave to surf it well, but it’s so clean and so perfect.”

While the Spaniard pointed out the differences, he also highlighted surprising similarities between the two sports.

“Well actually, the train has a foil to make the wave, so it’s the same system we use in the F50 to pop out of the water,” added Botin. “And the surfing – it’s obviously also a watersport.”