A guest blog by The National's Roland Hughes, who has just returned from a tour of the jaw-dropping Yas Marina. Will there be room for your yacht on race day? Read on:
So the Yas Marina Circuit finally has its marina. While the track itself is being finished, and tarmac is being laid, for a long time it straddled only a gaping hole in the earth where the superest of the superyachts will eventually sit.
Over the last month, water has been pumped into the marina from the Gulf at a rate of 20 to 30 centimetres a day. And today, the job was finished. Some final touches have to be added, such as electricity and water posts for each yacht, but this is the first significant step in the completion of the circuit. There will be 143 yachts on the water for race day, hosting around 5,000 people. I think it is safe to say a famous name or two might be among them.
And it is impressive. You can't help but gawp at the hotel straddling
the side of the marina and while much of the glass net covering it
remains to be added, it is shaping up to be one of the most distinctive
buildings in the capital. Crane Country even got driven slowly around a
section of the track today, including one part that passes through the
hotel. It was still sand, and very bumpy, so you can only hope that is
remedied before Jenson Button, Felipe Massa et al make their way to Abu
Dhabi for Nov 1. As for the grandstands themselves, they are shaping up
nicely - Arabic tent coverings are over most of the stands while,
externally at least, the work appears to be nearing completion. The
42,000 workers on Yas Island have been busy.
So what are the odds of you being able to take along your yacht for a
prime view of the race? Minimal, sadly, even if you own a yacht, which
we can presume you don't. Most berths are already full for the race
week, and what Aldar called a "very careful" selection process for the
remaining places is now under way. Better luck next year?
See also:
