A senior sailing instructor and his wife have been rescued by fishermen off the Yemen coast as they attempted to sail from East Africa to the UAE.
Dacey Calisura and her husband Jethro Friggens were sailing their 12-metre Catalina vessel built in 1995, named Freya, from Kenya to Dubai, where the couple both live.
They were hoping to sail the 2,900 nautical miles, the equivalent of 5,370km, in around 25 days, traversing the Indian Ocean and along the Somali Coast, before a brief stop in Socotra, an island off the coast of Yemen.
We thought there would be a problem with pirates but it turned out the problem was the weather
Dacey Calisura,
rescued sailor
The couple were sailing with two other friends, Euan Jarvis, a former chief dinghy instructor and Caroline Kneitz, who also sails at a club in Dubai.
The stretch of water from where the boat was rescued is one of the world’s piracy hotspots, with scores of incidents reported in recent years in the Gulf of Aden, the Guardafui Channel and Somali Seain waters.
After sailing through 12 days of rough weather that included 30-knot wind speeds and five-mete-high waves, the boat got into difficulty when it lost steerage.
When the ship's autopilot failed, it became adrift in rough seas.
“We were sailing from Kenya to Dubai and we knew the weather was going to be rough, but nothing we couldn’t handle,” said Ms Calisura, who was undertaking her first open sea voyage, in an interview with Dubai Eye.
“The first 10 days were great, and we managed to hand steer the boat without autopilot despite the weather and rough seas.
“As soon as we saw Socotra we started to have issues with steering so we were open to the elements.
“We were stranded and at the mercy of currents taking us away from land and drifted for a day without knowing what to do.”
Mayday signal
The crew kept in touch with the UK coastguard via a satellite phone after issuing a mayday signal.
With only large shipping tankers and navy patrol vessels in the area, there were few opportunities for rescue.
The UK coastguard sent a signal to a shipping tanker nearby to head in their direction to protect them from the giant waves that risked capsizing their boat.
Thanks to their planning, daily updates sent to friends in Dubai made them aware the boat was in difficulty, who then notified contacts in Socotra who launched a rescue led by fishermen.
A wooden dhow searched the area for 9 hours before spotting the stricken vessel and attaching tow ropes.
The rescue operation took around 22 hours as the vessel was towed around 92km, making it safely into land on July 28.
The crew are now making boat repairs and hope to sail the boat back to the UAE, via Salalah in Oman, before the end of the year.
They will fly back to the UAE on Sunday to resume their day jobs.
“We couldn’t believe a fishing dhow was out so far,” said Ms Calisura.
“The fisherman were amazing, and determined to find us. They came on-board and attached towing lines to pull us to shore.
“We were thrown like a toy on the sea, it was incredibly rough. Until we had our feet on land, we didn’t know if we would be OK.
“The whole time we were praying. We thought there would be a problem with pirates but it turned out the problem was the weather.
“It was a unique experience to be rescued by civilians.
“It will be sad to leave the boat behind but we have to get on with our lives.
“Without the fishermen, we don’t know what would have happened.”
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
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Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
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Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
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Bumps on the head: 2
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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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
Dubai World Cup Carnival card:
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9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
