Tag: Rolls Royce

21st edition of Dubai International Boat Show makes a splash

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dibs MMG Group Shereen

Its time for the region’s number one marine leisure exhibition – The Dubai Boat shoe that every year brings stunning superyacht displays, live entertainment and exciting prize giveaways. As always, almost all the members of the Millionaire Group are associated with the show in one way or another and this year, we have also added our quarterly magazine to the show to show our support and to ensure that DIBS helps put Dubai’s marine industry on the world map. Afterall, we are the hottest contenders for the World Expo 2020 J

The Dubai International Boat Show’s 21st edition is at the Dubai International Marine Club – Mina Seyahi. I was with our dear friend Saeed Hareb – the father of Dubai’s marine industry and he was gushing about how the show intends to make a splash with more than 430 boats on display, including an impressive 30 premiers with 11 global launches and 19 regional launches…I also keep hearing the awesome figures on the radio everyday which surely makes us proud to be part of Dubai and supporting the show.

The packed DIBS programme of leisure marine activities at the Dubai International Boat Show gets under way at 3pm until 9.30pm and features luxurious superyachts, live entertainment, prize giveaways, water sports and more.  With over 750 companies and brands from 49 countries selecting the Dubai International Boat Show as the platform to showcase their boats and marine industry products and services, this year’s event further demonstrates the importance of Dubai as a global platform to reach both regional and international buyers.

One of my favourite girls in town, the ever glamorous Trixie Loh, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre (organiser of the event) always has something exciting up her sleeve for every boat show. This year she says visitors can look forward to live entertainment, prize giveaways, luxury car displays, demonstrations and much more, on top of the many other industry related talks, displays and events.

Gulf Craft, who remain my favourite people to meet are there in full force…who can resist the charm and knowledge of Mohammed Al Shaali and the energy and hands on dynamism of Erwin Bamps? Every year, they do something special which is amazing and makes people feel at ease at a show. I also hope to see Sultan Al Shaali…another young Emirati who is full of surprises and is another friendly face we all love.

Visitors to this year’s show will be able to engage with members of the ‘Superyacht Experience’ from the elite Superyacht Builders Association, and  also view over 19 of the world’s luxurious superyachts being showcased at this year’s Dubai International Boat Show.

The popular Retail Village and Heritage Village return this year with spectacular live entertainment to be enjoyed throughout the show. Other exciting highlights include visitor prize draws with the chance to win amazing prizes throughout the show, including a Yamaha WaveRunner, opening passes and accommodation to the Cannes Film Festival, Champions League passes, a Yas Marina F1 race package and much more.

Little diva, Natasha and I naturally will veer towards the exciting Supercar Promenade which returns to the show for the third year and brings with it a range of limited edition models and the finest examples of engineering prowess available on four wheels. Bentley, Brabus, McLaren and Rolls Royce are some of the luxury motoring brands that will showcase their latest models.

With even easier access to this year’s Dubai International Boat Show, free Water Taxis are provided by the RTA from Skydive Dubai and Dubai Marina Mall and shuttle buses will provide transportation from Gateway Towers at the entrance of Palm Jumeirah.  With these services, visitors can spend ample time enjoying the vast selection of yachts, boats, and the full range of marine equipment available at show.

The Dubai International Boat Show is open to trade visitors and the general public from 3pm to 9:30pm daily from tomorrow and runs from 5 – 9 March, 2013. General admission is AED60 per person for all attendees, while children under 12 will be admitted free of charge (they must be accompanied by an adult at all times). Access to the Marina Display Area may be restricted at certain times.

 

Diva hangs out with the Dubai International Boat Show team at DIMC

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With His Highness SHeikh Marwan on board his yacht in Um Al Quwain during a Millionaire Group soiree

It is one of Dubai’s busiest weeks. All my friends are super busy….earlier today I caught up with an excited Barbara who is from the main organising team of the Dubai International Boat Show. We became friends early last year while I was shopping with NJD for a yachting weekend with friends and we clicked right away. She is awesome and we had a ball at the Motorshow together. The boat show publicity is done by Wallis Marketing (Mike Wallis and I go back years when we first went to Sharm al Sheikh together with a group for diving and dining – he of course played golf as well but I’ve never delved into this one sport – shame). Mike has an awesome team and together with them and Barbara’s dynamic team at DWTC, I reckon the public is in for a cool show this year.

Few of the cars I have driven already will also be on show :). Naturally my friends from Rolls Royce, Bentley and Mercedes Benz will be there in full force. The Supercar Promenade will show the finest models on four wheels with world class marques that will align perfectly with the prestige of the high-end boating brands.  Visitors will be able to get behind the wheel of some of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars – among them Bentley Continental Series 51, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, and Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé :). My daughter had an awesome time at last years show playing on the yachts and she showed her VIP tag to anyone who sat up and noticed. Little diva is having a fabulous time skiing in Switzerland and I have not had a single phone call :(.

This year’s 20th edition of the Dubai International Boat Show will celebrate the rich history and incredible growth of the regional maritime industry, bringing together the ‘who’s who’ in the vast sector from across five continents. In addition to an impressive number of global and regional firsts, the world’s leading marine leisure industry players will unveil their launches to tens of thousands of boating enthusiasts, confirming the event’s growing international reach and continued ability to attract top quality buyers in record numbers two decades after its inaugural staging. Members of our Millionaire Group are waiting in anticipation and keep asking me about what’s in store.

I remember hanging out 8 years ago with the Victory team at DMC when the show still revolved a lot around sports and I was doing profile stories on the main players for our Group. I’m glad they are still members of our group and still as dynamic as ever. Before that, 20 years ago, the Dubai International Boat Show was originally launched as the ‘Watersports & Powerboat Show’ as a fully indoor event held at the Dubai World Trade Centre.  Its current home at the Dubai International Marine Club, Mina Seyahi has accelerated its transformation into one of the most influential brands in the world and witnesses incredible growth of 43 times in size and 14 times the number of exhibiting companies since its inception.

Boat Show - image courtesy DIBS

According to a story Mike’s team sent our Millionaire Group today, with an astounding 33 premiers, including world and regional launches, and 750 companies plus 430 boats on display, the strength of this year’s 20th anniversary event programming clearly reaffirms its position as one of the top five international boat shows and the Middle East’s number one destination for leisure marine trade.  46 countries including Austria, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Hongkong, Madagascar, Poland, Philippines, Seychelles and Tunisia will be there.

The show will feature 186 new exhibitors and some of the world’s most renowned brands this year, including Abeking & Rasmussen, Al Futtaim Marine, Blohm + Voss Shipyards GmbH, Bombardier Business Aircraft, CSO Yachts, Dutch Thruster Group, Fehrmann Metallverarbeitung GmbH, Fraser Yachts, Green Marine, Kaiserwerft GmbH, Koot Yachts, Limassol Marina, Mave, Milano Teleport S.p.A., Oldenburger Yacht Interior GmbH & Co., Otto Pienning GmbH, RE-Boat Srl, Sunreef Yachts, Yamal Boats and many more. Plus 11 members of the world’s most prestigious super yachts builders association (SYBAss), to include Abeking & Rasmussen, AMELS, Benetti, CRN, Feadship, Fincantieri, Heesen Yachts, Lurssen, Oceanco, San Lorenzo, and Trinity Yachts, will show their latest yacht models and designs in a dedicated SYBAss Pavillion.

Several of the Dubai International Boat Show stalwarts including leading shipyard Westport have increased their space while North Africa’s latest shipyard, Koot yachts, are among the many first time exhibitors alongside Al Rubban, AM Shipyard and Dutch Thruster Group, who also make their debut appearance. Key exhibitors including Al Shaali, ART Marine, Aquaspeed, Azimut, Cummins, Emirates Boats, Gulf Craft (my favourite), Heinen & Hopman, Princess Yachts and Sunseeker will be very popular I’m sure.

Enjoy the show….Island girl is back on the clear blue waters of the Arabian Sea…even if it is on a yacht in April with my pals in Umm Al Quwain – its too cold for me still to jump into the sea so my after work swimming sessions are on hold. Next up is my take on the soiree with the 100 Top Arab Women’s networking at Emirates Towers plus the Emirates Festival of Literature – it sure is a busy March!

Spirit of Ecstasy

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My friends in Dubai know Rolls Royce is one of my favourite brands not only because I love the car but also because the people behind it are so amazing, awesome and a delight to be with. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of being a VIP guest of Rolls Royce CEO, Torsten Muller in Abu Dhabi with the Who’s Who of the UAE. It was naturally an incredible experience catching up with various members of the Millionaire Group who I don’t fraternise with enough due to my personal and professional commitments. Although Rolls Royce is not a brand people will normally associate me with as a petrol head chick who hangs out with cars you normally find on the race tracks, recently though I’ve become fond of their cars because the people who work at Rolls Royce or AGMC have become my extended family and are always there to cheer me up with their smiling friendly faces whenever I pop into their showroom or events.

Everyone who has met Torsten will tell you how amazing he is as a person and as a leader and you get inspired by his passion for the Rolls Royce brand. He explained in detail the story behind the Spirit of Ecstasy, the enigmatic symbol of Rolls-Royce when I first met him and I thought about this mysterious woman many times since, often drawing comparisons or being intrigued about her every time I sat in a Rolls Royce since.

Catching up with Torsten briefly again this week reminded me that perhaps I should write something about Spirit of Ecstasy especially as this year she celebrates her centenary. To commemorate the occasion, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars had commissioned world-renowned British photographer Rankin to create a series of one hundred contemporary images, each one inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy. The pieces were wonderful and I still have pictures of this amongst my favourite photographs so far this year. This week though, also in celebration of the centenary of the Spirit of Ecstasy, the distinctive hood ornament adorning all Rolls-Royce models, a diamond-enrobed commemorative model valued at $250,000 has been created by Mouawad Jewellers. Its stunning to say the least – I put a picture of this online but my BB camera didn’t do any justice to it.

Both Mouawad guys and the gorgeous Alaa of Rolls Royce later sent me their cool versions of the pictures and yes….it looks awesome. My laughing partner who always seems to bring the cheeky side of me to the forefront, Margaret is behind the publicity of Mouawad and she also talked about the Mouawad Centennial version of the Rolls Royce Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. The low down on the jewelled ‘Flying Lady’ is that apparently three of Mouawad’s master craftsmen spent 350 hours meticulously arranging and placing 2,300 brilliant cut diamonds onto the symbol (value – a whopping US$250,000/-).

Originally called the “Spirit of Speed”, the “Spirit of Ecstasy” first appeared on the top of a Rolls-Royce in 1911. The inspiration for the Spirit of Ecstasy was commissioned by the 2nd Baron John Scott Montagu of Beaulieu. He asked his friend Charles Sykes to design the mascot, which is thought to be modelled on Eleanor Velasco Thornton who was the secretary and lover of the Baron Montagu. Eleanor had bewitching beauty, intellect and spirit but didn’t have the social status to marry the man with whom she had fallen in love. (sniff). The small statue Sykes created depicted a young woman in fluttering robes with one forefinger placed on her lips.

Eleanor’s relationship with John remained a secret for ages, mainly because both lovers acted with utmost discretion. John was a pioneer of the automobile in England. From 1902 he was editor of the “The Car” and Eleanor was his secretary. Friends of the pair knew of their close relationship but they chose to overlook it. I remember being so sad to find out that Eleanor was not able to enjoy the success of the ‘Spirit of Ecstasy as she lost her life while accompanying Lord Montagu to India. He survived but grieved losing the love of his life. It is such a romantic but sad story…..every time I see the symbol, I feel the strength of the love of this couple and visualise Eleanor as an iconic beauty, with power, grace, mystique and intrigue.

I am sure that while Rolls Royce cars are uber cool, the story of the Spirit of Ecstasy is equally fascinating, mysterious and heart warming.