5 best boat parties in Dubai
Ah, a life on the ocean waves. Or an afternoon or evening, at least. You can’t beat a good boat party. Hype speaks to five promoters all at sea in the UAE…
1. Never Get Out The Boat
Party captain: Matthew Charles
Music policy: House music in its various forms, from deep to tech and techno with some classics thrown in.
DJs involved: Sammi Adami, Jixo & Danz, Sam Farsio, Charl Chaka, Smokingroove… the list could go on and on.
The boat: It holds 150 people – we wish it was more – and has an air-conditioned chill-out area downstairs and a long barge-like top deck. Most people spend the day on the top deck dancing.
What’s the crowd like? Mainly pretty clued-up music fans. Our crowd is there for the music and to dance, there’s no posing aboard our ship.
Which celebrity would you welcome on board? Margot Robbie
Which celebrity would you tell to walk the plank? Justin Bieber
Which DJ (and their decks) would you like to be stuck on a desert island with? The Horse Meat Disco collective. The music would be as wild as it would be varied.
When does it next set sail? Still to be confirmed but coming soon.
Details: Boards from Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa, 12.30pm for 1.30pm departure, 6pm return, free entry guestlist only. Taxi: Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa. E-mail: info@wearedumm.com. Find out more on Facebook.
2. UK Flava Super Yacht Party
Party captain: Andrei Thompson
Music policy: Urban, R&B and UK Garage
DJs involved: Urban Solider and Kung Foo Panda played at the last party.
The boat: The Virgo, a 160-foot super yacht with three levels. And a Jacuzzi, of course.
What’s the crowd like? Everyone’s on board for a good time with no attitude or pretensions.
Which celebrity would you welcome on board? We’ll take anyone who wants to come – everyone is welcome!
Which celebrity would you tell to walk the plank? No one, we don’t discriminate… OK, except maybe for Justin Beiber.
Which DJ (and their decks) would you like to be stuck on a desert island with? DJ EZ, no question.
When does it next set sail? We run a boat party every six weeks, so the next one will be around the end of October.
Details: Boards from behind Dubai Marina Mall, 7.45pm for 8.45pm departure, 1am return, Dhs350. Metro: Damac Properties. Tel: (055) 7507882 or 056 6944538.
3. Rock Tha Boat
Party captains: The A-List Agency
Music policy: R&B, hip-hop, commercial tunes, club beatz, reggae and dancehall
DJs involved: DJ Choppa, DJ oSo Loso and guest DJs each month.
The boat: It’s a two-level yacht with upscale interior and the capacity to hold 150 people.
What’s the crowd like? We have a very mixed nationality on board. Our party is for everyone to come and enjoy. We want everyone to have a great time and a truly memorable experience.
Which celebrity would you welcome on board? Our special guest host on board this month is an ex-NBA superstar who played for the Sacramento Kings.
Which celebrity would you tell to walk the plank? We wouldn’t. We respect each and every guest and are thankful for each person who joins our events.
Which DJ (and their decks) would you like to be stuck on a desert island with? DJ Mustard
When does it next set sail? Friday, October 2
Details: Boards from Abu Dhabi Marina, behind Havana Café, 4pm for 5pm departure, 10pm return, Dhs350. Taxi: Abu Dhabi Marina. Tel: (052) 6802337 or (052) 4163142
4. Sunstroke
Party captain: Jack Woodcock
Music policy: A fresh mix of funk, followed by a dash of soul, added together with grooves that will literally blow your flip-flops off.
DJs involved: The Sunstroke residents, plus we’ve had David Craig, Schooly, Robert Walker, Johnny Thornhill, Benny T, Under The Moon and Cory Centric join us.
The boat: It holds 150 of the best people you will ever meet, with a canopy over the top, a big sound system and lots of boogie.
What’s the crowd like? Amazing! We have become a real family over the years. It’s guaranteed you will have 149 new friends by 8pm.
Which celebrity would you welcome on board? Everyone is equal on our boat so leave your business card at the door. There’s no VIP, no attitude, no musical snobbery, just good times.
Which celebrity would you tell to walk the plank? Local (ahem) celeb Danny Kwang.
Which DJ (and their decks) would you like to be stuck on a desert island with? Easy – Grant Nelson.
When does it next set sail? We like to keep it special, so we have them only three times a year. The next one is in November – watch this space.
Details: Boards from Dubai Marina, 3pm for 4pm departure, 8pm return, Dhs375. Metro: Damac Properties. Tel: (050) 6009928. sunstroke.ae
5. Shipwrecked
Party captains: Natalie Brogan and Michael Dunne
Music policy: House, house and only house. We’ll be going on a journey, starting with some soul/nu disco sunshine happy tunes, onto funk/soul/’90s classics, then follow with vocal funky house and classics, and end with deep/tech-house. So something for everyone.
DJs involved: Natalie Brogan, Michael Dunne and Salvatore Peppino.
The boat: It’s the Elite House Boat, a thee-level yacht. There’s an inside VIP area, the main deck has a Jacuzzi and Funktion One sound set-up, and the top deck is a chill-out area.
What’s the crowd like? We’re aiming for a 50/50 split of male and female party people.
Which celebrity would you welcome on board? Daft Punk – that would be cool.
Which celebrity would you tell to walk the plank? Paris Hilton, so she can never touch a pair of decks again.
Which DJ (and their decks) would you like to be stuck on a desert island with? Erick Morillo. He would certainly keep us entertained!
When does it next set sail? Friday, October 2
Details: Boards from behind Dubai Marina Mall, noon for 1pm departure, 5pm return, Dhs400. Metro: Damac Properties. Tel: (056) 8369305. More on Facebook.