Volvo Ocean Race

The Volvo Ocean Race, a 9 month sailing race around the world, is in Abu Dhabi right now. The boats are docked on the breakwater near Marina Mall and there is a little village set up for them. I took the kids there yesterday and there were tons of activities for them to do. There was a simulator and a 3D Movie to give everyone the idea of the sailing experience.

Only one of our kids was big enough to submit to torture.

This is the boat that is currently 5th out of 6.

 In addition, they had a lot of rides for the kids including a gyroscope, hamster balls which the kids could walk on the water in, and a jumpy castle.

This is the best I could do to keep my kids from fighting.

They even had stuff like free trials of stand up paddle boards and dinghies that you could take the kids out in. Because it wasn't crowded, I was able to take out the paddle board by myself then again once each with my kids sitting on the front. 

Paddling in the Abu Dhabi bay.

The village will be open until January 14th when the race commences and heads for China. It was a lot of fun and all the activities were free. Parking was limited, but you can park at Marina Mall and just walk there pretty easily. I'd recommend getting there early because parking filled up by the time we left at 3:30. We hope to go again next weekend and highly recommend that you check it out.