How AMAALA Yacht Club is shaping Saudi Arabia’s yachting ambitions
Written by Enrico Chhibber
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a leading yachting destination in the Red Sea and wider Gulf region. For any destination to succeed in this space, infrastructure is key. This means not only providing berthing capacity but also creating vibrant waterfronts and services that attract owners, captains and guests alike. Within this strategy, Amaala has emerged as one of the Kingdom’s most ambitious projects.
Located on the northwestern coast of the Red Sea, just 200 nautical miles south of the Suez Canal and around 700 kilometres north of Jeddah, is Amaala, which is being developed as a year-round luxury destination by Red Sea Global. At its centre is Triple Bay, a flagship resort district that integrates wellness, sport and lifestyle. Its Marina Village will feature 116 berths for yachts up to 120-metres with eight metres of depth, along with full-service support. Entry clearance facilities are planned, and light servicing will be available on site.
At the heart of the Marina Village is the AMAALA Yacht Club (AYC), designed by HKS, and is intended as more than a place to berth. It is positioned as a focal point for the region’s yachting culture and an emerging global hub for sailing, combining a sailing academy, international regattas and landmark events such as The Ocean Race Grand Finale in 2027.Guiding the next phase of the AMAALA Yacht Club is General Manager Adrian Peet, who took up the role in March 2025. With experience in shaping Saudi Arabia’s yachting landscape, he is focused on establishing it as a community hub with sailing at its core and a programme designed to attract both local enthusiasts as well as the international yachting scene.
Photo: Courtesy of Amaala Yacht Club
Building a sailing culture
“We are a yacht club, and a yacht club is traditionally centred on the sport of sailing, and our vision is to establish AMAALA Yacht Club as the definitive yachting destination along the Red Sea. We feel that we need to be an authentic venue, and our conditions here are absolutely perfect for sailing,” explains Adrian Peet. With steady north-northwest winds of 15 to 20 knots, sea temperatures averaging 27 degrees celcius, and more than ten months of ideal yachting weather each year, the Red Sea provides an almost year-round environment for the sport.
Peet believes this natural advantage allows AMAALA Yacht Club to develop sailing at every level, from recreational activity to professional competition. Central to this is the creation of an academy designed to develop the next generation of sailors and establish a lasting culture around the sport.
While Peet acknowledges that sailing in Saudi Arabia is still in its infancy, he sees this as an opportunity rather than a limitation. “The whole ecosystem needs to be built, whether it is motor yachts or sailing yachts,” he explains. “Through the academy and the sports side, we very much want to develop local talent so that we have representation in the future, whether it is world championships, the Olympics, whatever it is. Growing that grassroots level that represents us as a club, and hopefully the country as well.”
For Peet, the academy is as much about community as it is about competition, with the ambition of creating a culture that brings together everyone who shares a love for the ocean. Inspiration, he believes, is just as important as instruction: “A generation of sailors need something to aspire to as well,” he notes. “We can say to them, ‘all right, come and sit in a small dinghy,’ but where does that get me? By stimulating both the sailing and the motor yacht industry, we also give them something to aspire to. It is two sides of the same coin.”
That sense of aspiration is reinforced by the club’s events strategy. “We have the final leg of The Ocean Race with us in 2027,” Peet explains. “That will kick off our sailing and regatta programme, which we hope will become an annual event.” He adds that the calendar will feature a mix of offshore races, in port races and classic regattas, designed to give people a reason to visit Amaala at set times of the year and to grow into a full winter programme.
The appeal of Saudi Arabia as a yachting destination
“I think it is not really a case of what other destinations do not have. It is about being part of the natural migration and what we have when you are moving,” highlights Peet. “The spirit of adventure is one thing. You are one of the first to experience something.” According to him, this sense of discovery is central to what sets the Red Sea apart. While the opposite coast has seen more traffic, Saudi Arabia’s side remains largely untouched, offering pristine shorelines, exceptional diving and areas of natural beauty that are still rarely visited. Combined with a temperate climate that provides ten to eleven months of warm weather and inviting seas, the region is well positioned to attract yachts seeking new itineraries.
Beyond its coastline, Peet highlights the wider destination of Amaala itself. “As a destination we offer different types of experience,” he says. Alongside the yacht club, visitors will find Corallium, a marine life institute with a strong scientific focus, as well as opportunities for golf, desert sports and diving. The resort portfolio adds another layer, from wellness clinics to luxury hotels designed as places to rest and rejuvenate. “It is not just hotels, it is also places where you can really go to unwind,” Peet notes, emphasising the blend of lifestyle, science and leisure that he sees as unique to Amaala.
The road ahead
“I would like us to be the destination for an extended period of time. Everybody knows that in June, July and August you are in the Mediterranean, and in February and March you are in the Caribbean. For me, Amaala is a yachting destination in November and December,” outlines Peet. He adds that, within three or four years, he hopes to be at the Monaco Yacht Show and hear people say: ‘Where are you going next? I’m going to Amaala, it’s the place to be for yachting and sailing this time of year.
Peet’s vision extends beyond positioning. Building on collaborations such as The Ocean Race, and focusing on the environmental side of yachting, he wants Amaala to contribute to research on water quality, marine life and coral health through the introduction of marine monitoring units in the region. “It needs to be both a destination to enjoy and a place where we add value on the marine side of things,” he adds.
The development of the AMAALA Yacht Club is unfolding in stages, with the first phase scheduled to open in December 2025 and further facilities to follow in 2026 and 2027. By the time The Ocean Race Grand Finale arrives in mid-2027, Peet expects the club to be fully operational and established as a focal point for the Red Sea’s yachting culture.
The Gulf Superyacht Summit 2025As the Middle East’s maritime sector continues to flourish, the Gulf Superyacht Summit will return in December to the region. The seventh edition of the two-day conference will take place on 4 and 5 December 2025 in Abu Dhabi and promises to draw on the experiences of the previous summits.
The Gulf Superyacht Summit seeks to inform, assist and advise yachting clients and related interested parties, with the goal to develop the Gulf as a superyacht winter destination.
Early bird tickets are available here
Published At:
Oct 10, 2025
Credits:
Superyacht Times
