With more boat options to use, new associations opening in the region, and increasing number of people on-the-waters either in our Boating Force or chartering yachts…the pleasure in boating in India has come about and is here to stay.
Lately, charter enquiries have changed from the usual ‘go to Mandwa and come back’ to ‘spend some time with my family’ or ‘enjoy the sunset’ or ‘feel the breeze in my hair’…charterers have opened their eyes to the possibility of having fun and unwinding on-the-waters.
The dampening effect of 26/11 and the recession has been superceded by the spirit of the people to get out on-the-waters, and with new boat and yacht charter options that do not pinch the pocket compared to earlier offerings.
Yacht charters, in essence, have always been precursory to an increase in buyers of new boats.
However, we (the Indian yachting industry players) have yet to try our best to make sure that pleasure-boats have their own regulation and not succumb to the current incorrect practice of being regulated on the lines of commercial merchant vessels. Parallel-y the correct awareness of pleasure-boating needs to be created now; taking advantage of the interest generated by people at large.
The current time limit of being out on-the-waters is 9pm which proves to be quite a dampener for people who want to live aboard their yachts or enjoy a moonlit cruise.
The yachting industry has the capability of generating a lot of employment owing to the fact that it is a multi-faceted domain – pleasure, food and beverage, adventure, travel, recreation can never come in a more exciting package than of being out on-the-waters.
Without expecting much, it would be safe to say that more people are aiming to be out on-the-waters…which is heartening to see for us companies in the pleasure-boating space here in India.
It’s after all a thought that manifests into action, and people are now ‘thinking boating’…
