INDIA!! What comes in your mind when u hear it? Yes food, beauty & adventure. There is a lot to explore. On land adventure sports like cycling, rock climbing, trekking are well developed. But in the past few months it’s seen that people have started gaining interest in water sports too. There is a increase in the demand of water sport products as the number of buyers who can afford it has increased. Fiber-glass boats, scuba diving equipment, outboard engines and kayaks are flooding the Indian adventure sports market.
Yaka which is a Mumbai-based adventure sports company says it is 'working to transform access to leading brands of kayaks, kite boards and other extreme sporting equipment for a new generation of adrenaline junkies in India'. Yaka stocks the legendary Peter Lynn kites and benchmark kite boards from Underground & the world's leading kayaks from Perception and Mission which are manufactured in New Zealand. Special range of surfboards, clothing and buoyancy aids are also offered by Yaka.
Mr. Guido Bothe who is a native of Berlin & runs a company called Chinkara motors with his Indian wife Mrs. Shama Bothe. The company manufactures sport vehicles & boats. When asked about his company and the future of water sports in India this is what he had to say. ‘I've had staff with me for 10 years. We are able to manufacture products of as good a quality as abroad and we price our products from Rs.600,000 to Rs.35 million. Similar vessels made abroad cost double the amount.’
‘Much of our work goes to the minor ports coming up. Lots of people in India are also taking to water sports as a hobby. Now it is still not significant. But it will take five to 10 years for water sports to arrive in India in a big way.’
Here is what few of the firms have to offer:-
- Polycoat Electra in Ahmedabad offers outboard and diesel engines and low-cost aluminum 5 meter x 3 meter speedboats.
Ferretti Yachts offers flybridge-type fiberglass yachts with an open upper deck. Offering luxury boats, it puts on offer choice cherry heartwood, leather and wood-coating material, tilting widows and wear-proof exterior material.
- Aquasail of Mumbai produces sailing dinghies, kayaks, windsurfers, powerboats and leisure yachts & the low price tag makes it easy for everyone and anyone to own a watercraft.
- The representatives of Gulf Craft Inc. in Mumbai have been producing hand-laid fiberglass boats for 25 years.
- Other firms from Mumbai, Goa, Kerala, Chennai and elsewhere offer a range of products like rescue boats, pleasure vehicles, oil spill equipment, diving equipment, yachts, cruisers, ship-repairs, fast-attack crafts and outboard motors.
'Boating and yachting has become an industry in itself. Goa has a truly international flavour. So I thought why not organise something here,' said Mumbai-based Joseph Dias, who organised the fourth Goa International Boat Show here a week ago. Dias has been keeping up at this venture and points out that places like Miami in the US have boat shows '50 times the size of the Goa show'.
'In the next five to 10 years, we can build Goa into a hub for boat shows and the trade in India,' he said.
