Yachts and Romance: Love and the Deep Blue Sea !

Did you know that love was born in the deep blue sea? Yup! The mythologies of the WORLD confirm it. From Venus to Laxmi! The goddesses of love, beauty, wealth and prosperity all sprung from the depths of the ocean. Hence the phrase 'how deep is your love' means much more than just mush!


This Valentines Day make sure you pay a tribute to these goddesses so that they may shower their blessings on you. With just a week left, we find out the best way to celebrate this day.

Guess what.. a Yacht party tops the list!

Enjoy a romantic cruise on the bay aboard a Yacht. Treat your sweetheart to a gourmet dinner and lose yourselves in the romantic atmosphere of the clear blue sky and the deep blue sea. Far away from the madding crowd make sure to hop on to a love boat and sail away with your honey.

Water sport activities make fantastic Valentine's Day gifts for guys who love getting out and about on the high seas. He could enjoy white water rafting, zapcat racing, yacht sailing, wake boarding, motor powerboating and more.
So you see why this celebration option tops the list? Its got the thrills and the frills ;). Wish you Happy Sailing and a Very Happy Valentine's day!

.

India's Beautiful Sailing / Water Sports Destinations : Part II - Lakshadweep Islands

Part II of our posts on India's very own sunbathed yachting destinations tells us about none other than our favorite - Lakshadweep Islands.


Formerly known as the Laccadives, the Lakshadweep Islands- `Million islands’- may be somewhat inaccurately named, but are undeniably beautiful. In fact, the Lakshadweep islands, which lie in the Arabian Sea, are actually only 36 in number- a series of atolls and open reefs of which only 10 are inhabited.


In the Lakshadweep Islands among the most popular sites for water sports are Bangaram which is the only island accessible to foreigners and Kadmat. Both have extensive facilities for snorkeling, deep sea fishing, scuba diving, swimming, windsurfing and parasailing. Bangaram, especially, has a wonderful coral reef, with an abundance of marine life- everything from angelfish, clown fish, stingrays, hawkbill turtles and green turtles to sturgeons. Minicoy, the southernmost isle of the Lakshadweep group has a large lagoon which is good for swimming. Further north at Kalpeni Island has sea suitable for kayaking, sailing and swimming.


In Kadmat training courses in snorkelling and scuba diving are conducted by the deep-sea diving institute.Tinakara, Valiyakara, Cheriyam and Suheli are few of the other sites which are being developed as tourist centres and consequently are also acquiring the necessary infrastructure for sea sports.


TOURISM

Seeing the beauty and the potential of Lakshadweep as a tourist hot-spot, the Government of India has started promoting Lakshadweep at a rampant pace. As part of that, they have set up a webpage on Lakshadweep and its offerings.

At the same time, Superstar cruises has it on their map for their various offerings.

SEE YOU WHEN YOU GET THERE...

Agatti Aerodrome on Agatti Island is currently the only airport in Lakshadweep. Indian Airlines, the state owned carrier, serves Agatti and flies to Kochi on the mainland. Also, from April 2007, a private carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, has commenced flights to and from Agatti. Kingfisher connects Kochi and Bangalore to Agatti. The other islands are linked by a helicopter or boat service.

Do let us know when to tie our backpacks and see you there...

Water Sports making a big Splash in India !

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.