Boats - Alibaug

The Winds They Are A-changin’

The rich, not necessarily the famous are making a beeline for boats. And it is not just about making a statement. It is the best way to get to one´s holiday home in Alibaug after all. And if you can afford it, why not have the pleasure, comfort and convenience of zipping across the water in 20 minutes flat!
ADITI MITTAL talks to Sujay Chohan who sells these dream boats

The wind blows through his hair as he gazes at the expanse of stillness over his aviators. He has left behind the sights, sounds and smells of land, his Blackberry has lost coverage. He doesn’t care, because right now, he is the master of this patch of blue, he owns the sea and the boat that traverses it. That’s what life is about.

Sujay Chohan wants you to know that, that man is you and that life, yours.

He wants to remind you that you don’t live to earn, but that you earn so you can live. And trust us, the ad man-cum-IT guy and now founder and director of Ocean Blue, India’s first turnkey boating company, is a man whose advice you should heed. After selling his ad firm just before the massive churn out in the advertising industry, he founded a BPO, becoming an authority on outsourcing. One of the frequent stops on his speaking itinerary was New Zealand. “There were boats on the harbour as far as the eye could see. I wondered why we had nothing like it in Mumbai.” A meeting with Malav Shroff, one of India’s leading Olympian yachtsmen led to India’s first ever Boat Show in Feb 2007 and the birth of a company, Ocean Blue that has redefined the concept of lifestyle and is changing the geography for a nation.

As far back as the Rig Veda, Pali and Sanskrit texts paint an interesting picture of a maritime India. Excavations in the Indus river valley have uncovered fascinating evidence of traffic on the waterways in pre-historic India. Until recently, however boating was a hobby nurtured by members of exclusive clubs over glasses of rare single malts, but the winds seem to be changing in the last three years.

It ties in intricately with the economic and mental state of the nation, paradigms that have experienced a marked change in the past decade. Because of global exposure, a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) explosion and a generation that does not have the post-independence hang-ups about leading a carefree lifestyle, India has become one of the largest latent markets for the boating industry. International brands, from Seadoo to Azimut are all vying for the India’s boating rupee. Coupled with geographical factors such as a virgin coastline of 7,600 km and weather conducive to sailing for 2/3rd of the year, the man with the sea-wind blowing through his hair has stepped out of magazines and into real life. We have gone from voyeurs, to living the lifestyle that embodies luxury. A boat is an indulgence, one you make when you have your two houses, your holiday mansion, your kids are settled, and the business is flourishing- it’s your 25-30 footer that takes you to your holiday mansion in Alibaug and it’s the 100 foot home-away-from-home that takes you to Goa whenever you want. It’s not about money; it’s about a standard of living. Owning a boat is a statement of having arrived.

So you want to make your own statement? For those contemplating a purchase, several banks offer financing options. Visiting the annual boat show, or walking into Ocean Blue’s store front at Colaba, Mumbai, the only one of its kind in India, is the next step. You can review the latest water craft and get all the information you require on licensing and taxes in one place. The gamut runs from personal watercrafts (jet skis, sea scooters and kayaks) which are popular among students and young professionals (going from Rs 30,000 to Rs 600,000) to 500-foot custom-made yachts (at a custom-made price that goes into 8 figures). The Mumbai police also recently purchased Aqualegs, an amphibious marine craft with wheels that can turn into a boat with the push of a button. The smaller craft are available at Ocean Blue’s Alibaug yard, but true to their ‘turnkey’ moniker, they also help you broker deals for your dream boat with shipyards in Europe. The delivery time can be anything from 4-12 months. Ocean Blue has also painted the first dot on the nautical map of India with the first and only marina at Kochi, a two year long project that culminated in a 24-room 5-star-hotel, a 9-hole golf course and 39 berths for visiting boats. Kochi, which is located on the same latitude as the Suez Canal, will now serve as a major refueling and rest stop for boats circumnavigating the globe.

Today’s India is young and wants to experience adventure. Getting out on the water, Sujay believes, is just the way to do it. “Other adventure sports are solitary ones, but with boating you can take your family, your dog, your friends. It’s inclusive, relaxing and rejuvenating.”

If the boating industry meets the projected expectations, there will be nothing stopping you from going on the water, setting up your BBQ, popping open a beer, and living the life you were meant to. Let the winds of change blow!