It’s fairly well known that Roman Abramovich, Paul Allen, Dennis Washington, Larry Ellison, Steven Spielberg, Leslie Wexner, David Geffen and Vijay Mallya have something else in common apart from featuring in the 2012 Forbes Billionaires? list. They are also owners of some of the world?s largest yachts. For many years, Mallya was seen as the only Indian with the ultimate in rich men?s toys, an ocean-going yacht. No longer. A host of Indian businessmen is taking to the seas, including names like Gautam Singhania, Bharat Kewal Ramani, Ajay Piramal, and the Kotaks, the Birlas and Mahindras, to name just a few. There?s also Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of BCCI boss N Srinavasan, who is often seen on his private yacht berthed in Chennai?s Marina Beach. Be it a corporate meeting, a quick getaway or simply partying, Indian corporates are now shifting base from five-star hotels to the middle of the ocean.

However, what is remarkable in the Indian context is the fact that some of these corporate VIPs are now encouraging young enthusiasts and opening up new avenues for the fledgling sport. Yachting has always been considered a sunrise sport or leisure activity in India, done mostly by rich businessmen to unwind or make a statement, but it has failed to make a mark in the competitive arena. Although yachting as a sport has been a part of the Olympics since the Athens Olympiad in 1896, India?s first yachting team participated in the Olympics only in 1972. The country may have a coastline of over 7,000 km, but when it comes to an Olympic medal, it has been a washout so far. All that could change now, with a number of corporates showing interest in the sport. The promotion has also given a boost to many young sailing enthusiasts who are working hard to get the country?s first Olympic medal in yachting in the upcoming Rio Olympics in 2016.

The recently held Raymond International Regatta (RIIR) in Chennai, for instance, is a step in the right direction. Sponsored by Raymond (its chairman, Gautam Singhania, is a keen yachtsman) and organised by the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association (TNSA), the regatta saw a total of 104 participants, with nine countries and over 40 overseas sailors. It was the fifth edition of the event and the latest competition saw an increase in the number of participants by over 30% compared to last year, including six new countries.

Raymond is not the sole corporate who had come forward to support yachting. Earlier, Volvo was the title sponsor of the India International Regatta for three years, from 2008 to 2011. The Yachting Association of India (YAI) is now in the final stage of talks with Volvo to start a sailing event on the western coast of the country?Kochi, Goa or Mumbai. ?We are aiming to have three international events in a year with corporate involvement. Volvo is asking for a 20-year sponsorship,? says Captain Ajay Narang, project director, YAI.

That?s a long way from the time when it was only the armed forces, mainly the Navy, which dominated the sport in the past. Says Ashok R Thakkar, commodore, TNSA: ?Earlier, children only used to sail while they were in schools, but today, a number of teenagers are also sailing, even doing competitive sailing,? says Thakkar, adding, ?The number of sailing yachts in India has grown by about 30-40% in the last two years, with the number of power yachts growing by as much as 100%?.

?Last year, we had four 29er-class sail boats, but this year, we have 14 29er-class boats. Earlier, the Chennai Sailing Association had just three power yachts, but today, we have seven power yachts. We have also bought two 49er Olympic-class boats in cooperation with the Tamil Nadu government,? adds Thakkar. The cost of these 49er-class boats is about R60 lakh. The TNSA has also bought two J/80s, a fixed keel one-design sportsboat certified for offshore sailing, normally crewed by three to five people.

The TNSA is also not the only organisation promoting sailing in India. The Kerala Watersport & Sailing Organisation, Mumbai Yacht Club and a couple of Navy sailing clubs are also promoting yachting. The YAI is now in talks with other corporates, too, for a partnership to come up with new sailing clubs. They are even roping in cricketers for better publicity. ?A new club is coming up in Ranchi, which is supported by Indian cricket team captain MS Dhoni. We are in talks with the Kolkata Knight Riders for a sailing club in Kolkata also,? adds Narang.

Gearing up for Rio, Varun Thakkar and Ganapati Kalapanda, two youngsters from the Chennai Sailing Association (CSA), are now leading in the European circuit in the 29er-class and need to beat Germany to win the title. They are currently training hard to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The CSA has got them two 49er-class boats worth R30 lakh each to practise for the race. They came second in the class at the RIIR.

However, Kalapanda is worried because it?s only two years left for the Olympics, and he feels, there is very less time for training. ?Our counterparts from Malaysia have already started training for the past one year, but we have not even started yet,? he says. He and his partner, Thakkar, are now concentrating on their weight as the minimum weight required to sail a 49er-class boat is 140 kg. ?I and my co-sailor are a little less than 120 kg now. So we are doing a lot of physical exercise and maintaining a heavy diet, which includes milk, honey, meat, eggs, etc. Hopefully, within two months, we will be fit enough to sail the boat,? says Kalapanda, 17, who studies in class XII through the open school medium. Both of them practise for about two-and-a-half hours every day. Two teams from the CSA are hopeful of qualifying for the Olympics.

Another sign that Indian sailing is going full sail ahead is that international sailors are taking India as a country worth a competition and are happy to race in Indian waters. Lea Dora Janeric and Peter Lin Janeria, siblings from Slovenia who came first in the 29er class at the IIR, accept that Indian sailors are now giving them a good fight. Mohd Afendy Abdullah, general manager, Malaysia Yachting Association, who was in India to support the participants from Malaysia, feels that Indian sailors have a lot of potential, and the only thing needed is more exposure.

?The sailors here need to train in big groups rather than 20 or 30 sailors,? says Abdullah. Malaysia spends about $1-1.5 million per year providing facilities to their sailors. He says India has the potential to develop into a major sailing destination as it has a number of lakes, dams, etc, which can be used for training, competition and other purposes, much like the European nations. Now, there are plans to make the RIIR a pan-Asian tournament where countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, etc, will race in different countries and will have an Asian champion. ?We are planning to make RIIR an Asian Cup series like the European Cup and declare an Asian champion at the end of the year,? says Thakkar. Malaysia?s Abdullah is also optimistic about the plan and is ready to host the first race in Malaysia in January next year. They are now in talks with other countries like Singapore and are finalising the event.

Winds of change

Lieutenant Commander Abhilash Tomy, the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo non-stop, feels that the infrastructure is there, it just needs to be developed. ?If you want to play cricket or football, you first have to build an infrastructure, but for sailing we have that natural environment?over 7,000 km of coastline. We just need a boat and the will to be a sailor,? adds Tomy. He believes that yachting has tremendously grown over the last few years and the Indian International Regatta is a proof of the same. But, he says, a lot better can be done. ?Sailing and yachting are now concentrated in a few pockets across India. It can easily be made a regular feature in every part of the country,? adds Tomy. He sailed around 23,100 nautical miles in a span of over 150 days from November 2012 to March 31 this year.

Although the growth of the industry has been phenomenal, Thakkar feels a few things are missing. He says with proper facilities, yachting can be a big boost to the tourism sector too. ?There are about 3,000 yachts that circumnavigate around the world every year. After Thailand, the next repair facility is in Europe. It is a billion-dollar industry and the technical workforce here is much better than several other places.? One limiting factor is that yachting and sailing need a lot of investment. With the membership fees of sailing clubs like the Royal Bombay Club touching R15 lakh, everyone can?t afford to become a sailor. However, there are some other clubs that charge a minimal fees from sailors on a monthly basis. One can enroll at the Chennai Sailing Association, which charges R200 per month from its students. Even Cochin Yacht Club charges R50 per week to train sailors. ?Though they won?t have luxury yachts, they have the required sail boats,? says Narang.

Thakkar even sees an opportunity in clubs charging high fees. Citing the example of the Royal Bombay Club, he says, ?For example, R15 lakh is required to become a member of the Royal Bombay Club. If one can create similar facilities and enroll about 100 members, it amounts to R15 crore, which can be used for developing sailing and yachting. There is another benefit of creating facilities. These clubs can also be used by tourists when they come in their personal yachts. Money not being an issue, it is up to the government to take a call.?

Till then, corporates are showing the way. Mrinmoy Mukherjee, director, marketing and business development, Raymond, says the company sponsored the event because yachting and sailing gel with their brand as well as the passion of its chairman, Singhania. ?Here was an opportunity to develop the sport that our chairman is also interested in,? says Mukherjee. This was the fifth edition of the India International Regatta and Raymond has tied up with the TNSA to sponsor the event till 2021, by when, hopefully, India may just have their first Olympic medalist in sailing.