The Hindu : Kerala News : At ease with the sea

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Monday, Oct 23, 2006
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Kerala

Kerala

At ease with the sea

John L Paul

A WAY OF LIFE: Lodewiyk Brust on his arrival in Kochi. — Photo: Vipinchandran

KOCHI: You have to be a consummate sailor for travelling around the globe in a yacht, with just two dogs for company.

For, yachters are at the mercy of wind and weather, cut off from land by hundreds of nautical miles. They have to maintain the boat, cook food and be on the watch for waves and winds, all by themselves. Tougher still will be to lead a flotilla of 20 yachts, for the first Vasco da Gama yacht rally, from Turkey to India. Lodewiyk Brust, a 67-year-old native of Holland, did all this. And he is willing to do even more.

He is the brainchild, chief organiser and skipper of the rally. Having arrived in Goa, some of the seafarers decided to sail down to Kochi in their yachts, to check out the India International Boat Show, which concluded here on Sunday.

"This is my 44th boat and I never get tired of the sea. In fact, I sleep in the vessel and cannot afford to be on the land for long. Water beckons me and I feel free at sea. My terrier dogs, Lloyd and Yugo, left behind in my yacht, can take care of themselves," says the globetrotter with a gleam.

On his third visit to Kochi, he is anchored off the Bolghatty Palace Hotel aboard his yacht Mistral.

"Sailing is freedom. We started off on the rally from Turkey in October 2005. The cruise was not very smooth. One of the yachts caught fire and sank. The occupants had a lucky escape. Unmindful of the hazards, I love the seas. Next time, we plan to go on the Vasco rally with 50 yachts," he says.

It was a neighbour who initiated Mr. Brust into sailing, 40 years ago. He was a businessman then and went on to learn at a sailing school in Amsterdam.

"Back in 1991, I sold my business and started sailing from Holland to the Mediterranean. My first visit to India was in 1999 aboard Mistral, named after a wind in the Mediterranean. "

Except for encountering unfriendly weather, he has steered clear of accidents during 40 years of sailing. Mistral is equipped with autopilot, radar, GPS and a system using which the location of ships or yachts located 40 miles from the vessel can be gauged. Mr. Brust's mother, aged 95 years, is living in Holland. He is her only son. His grandchildren live in California.

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