Kerala   

Yachting season arrives late

The sighting of yachts anchored off the Bolghatty Island in Kochi heralds the tourist season in Kerala. This year, though, only a few yachting seafarers arrived here during the peak tourist season.

Till a few days ago, a sole yacht could be seen berthed in the backwaters off the island, possibly because of the scare created by people falling prey to chikunguniya and other contagious diseases in the State. “Eight yachts have arrived in the past couple of days and their number is expected to increase,” says Jaibee Kollarmalil, manager of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation-run Bolghatty Palace Hotel.

As of now, the globetrotting yachters — most of them senior citizen couples — have to berth their vessels in the backwaters and use an inflatable boat to reach the shore. This will be a thing of the past once the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation’s marina project — the first marina in South Asia, is ready on the north-eastern side of the hotel. The project has for the past few months been awaiting administrative sanction from the State Cabinet.

The Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation is the consultants for the project and the tender for construction will be awarded once the government gives the go ahead. The marina will be modelled on the lines of a marina in London and will be able to berth 50 yachts. There will be a club house, restaurants, fuel station and other amenities for the seafarers.

A good share of the yachters is from European countries such as the United Kingdom, Finland and Norway, apart from New Zealand and Australia. “They depend on the Bolghatty Palace Hotel for food, swimming and for disposing waste. The average time yachters spent in Kochi is two weeks, during which they take rest and carry out repairs on the yachts,” says Mr. Kollarmalil. Once the marina comes up, workers engaged in repairing boats too will benefit.

John L. Paul

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