Then a group of like minded boat owners, led by Bharat Kewalramani, brought the sport to life again by creating a Whatsapp group called BMC skippers, and then by sailing together every weekend. It had been allowed to die due to official neglect and indifference.

No one was going to recover the boat for me then, and I had to pick up the pieces to ensure I sailed back to shore”.įrank Hancock said, “Five years ago, the sport of keel boat sailing (sailing large yachts) was just about dead in India. Similarly in business, it was the 2001-2002 dotcom bust where we went from 150 people down to 6, with no funding left, the carpet pulled under our feet and loss of face with partners, employees and customers. It was exhausting, and you have to believe in yourself to recover and continue sailing to make it back to the shore, because no one’s going to do it for you. My greatest sailing challenge once was very high winds, and I was alone on a laser that capsized 7-8 times. While sailing, you can’t blame the wind, conditions or tide, you have to do what you do to deliver, given the conditions. It’s taught me to look inwards even in business.

The second cup, the Gurkha Cigars Series Trophy, was awarded to the yacht that won the Regatta race for the season, and this was awarded to Cunning Plan, owned and captained by Frank Hancock.Ĭommenting on the challenges faced during the race, Hemrajani said, “I’ve been sailing for close to 14 years. There were two cups awarded at the event - the C-in C Cup awarded by the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy was for the yacht that won the race of the day, which was Peace and Plenty, owned and captained by Ashish Hemrajani. The yachts, moored off the water of the iconic Gateway of India, raced for approximately three hours, while facing challenges including sailing into headwinds and the outgoing tide. The Merchants is a group of Mumbai-based industrialists, and in partnership with the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Western Naval Command and Gurkha Cigars from Miami, it organised India’s first Regatta of luxury yachts at the Royal Bombay Yacht club in Mumbai. The Bombay Merchants Regatta was conceived along the lines of this famous event, and it held its one-day race of luxury yachts to compete for the C-in-C Cup and the Gurkha Cigars Series Trophy recently. For those who sail, the Henley Royale Regatta is one of the most prestigious and celebrated events in the annual calendar in the United Kingdom.

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