Home :: India Advanture Tour :: Sailing & Windsurfing

A legacy of the British, sailing has been kept alive by diehard enthusiasts who have made sailing the most established water sport in the country. The main centres are Bombay, Pune, Secunderabad and Goa.

There are three types or classes of yachts that are sailed in India. 'Optimist', as the name suggests, is meant for the novice. The next class that a sailor graduates to is either the Enterprise or Laser. In Bombay, there are sailors who have remained loyal to the ancient Sea Bird class which seems to be growing in popularity owing to its sea handling capability. The yearly Kingfisher Sea Bird race from Bombay to Goa has become a major sailing event of the year. Royal Bombay Yacht Club, Colaba Sailing Club, Secunderabad Sailing Club and Chandigarh Sailing Club are the main centres where one can learn sailing. Once you learn sailing, you could launch yourself on any of the numerous water bodies.

Optimists and Enterprises are manufactured in the country.Windsurfing is the youngest of the water sports. To call it merely a sport would be an under statement. For millions of wind worshippers all over the world, it is nothing short of a religion. The two men responsible for designing this revolutionary craft have been Hoyle Schweitzer and Jim Drake.

The growth of this 25-year old sport has been meteoric. Infact it found a place in the Olympics while still in early teens. The reason for its popularity lies in the simplicity and lightness of the crafts design, which works on the basic principles of sailing. The revolution was in terms of drastic cut in size, weight and cost. Hoyle realised the potential of his discovery and quickly obtained all international patents. He called the craft 'windsurfer'. Owing to the trademark wrangles, people started calling the new craft a 'sailboard' and the sport was termed as 'boardsailing'. At present, these are the terms in vogue though in India we continue referring to the sport as 'windsurfing' instead of 'boardsailing'.

The equipment consists of a surf board with a sail attached to it, with the help of a universal joint which gives the mast a freedom of rotation in all planes. The design is simple but materials used are increasingly sophisticated to get the weight down. Infact the price you pay for a sailboard depends on how much Kelvar, Mylar carbon or composites which have gone into it. The weight could vary from 20 kg at the upper end and as low as 6 kg, provided your pocket is heavy.

The primitive appearance is truly deceptive. You will not believe what this contraption could do until you see an expert like Roby Naish gets airborne on a wave crest, like no aircraft ever could. The board being an unsteady platform poses initial problems of balance. Capsizes are an integral part of this sport and do not get discouraged by a few dips.

GOA, has a never ending stretch of beaches where you can launch from. Winter months are best for amateurs as the wind remains gentle. If you are looking for waves and howling winds, the best time is just before monsoons in the months of April and May. During monsoon you can not go out from any of the beaches. This is the time to sail out on the Zuari and the Mandovi estuaries, where the water remains calm. Whatever be the time of the year, excellent sea food and fenni are never far away in Goa.

PUNE, has a number of picturesque lakes where you can go out windsurfing, like Pawna, Panshet, Muslhi and Khadakvasla. Equipment is available only at the Khadakvasla lake. Windsurfing on the crystal clear water of these lakes is a unique experience. In the summer months, you can get some super-sonic rides on these fresh water lakes. Do not venture too far as the wind here can drop without giving any notice and you may take hours to sail back a distance which took only a few minutes when the wind was strong. Rescue is not available except if you are sailing out from the Khadakvasla windsurfing centre.

BOMBAY, has a dedicated bunch of 'board heads' who believe in doing their own thing quite like board sailors anywhere else in the world. Launching sites are Cuffe Parade, Chaupate, Juhu and Marve. The only organised school is at the Ramada Inn. You must check before launching about high and low tide timings. Launching out during monsoon is tricky unless you are an expert.

LAKSHWADEEP, the lagoons here are excellent for windsurfing. No equipment is available on any of the islands. You can easily take your boards on board MV Tipu Sultan or MV Bharat Seema, the two luxury liners that sail between Cochin and the islands. If you are more ambitious, you can even go from one island to another with some help from the local administration. Try exploring the lagoons, full of colourful tropical fish and coral. It is best to go out during high tide in a lagoon as the coral formations can be uncomfortably close to the surface during the low tide.

Travel Wise
Windsurfing Organisations: Freestyle windsurfing is essentially a solo sport: just one man and his board. Once the rudiments of windsurfing have been learned, it is upto the windsurfer to develop his own techniques and methods.

Windsurfing is now so popular the most good seaside resorts offer it as part of their standard recreational fare. These, together with water sport clubs and good hotels provide the main source of access to this immensely rewarding solo sport. This is only a representative selection of some of the water sports clubs in India.