The last week of this year has been abuzz in terms of activity in the Mumbai Harbour with a lot of boat owners and avid sailors making the most of their free time on the waters.
What took the lime-light was definitely the Sail for Peace week-long programme by Aquasail which saw a wonderful response – and at the same time that shows that the Mumbaikars as always have a deep spirit and open mind, and their thirst to ride the Indian waves is unquenchable.
22nd Dec ‘08 – Fast Donzi
Another speed …

The gates opened and they came in the thousands. Some two hours later the queues to get into the race village are still snaking for hundreds of metres down the road.
When the time came for the sailors to be paraded through the crowds and down to the pontoons, it made for one of the most spectacular departure ceremonies this event has ever seen.

The Indian people, while unfamiliar with this race and its history, have shown incredible enthusiasm on this first visit to Asia. They pressed deep into the passage walked …

The Indian Women’s Team came back heroes from their ISAF Grade 1 competition in Busan, Korea last month where they beat the China and Korea to stand 9th out of 11 international teams in their first international outing.

Below is a detailed day-by-day report passionately and painstakingly put down by none other than one of the team members – Ayesha, which allows us to believe that there is only more going to happen with Women’s Match Racing and Women’s Sailing in India.
Ayesha…
Prelude
It all began during the Nation’s Cup regional finals Asia, …

25th Nov – Suave Shama
Get a look at some of the hot stuff dished out from Turkey….
26th Nov – Edmiston & M/Y Alysia in Mumbai !!!
Edmiston – The Big Boss is in town…
28th Nov – Sailing Destinations : The Enchanted Galapagos Islands
Another ‘Heaven on Earth’ – Galapagos….
29th Nov – R.I.P – Andreas Liveras (1935 – 2008)
May his soul rest in peace….

To a Shama Yacht’s owner, the highest standards of performance, style and luxury are minimum requirements. Drawing on the first principles of traditional yacht building, we have retained the first standards of performance and style, whilst simultaneously moving beyond conventional wisdom to new levels of luxury.

To those who design and build them, every aspect of development being and ends with a spirit of no compromise driven by the pursuit of perfection, Shama extends the limits of performance with each refinement. A centralized design and development process- from precision …

HAPPY DIWALI….
Hope all you patrons had a wonderful Diwali full of lights and fireworks…

The harbour was bustling with yachts and their owners on them, and a multitude of people using the ferries for their joyrides around the harbour…looks like peoples love affairs with the waters are just getting stronger….
On GiiraYachts.com, the week went by in the following manner :-
27th October, 2008 – We know about your love for Videos…fancy yachts…spanking white marinas…but this is something different…
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/10/josp-optimist-diwali-regatta-behold-the-bright-future.html
29th October, 2008 – Shadow Yachts…no no no…not another maker of yachts with a fancy …

Three days into the one of the world’s favourite boat shows…and things seem to be getting only better in France.

With the Mediterranean brimming buzz and activity after waking up from its Summer Slumber…the Cannes Boat Show sets the ball rolling for the yachtsmen and yachting in this region…
CANNES 2008
In what can be considered another epitome of a festival following the Cannes Film Festival…the Cannes Boat Show is able to draw in people from all over the world who feel it is the perfect venue (the scenic French coast) for viewing …

September’s kick-started with a bunch of posts on topics from all over the globe! Right from budget boating on the opposite ends of the world to the boats described in the superlatives! Here’s a weekly update on the range of topics with their specific links to show you at a glance all the action that was covered, just incase you missed out on the daily updates.
1st September, 2008 -
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/09/budget-boating-usa-going-india-way.html
2nd September, 2008 -
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/09/worlds-largest-maxi-trimaran-launched.html
3rd September, 2008 -
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/09/couach-yachts-metre-by-metre-of.html
4th September, 2008 -
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/09/darwin-lions-beer-can-regatta.html
5th September, 2008 -
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/09/virgins-daredevil-branson-to-attempt.html
6th September, 2008 -
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/09/fort-lauderdale-venice-of-america.html
7th September, 2008 -
http://www.giirayachts.com/2008/09/smooth-sailing-in-times-of-global.html

Tomorrow, the Olympic flame will be extinguished simultaneously at the National Stadium in Beijing and the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, officially ending the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and bringing to a conclusion a remarkable journey for the sport of sailing.
SOME STATS
1) The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Sailing Competition brought together 400 of the world’s finest sailors racing in 272 boats representing 62 nations.
2) They demonstrated their talent to the world over the course of 117 races during 13 days of competition in 11 sailing events.
3) After years …

IT’S HERE AGAIN…
The prestigious bi-annual regatta is back! With more sailboats, more sailors and more spirit!!

The RUN down to Goa from Mumbai, with a spectacular overnight stopover at Jaigarh – THE ORBIT FORTS OF INDIA REGATTA – is the Last Leg of the World-renowned multi-class Vasco Da Gama Yacht Rally.
The Vasco Da Gama Yacht Rally is a 4500 Nautical Miles endeavour that starts from Kekova (Turkey) and commences at the Holiday Haven of Goa. Attracting more than a 100 boats of various classes and 250 sailors, the race is a …

According to monacoeye.com, it would be an interesting fact to know which 60+ meter yacht the people loved the most for 2007 – in a very generalized, non-scientific, fun survey.

The results are in… Alfa Nero managed to hold on to an early lead and finished top in the Monacoeye Reader’s Choice Most Liked Yacht of 2007 Poll !!
But Kismet made up considerable ground despite a slow start and come a very honourable second. Silver, 778 and Martha Ann missed the first day of voting (!) but it was very …