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A seafarers' destination
Going by the fleet of small yachts that called at Kochi from across the seas during this tourist season, the city seems to be on the way to becoming an important seafarers' destination in this part of the globe.
Among the visitors is a French couple, whose home is the Tagouna -- their yacht. "People out here think that we are millionaires. We are not. We dine and sleep in the boat, for it's very economical. To have a house back at home is a million-dollar affair. So we travel from country to country, like nomads. The world belongs to us and we are `at home' anywhere. We have been in Kochi since January 22,'' says Frincoise (50), who along with her husband Grint (52), are berthed in the backwaters near the Bolghatty Palace.
``There was a time when as many as 23 yachts from different nations were anchored off here. This was during the peak of the tourist season. With the approach of summer, some of them have begun to sail out,'' says V.M. Elias, manager, Bolghatty Palace Hotel. The visitors rely on the hotel for collecting drinking water and for using the swimming pool, sometimes taking food from there.
Most of them are from Switzerland, Australia and Italy. They berth here for about three months, before sailing to nearby places like Maldives and Singapore. The yachts are repaired at the boat yards here, considering the cheap labour, he says.
The Grints arrived in Kochi after visiting Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Singapore. "This is our first visit to India. Having visited places in and around Kochi, we are planning to sail to Maldives,'' says Grint, who is basically a boatbuilder. A lover of spirituality, he is hooked on to the book, `The 4 yogas of Swami Vivekananda'.
They bought the boat from Europe for U.S. $ 60,000 and did all the wood work, painting and electric work themselves. Apart from a personal computer and fridge, a global positioning system (GPS), wind instrument, autopilot, VHF radio set and a mini sonar are some of the gadgets on the yacht. There are Garlanded idols of the Buddha and Ganesha on board. The duo met in Singapore and decided to get married. Later, they had a Bengali wedding in Malaysia, arranged by their Bengali friends there.
``Our daily routine includes spending three to four hours cleaning the yacht and maintaining it in top condition. We visit the mainland in our inflatable, to procure food items. The sea breeze is all that is there to cool us, since the yacht does not have an air conditioner, not even a fan,'' says Grint. They have a standby generator and five solar panels.
Space has been properly made use of. They have procured enough potatoes, onions, lemons and cashewnuts from Kochi, to last them during the journey. "We were impressed by the high quality of milk that we got here,'' says Ms. Frincoise.
By John L. Paul
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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