Messing about in boats does not come easy in Bombay. The Indian financial capital has no marinas, no lifeboat service and such polluted water that swimming off its main beach is bordering on the suicidal.

Sailing is confined to the exclusive Royal Bombay Yacht Club, founded in 1846, which has a small fleet of dinghies almost as ancient as itself.

But none of this seems to deter Jay Mehta, one of thousands of affluent Indians attending Bombay’s first international boat show, which reached its climax yesterday.

“I think 72ft is a good size,” said Mr Mehta, 46, the owner of a concrete company, after looking around a Sunseeker luxury yacht moored off the Gateway of India arch. “I’m going to get one — you need something to do at weekends.”

The four-day show, co-organised by the British Marine Federation, was designed to start a marine industry that could transform Bombay’s waterfront, and much of India’s coastline. And, judging by the response, the organisers predict that within a year India could overtake China, becoming one of the biggest new markets for leisure boats.

“The wealth is here — all you need is a trigger and this show is that trigger,” said Toby Allies of the British Marine Federation, which runs the London and Southampton boat shows.

With annual economic growth averaging more than 8 per cent since 2003, India is already one of the biggest emerging markets for luxury goods like clothing, cars and cosmetics. Although about 250 million Indians earn less than a dollar a day, the country is now home to at least 27 dollar billionaires and an estimated 83,000 millionaires.

A handful already own yachts, most notably Vijay Mallya, the billionaire Kingfisher beer tycoon. Two of his were in Bombay this weekend — the 311 ft Indian Empressand the 165 ft Kalizma, a steam yacht built in 1906 that once belonged to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Until the boat show, however, many wealthy Indians were unsure how to go about buying or operating a yacht.

Sujay Chohan, one of the two directors of the Mumbai Boat Show company, says that he decided to buy one a few years ago after going sailing on overseas business trips. “When I asked around in India, no one had a clue how to get on the water,” he said.

The Yacht Club turned down his application for membership. So he teamed up with Malav Shroff, a former Indian Olympic sailor, to organise the boat show. Two years ago they approached the British Marine Federation and, over a pint in a pub in Victoria, the plans were hatched.

Since then Mr Chohan and Mr Malav have persuaded the Bombay government that the show will help to develop a marine industry that could be worth $1 billion within ten years. They have also drawn up plans for Bombay’s first 20-boat marina, which they say will be completed by the end of the year.

The federation, meanwhile, has convinced British and other marine companies of the potential of the Indian market.

Seventeen companies took part in the show, including ten British ones such as Sunseeker, Princess and Edmiston.

“We all came out here with a lot of apprehension,” said Jamie Edmiston, President of Edmiston, which sells and charters boats ranging from $3 million to $350 million. But he and other exhibitors were surprised when more than 5,000 people turned up for the opening VIP day, including some of the wealthiest tycoons in India.

“There is definitely interest in yachting here,” he said. “And we’re not seeing people gasping and saying they can’t afford our prices.”

Luxury market

— India’s ten richest families have a net worth totalling almost $92 billion

— In 2005-06 ten new people became dollar billionaires in India, more than in any other country

— 260 million people still live on less than a dollar a day, and the richest 10 per cent share almost 30 per cent of income

— Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Fendi, Bulgari, Dolce & Gabbana, Piaget, Tiffany, Moschino, Chanel and Christian Dior all opened shops in Bombay or Delhi last year

— Mercedes-Benz DCX, which has a factory in Pune, sold more than 2,000 cars last year. BMW, which is building an assembly plant in Chennai, hopes to sell 1,800 cars this year

Source: Times archives, agencies

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