Asia-Pacific Boating has finally made its official entry into India, with a glamorous celebration at the Sailing Club, Navy Nagar in Mumbai.

The official launch of the magazine in India brought to light the increasingly popular, high-octane boating lifestyle in India.

The celebrations kicked off with a private and exclusive regatta that had global sailing champions like Farokh Tarapore, Homi Motivala, Aashim and Nitin Mongia, Commander R Mahesh and Gautama Dutta manning six J 24s as they competed against each other for the Asia Pacific Boating – India Champion trophy.

Foong Seong Khong, Business Development Director, SPH Magazines graced the occasion and honoured the winners of the Regatta.

The six yachts – sailing for teams Black Dog, Jaguar, Land Rover, Asia Pacific Boating, Finland Tourism and Roca - sailed three races.

The white optimist sails of the children’s race took place simultaneously further along the bay, as arriving guests enjoyed an afternoon of champagne and hors d’oeuvres with a gorgeous view of the sea.

The winners of the regattas were Upamanyu Dutta in the children’s category and team Roca, captained by Nitin Mongia in the J 24 sailing category.

The same venue by the bay was transformed by night, with twinkling lights on the horizon and the moored yachts on the bay.

It provided an exotic setting for some high fashion as Narendra Kumar Ahmed launched his first ever Cruize Collection, designed especially to celebrate this occasion.

Models sashayed down the 126 foot ramp on the pier (one of India’s longest catwalks created especially for the event), that extended into the sea, with animal prints, smart casuals and elegant evening wear.

The event was well attended by top members of the boating fraternity, including veteran sailors like Huzan Frazer Motivala, Gautama and Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions and Jayendra Kachalia of Navnit Marine.
 
The evening witnessed a huge turnout with attendees including Ravi Dubey and Rohit Suri of Tata Motors, Tarun Sharma Country Head – India for Jaeger LeCoultre, Nalin Jhaveri of Lustrous Gems, Karan Singh from the Oberoi Group, Kamal Bharucha of Mont Blanc, Adel El Masry Director General for the Egyptian Consulate Tourism Office in India, and Salvatore Ianniello, Indian Representative for the Italian State Tourist Board.