The young men and the sea

Driving past the fragrant flowers, the sound of music and wedding/navjote festivity at the Jeejeebhoy Dadab­hoy Agiary at Colaba, one soon arrives at the secluded jetty of the Naval Sailing Club (NSC) at the southern most tip of Bombay island, on the eastern shore. Landlubbers looking out over the quiet waters of the harbor can espy small sails dotting the seascape. The scat­tered flotilla soon hoves into view and the little sailors on board jump out into the water and haul their Optimists (eight-foot sailing dinghies) up the gentle slope of the jetty on to the land.

Small hands using big sponges dry out the water from the inside of their Mistral, Tornado, Shamal, Twister, etc. They detach the single sail and stow away the sailing gear neatly in the Sailing Box provided. The youngsters, aged between eight and 15, are all participants of the Joint Optimist Sailing Program initiated by the over 150-year-old Royal Bombay Yacht Club (RBYC) in December 1999. And coordinating the Optimist Program and teaching the children are Cyrus Heerjee and Sheri Bamboat, whose love for the sea has seen them participate in sailing events and competi­tions for over 25 years, including a voyage of adven­ture over the stormy waters of the Arabian Sea to Muscat and back in a 21-foot sailing boat, with wind, waves, a passing whale and porpoises for company!

Ten-year-old Xerxes Bam­boat and 11-year-old Viraf Heerjee are now following in fathers’ footsteps. Their nascent navigational skills saw them stand first and second respectively in the under-12 age group, and second and fifth overall at the second Senators National Inland Optimists sailing champion­ship. Held in December 2001 in the picturesque setting of the Khadakvasla lake at the National Defence Academy in Poona, the championship witnessed the participation of 43 young yachtsmen (including girls) from all over India.

"Though the oldest competitor was 15, Xerxes and Viraf were among the top 10, as good as the best,” commends Cyrus. "Masters of their own little tub,” as Sheri puts it, the children sail mainly for their own enjoyment, winning at competitions being a corollary. "Sailing is all about getting the feel of the boat’s motion, the knack of judging whether your boat is covering the distance at optimum speed. You have to be focussed, you have to concentrate at all times and be aware of everything around you — the force and direc­tion of the wind, the tide, the positions of the other boats or you will find yourself obstructed,” elaborates Cyrus. The massed start means the children have to cross the (imaginary) starting line at best speed. "You have to time it correctly. If you’re too fast, you get called back. Good judgment and a good start are most important,” he adds.

"Xerxes is light, agile and bold on the water,” opines Sheri. "Being among the youngest, even by a few months, can make a difference as far as maturity levels go.” "I was most excited (at winning),” bubbles Xerxes, who had his first whiff of surf and sun as a baby in a carrycot when Sheri and his wife Hamshad decided to put to sea one fine day when he was but 40 days old! "When I was eight Dad taught me to sail, to luff (push the tiller and turn the boat into the wind) and bear away (pull the tiller, so that the boat turns into a differ­ent course),” recounts the budding seafarer. The prob­lem is, laughs Sheri, that if the child happens to be sitting on the wrong side of the tiller, push becomes pull and pull becomes push!

It was in Goa, travelling back and forth along the shore that Cyrus taught Viraf the basics of sailing around two years ago. "The mouth of the Zuari river is very clean. You can stand in the water and coach the children. In Bombay if you did that you’d probably die of several diseases,” laughs Cyrus as Parsiana watched flotsam drift past the jetty. "At first I was not very keen to learn, but Dad persuaded me to try it. Now I love it,” declares Viraf. A few months after "learn­ing the ropes” (literally, as each line or piece of rope is given a different name!) Viraf participated in his first nationals in Bombay in May 2000. Last summer he sailed in Madras, with his boat being transported all the way to that city on a truck. "You have to bear your own expenses for events and competitions,” notes Cyrus, adding that as a hobby sailing is neither an expensive nor an exclusive sport.

The Optimist Program is promoted by the three civilian sailing clubs in Bombay — the RBYC, The Colaba Sailing Club (CSC) and The Bombay Sailing Asso­ciation (BSA). "We want to popularize sailing,” main­tains Sheri. "The more kids you have on the water, the more they compete for positions and the level of sail­ing improves.” Safety precautions are securely in place, with life jackets being compulsory, and the children having to pass a swimming test conducted by the Western Naval Command Sports Office and the officer in charge at the NSC being the final authority about wind strength and weather conditions. A powered rescue boat accompanies the young mariners.

Cyrus is currently the commodore (president) of the CSC, and Sheri, a committee member. At the RBYC Cyrus is the sailing secretary and Sheri the captain of boats (looking after maintenance of the vessels) while at the BSA, Cyrus is honorary secretary while Sheri is commodore and captain of boats! All offices are honor­ary and for two-year terms, states Cyrus. With full-time jobs, weekends devoted to sailing and teaching, not to mention administration, their lives, fore and aft and port and starboard, revolve around the sailing scene! The CSC website (www.colabasailing club.com created by Vinay Gupta, a regular in the sailing cir­cuit of Bombay now settled in New Zealand, is main­tained by Gupta from there as well, with information sent to him from here!) shows Bejon Madon as vice commodore, Jimmy Bandorawalla as captain of boats and Naushad Davar as committee member, among others. "Madon spends much time and energy on matters regarding the CSC and teaches newcomers (over the age of 15) as well,” re­ports Cyrus, adding that in February 2002 it was Ban­dorawalla who convincingly won the race to Marve/Manori in the Seabird class of boats in rough weather. Other Parsis whose sailing skills have carried them onto the national and international scene are Farokh Tarapore, Homi Motiwalla, the Unwallas (father Adi and sons Fali, Jimmy, Pesi and Jiji), Soli Contractor, Tehmasp Mogul, Zarir Karanjia, Cyrus Cama, etc, mentions Cyrus. Some like architect Farokh Hyderabadwala and chemical engi­neering consultant Jam-shed Adrianwalla, have decided to become helmsmen well into their 60s!

Cyrus’ aquatic affinity probably started, he jests, with his birth on Avan roz. Childhood in Cali­cut, with its long maritime tradition, saw his fascina­tion increase. In 1972, a friend from school (St Mary’s, ISC in Bombay) paid all of one rupee to hire a four-seater boat and took him along for the ride. It took just a month for Cyrus to become a qualified helmsman, participating thereafter in races and compe­titions and garnering a cupboard full of cups and trophies.

In sync with his surname, Sheri’s "craze” was making models of boats! "Ever since I was a child I would make these little boats and float them in the tub at home, using wood, matchsticks or anything else I could lay my hands on,” he narrates. Cyrus’ hobby, he adds, was making and flying, in the garden of his house at Apollo Reclamation, models of aeroplanes! As a collegian at Elphinstone while doing his BSc, an ex-Cathedralite friend unexpectedly invited him one day in 1975 to join him on board — Sheri’s first sail and first race as crew! By the time he returned home at six in the evening, his family was frantic as no one knew where he was! Seeking to sail more, Sheri would hire a boat from the CSC for three rupees an afternoon and take his friends along, making sure they contributed something for the cruise as well, he laughingly re­counts. It was Cyrus, his neighbor (at that time), friend and senior, who taught him the techniques of yachting and Sheri officiated as his crew for two years till one day, seeing there were not enough competitors for a race, "he kicked me out on my own!” Winner of several championships, Sheri says: "I have a healthy respect for the sea. I never sail without my sudreh-kusti and God by my side.”

In 1986, their expedition to Muscat saw Jehanghir S. Jehanghir (popularly known as JJ, a very keen yachtsman who passed away in 2000 after an illness) skipper one boat while Cyrus captained the other. "Flying the CSC burgee (flag)... this was the first non-coastal Arabian Sea crossing in an open boat,” states the CSC website. Using sextants for navigation, both Seabirds managed to stay together most of the time. "It took us 15 days on the outward voyage as we were sailing either with no wind or in storms,” nar­rates Cyrus. "On such stormy occasions, all we could do was bring the sails down, drift with the storm, bail out the water and steer the boats over the waves to prevent them capsizing.” A small canvas canopy in the cockpit (an area near the stern in small decked ves­sels) provided the culinary amenities. "We had to sit and cook, standing was impossible.” Fighting the ele­ments provided a great sense of achievement, particu­larly so when for a few hours the Seabirds lost sight of each other! "I had taken a compass direction of where they were last seen and we managed to find each other,” Cyrus continues. "Sixty miles south of Muscat we found a small cove shown on the chart and took shelter from the storm.” The return took but eight days as they were sailing with the wind, he explains, the navigation being so accurate that the buildings of Cuffe Parade hove into view at the entrance of Bombay harbor exactly as expected.

After a 19-year stint with Godrej and Boyce Manufac­turing Company as a supervisor on the shop floor in the office furniture plant, Cyrus switched jobs in ’93 to save time and travel from his residence in south Bombay to Vikhroli in the north. "Jamshyd Godrej (chairman and managing director of Godrej and Boyce) is a great sailing enthusiast who has a 40-foot yacht. He gives much support, both corporate (sponsorship of champion­ships and trophies) and personal, to encourage yacht­ing,” maintains Cyrus. The Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej Memorial Boating Station for the Sea Cadet Corps (at the Training Ship Jawahar alongside the NSC jetty) has been donated by the Pirojsha Godrej Foundation in memory of Jamshyd’s father, the late Naoroji (Naval) who also loved sailing, as does Kerse Naoroji (also earlier with Godrej and Boyce), he opines. Cyrus’ present employers, Tolani Shipping Company Limited where he is administrative officer, are also very much a part of the sailing scenario, sponsor­ing the Tolani Mid Season Championship, the Tolani Round Robin Championship as well as part sponsorship of the National Inland Optimist Championship, etc.

Materials manager for G. R. Engineering Works Limited which fabricates heavy equipment for the petro­chemicals industry, Sheri joined the company fresh from college and has been with it for 21 years. Not unex­pectedly, G. R. Engineering are sailing supporters too! Good with his hands, Sheri makes masts, pulley blocks, assembles boat parts and can fit out a Seabird, if required! "It helps to pay for my hobby,” he chuckles. Life partner Hamshad also sails regularly with him.

"My grandfather Framroze Golwalla had built the famous Golwalla Bath at Backbay — the first cosmopoli­tan Olympic size pool in Bombay,” recounts Cyrus’ wife Dilnavaz. Her father Khurshed used to run the pool and the family lived in a house overlooking the sea, watch­ing the boats go by. One New Year’s eve, she joined a yachting cruise to Khanderi, 15 miles off Alibag, home to a lighthouse and an old Kanoji Angre (Maratha) fort, a popular camping spot for club sailors. On the return, the boatman ferrying her across the water was Cyrus and they soon found their lives anchored in matrimony! While Viraf is into sailing hook, line and sinker, younger brother Shahan, at six-and-a-half, evinces little interest, preferring wrestling instead!

As Cyrus and Sheri steer the Optimist Program through winds balmy and blowing, they aim to encourage more and more youngsters to spread sail. As Sheri says: "Even if two out of every 15 we coach keep their inter­est and stay at the helm, I’ll be a happy man.”