For a city that boasts of a long coastline, beautiful
beaches and people willing to spend, the fact that it never had a charter
service does seem surprising, The launch of Moonbeam, a 44 ft motorised yatch,
over a month ago. However, has changed that. “We launched just over a month ago
and have already had ten parties on board and are getting several esquires although we have not advertised or given any publicity to the launch,” says
Indrajit Kalidasan, CEO of The Luxury Yatch Company, that owns the yatch.
Moonbeam, designed in Italy and custom built in Dubai, with
420 litre capacity engine and a 9k w generator, has a long seating area with a
sofa and a option to use bar stools and bedroom that are fully air conditioned,
a kitchenette, baroque and a toilet. To get into the party mood, the yatch
that can hold 15 people, has a T.V and a music system on-board.
“We are the first to do this so far. Although, I am sure,
others will also follow suit once they realize that the business is lucrative.
Such charter services have been popular in Mumbai (India) for more than a decade. But,
interestingly, nobody thought of something like this in Chennai (India) though we have
a long coastline and people can afford it,”.
A two hour ride coasts around 22,000 INR with juices, soft
drinks and starters thrown in. Fishing enthusiasts can try their luck with the
rods that are available on the yatch. The yatch took 19 months to build with
Indrajit sourcing various parts from various places. “I travel abroad
extensively and during these travels, I picked up ideas from various places and
people especially from some Sheikhs in the Gulf who buy anything that spells
the ultimate in Luxury. Some of them have been incorporated in the yatch such
as the blue laser lights at the base.”
“A woman has booked the yatch to throw a surprise party for
her husband that will include a few close friends. Recently, a company booked
it for a business meeting and latter in the evening they just chilled out by
having a party on-board. The demand certainly exists as can be seen from the esquires that we have been getting,”.
He plans to introduce two more yatchs, one by the end of the
year which will be three times the size of the current boat and will be able to
hold 50 people. Indrajit who owns two high end Boutique Hotels one in
Kodaikanal and the other in Coorg is now constructing a club that will have a
swimming pool, high end brands, spas and the works. “All the existing clubs
have stopped admitting new members. A club that will accept new members and
will have everything that one would expect of a high end one, is what I have
planned. I hope to integrate all these services in the future,”