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Welcome to the Royal Bombay Yacht Club and the magnificent, magical world of Sailing. Just step into a sailboat and leave behind the push and shore multitudes, the noise, the choking pollution. Instead enjoy the quite and soothing sounds of the sea, breathe the fresh unpolluted air, taste the salt spray on your lips and enjoy the feeling of not going anywhere in a hurry. |
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The sailing activities at the RBYC are overseen by the Sailing Committee comprising of Boat Owners and qualified helmsmen and is chaired by the Commodore. The sailing activities are listed out in a Sailing Programme which is circulated to all members and is attached hereto. The Sailing Programme offers various activities like training programmes, races day cruises, family sails, long cruises, overnight cruises etc. So familiarize yourself with the sailing programme and join us for which ever event interests you. In case of any queries please feel free to contact our Sailing Supervisor, Mr. Rajan, who is available in the Club Library between 11 am and 7 pm. |
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Also enclosed is a cicular titled "Eveything you wanted to know about Sailing" which provides some basic essential " HOW TO" information on Sailing. |
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ARTICLE BY HIRO SHROFF -Harbouring Old Charms |
This article was written and published in 1987. |
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One twentyfive (125) not out. That was neither Imran Khan nor Kapil Dev. Not even President Zia or Prime Minister Rajiv. It is the grand old Royal Bombay Yacht Club. I wonder how many Bombayites know of its existence. Try and ask a Bombay taxi driver to take you to the Royal Bombay Yacht Club (RBYC) and see where he lands you. Possibly, he has never heard of it. |
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This is all to the good. To me, the RBYC is a gracious old institution. It stands in solitary splendour in Bombay's Apollo Bunder. I have been a member at the RBYC for two decades but I still find it charmingly mysterious and I never seem to know enough of it. A couple of times I have dropped hints to some of the veterans at the RBYC on the feasibility of there being a book on the RBYC. The response I have had has been varying between `Good idea ole boy' and `Possibly, one day'. |
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The RBYC is rich _ rich in tradition and in history. Queen Victoria granted royal charter to the Club in 1876. King George and Queen Mary visited it in 1911. Prince Philip visited the club and presented a cup titled Prince Philip Cup. Year after year, the yachting fraternity sets sail from the Gateway of India, rounds the Elephanta island and returns to the Gateway in a yacht race for this prestigious Prince Philip Cup. |
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Way back on April 6, 1839, Bombay Times carried a report on the yachting regatta in the Bombay harbour. |
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In a manner of speaking, the RBYC has plenty to write home about but it does not seem to have done so. It conducts itself with calm and dignity. For instance, I spoke to the RBYC head butler, Sebastian D'Silva, about the visit to the Club by Prince Philip. D'Silva _ who has been with the RBYC for more than half a century _ says all he was told was that Prince Philip would be coming and that normal service should be there. He recalls that the then RBYC president, S.M. Scott, escorted Prince Philip to one of the rooms on the fourth floor of the RBYC where Prince Philip quickly went to the bathroom, changed from one dress into another, had just one drink _ gin and tonic _ and left. |
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Let me get back to `125 not out'. As one climbs the first floor at the RBYC, and before one enters the elegant Dolphin Bar, there is, on the wall, a framed scroll marking the 125th anniversary of the RBYC, which was in 1971. The scroll was done by Adi Unwalla, presently the commodore of the RBYC and appended on it are the signatures of the people who attended the ball at the RBYC on November 27, 1971. |
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Alongside the 125th anniversary scroll is an imposing chair. It is actually a weighing machine. The RBYC records show that over a century ago, members and visitors started weighing themselves on this chair and recording their weights in a book provided for the purpose. I have just had a look at one of those books, and in the remarks column, some interesting observations have been made. Here are some: Weighed and found not wanting. Oh, that this too solid flesh would melt. Good God, is that all of me? |
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On the ground floor, in the library, are some of the ballot boxes _ now no longer in use. In the days gone by, the balloting committee members cast their vote by actually slipping into the balloting boxes a black ball or a white ball _ roughly the size of billiard balls. Today, the balloting committee members are provided with slips of paper. This slip has the name of the candidates in the centre, with a white circle on one side and a black circle on the other. The balloting committee members exercise their voting rights by appropriately ticking off either the white or the black circle. |
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When I joined the RBYC two decades ago, dinner jackets were still in vogue at the Club. Also, one saw great usage of lounge suits. Today, I rarely see a dinner jacket. And the only time when a lounge suit is compulsory at the RBYC, is at the monthly meetings of the balloting committee. At that time, the committee members, the candidates and their proposers and seconders, are expected to be in their lounge suits. |
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Talking of dinner jackets, let me recall what the RBYC head butler D'Silva told me. D'Silva says that at one stage, RBYC had two dining halls. One hall was for those diners wearing black ties. The second hall was for people wearing suits; no bush shirts. This second hall was jokingly called: the dirty dining hall. D'Silva says the people in the dirty dining hall were not looked down upon and the food service in the two halls was the same. It was just this that some of the people came to the club straight from work and did not have a chance to go home and change into a black tie. |
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Browsing through the RBYC records, I noticed that Kerse Naoroji was in the first batch of Indians to join the RBYC in Novemeber 1959. Kerse is presently the president of the RBYC, and is popularly known as the `bearded sailor'. I have known him for some time and I can certify that he can regale one with interesting anecdote after anecdote about the yachting scene. But, obviously, I cannot repeat any of those without his clearance. Insha Allah, one of these days I shall get his clearance and get back to you _ dear readers. |
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- hiro shroff |
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