Get, Set, Launch

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Lubricating the propeller
The drive from the Ribander ferry drop off is along wide open fields and water bodies. Birds that have wandered away from the neighbouring Chorao Bird Sanctuary yodel away on the power lines, while sundry bird watchers armed with their telephoto lens hide in the long grass. A few fishermen hang around knee deep in the random patches of water, shouldering rustic fishing rods. Even as you soak in these sights, you suddenly come up to a clump of trees and the raw sunshine is replaced by cool, sweet smelling shade and I feel like Alice crossing over into Wonderland.

How to float a boat
Keel Laying
We had hoped to float Antara for Christmas as the feathering propeller and echo sounder had arrived in mid December and quickly put in place by Sachin and Siddhesh. The keel had been biding its time in the yard's locker area and all that remained was to place her on an even keel. 

Meanwhile, the clouds cleared, the rainbow shone through and hallelujah, Antara was assigned an MMSI number 419001412 and call sign VTAH  by the Director General of Shipping.

 We were now ready to place Antara on her keel, on December 27. One team got the cranes organised, another placed weights on the other end of the metal frame where the 4 ton keel sat, another got into the boat to bolt the screws in place, another got the epoxy and hardener in place along with a weighing scale to ensure the right proportions of both were used. Once all teams were in place, Ratnakar personally supervised the keel laying. And that's how 2018 drew to a close. See a video of the keel laying here.
God Bless Antara!

Water Baby
Monday, Jan 21st, was the full moon, lunar eclipse and a big bad blood wolf moon day. Of course we had to launch Antara on just such an occasion. Ratnakar suggested we offer some flowers at the temple on a hillock just for backup. We were lucky to find a shop open to sell us a coconut and incense sticks and a local cake shop had Goan Doce sweets. Some wild flowers from a village lane, instead of the traditional marigolds and, the pooja thali was complete.
We spent the afternoon watching the Aquarius team get the boat in position for launch. Leaving her perched on the slipway we headed home for a quick dinner. 11pm and we were back, with a few friends in tow. 

The tide was expected to go up to 2.68 metres. Antara needed a draft of 2.5 to be on the safe side. Team Aquarius began easing her into the water around 1130. It seemed tricky, what with all the other boats and ropes everywhere besides being the middle of the night. 
In the Slipway

She slipped in neatly, without a fuss and rode easily in the water. Dilip and Ratnakar promptly hopped on to check her insides. A small leak where the propeller shaft enters the engine room, was quickly fixed with a jubilee clip, and the water drained off with the many helping hands now on deck.

A garland on her bow and a coconut cracked open on her anchor and she was officially launched!

With Antara you now have the opportunity to sail, safe in Covid times - on a large sailboat, along the coast, in the deep blue yonder! You decide and we'll design a sail just for you. 

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Traditional welcome
(PC Naren Divekar)

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