Actually, the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, founded in 1846. Still relevant because as we send this to press, a boat Show has just concluded, with vessels in the harbour and also in the dock off Colaba. And there are hoardings in the city announcing the sale of yachts. So people are buying, people are playing in the water, people are running around in skiffs and motor boats and on motor scooters, finally there is hope that in a small way, the sea will come into its own.

And so to the Yacht Club on the Colaba waterfront, and we hark back to the fact that the city’s splendid harbour was the scene of the Country's first regatta in 1830 in which cutters, schooners, yawls of all sizes vied for the sweepstake of one Gold Mohur. The present building came up in 1880, the land leased from the Bombay Port Trust.

However, in case you think Mumbai has arrived, nautically speaking, perish the thought. While the number of privately held boats and vessels moored in the harbour seem to be increasing, it’s still the fishermen (tandels) who largely rule the sea. And the sea itself is still seen largely as seafood source than fountainhead of entertainment for 99 per cent of the people in Mumbai. Notwithstanding the Yacht Club.