Aquapalooza 2008 - A Great Success

The ever popular American 'Aquapalooza' event that was held between the 8th July to the 20th of this year has received an overwhelming response with the no of participants increasing by 54% as compared to last year which means there were more parties, more boats and more guests and even more festivities.



The festival like activities involved food and drinks, carnival games, volleyball, giveaways etc with fireworks display rivaling that of any Fourth of July exhibition.
overnight cruise and poker run. antique boats and cars, as well as a kids’ coloring contest.

the worlds most popular leisure boating event which is sponsored by Sea Ray held its signature event on Lake of The Ozarks, Missouri. The World's Largest Boating Party was expected to draw a record 50,000 guests this year to 150 events on lakes, rivers, bays and harbors from New York to California, Egypt to Australia.

Below is a video showcasing this year’s boat bash at the signature venue –



The event has also won a Mercury Award from Mercomm, Inc. for excellence in public relations and marketing communications.

According to local water patrol estimates, more than 2,500 boats gathered at the Signature Event. “It’s really incredible that so many people would show up in one place at one time. It’s a testament to the boating lifestyle,” said Rick Stone, president of Sea Ray. “We’re creating quite a stir with AquaPalooza, and no one else in the boating industry can replicate it because we already invite everyone who owns or uses a boat.”

It is said that one in every three boats in America is a Sea Ray. Sea Ray also has the second largest owners’ club in the world, behind only Harley-Davidson and is also considered the world's largest manufacturer of superior quality pleasure boats.

We had done an article earlier regarding the event. Click here to read the article.
For more information check out the website - http://www.aquapalooza.com/
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Sea Ray to kick start Aquapalooza - Worlds Largest On-Boating Event

Its that time of the year again!!! The US of A is all set to showcase its yachting lifestyle the fullest with Sea Ray unveiling the AquaPalooza event.

The dates have been fixed for the event and the grand extravagant activities will commence from the 18th july 2008 uptil the 20th starting from the signature event on Lake of The Ozarks, Missouri which will feature food, drinks, music, games, giveaways and much, much more.



For those who are unaware about this event, AquaPalooza is the world’s largest on-boating bash. It started in 2006 as a Sea Ray Owners Club™ event but quickly evolved to incorporate boat-crazy party people of all stripes. Last year, the multi-location marine festival attracted more than 10,000 boats and 30,000 guests to 120 events worldwide.



AquaPalooza is a multi-location marine extravaganza organized by Sea Ray and its partners such as MarineMax/Port Arrowhead. At hundreds of locations across the country, boaters and yachters gather to celebrate the boating lifestyle and enjoy a day on the water.

Companies like Raymarine, Mercury, Sebago, boating magazine, NBOA, ez-dock, GMC, Land resource, Zeus, and even sony are sponsors for this events

In addition to food, games, special events and fireworks, AquaPalooza features free on-water concerts by Everclear, Soul Asylum, Cracker, and other regional bands.
Below is the pic which won the 2nr runner up prize in the photo contest.


The World's Largest Boating Party expects to draw a record 50,000 guests this year to 150 events on lakes, rivers, bays and harbors from New York to California, Egypt to Australia.

"AquaPalooza is about boating, great tunes, fun and togetherness with family and friends," said Rob Noyes, vice president of marketing for Sea Ray. "Whether folks are new to boating or seasoned veterans, this event is for all people who love life on the water. No one throws a party like Sea Ray."

The amazing, one-of-its-kind event recently won a Mercury Award from Mercomm, Inc. for excellence in public relations and marketing communications.

The fact that such a grand event and is not restricted to Sea Ray owners and is made open to all boat owners and enthusiasts worldwide is the biggest selling point which makes the event difficult to ape by any other brand or manufacturer. I guess the community building aspect with entertainment is the USP of the event which makes it so popular worldwide.

For more information check out the website - http://www.aquapalooza.com/
For more info click here

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The Bombay to Goa Special - The Sun, Sky, Sand, Surf - and a Sea Ray

Dreaming about owning a yacht?? Well, this is something that most of us well-heeled Indians would be doing nowadays !

What's next?!...'What do I do with my yacht?'? Most of us would just not want our precious water-ladies to be sitting pretty in the harbor and getting 'sun-tanned'.

Most yacht-owners would want to take their yachts for a regular spin with their friends or associates...some would take it one step ahead and get thrilled with watersports at the back of their boat.

BUT one of the most sought after 'things-to-do' for owners is the BOMBAY TO GOA 'ODYSSEA' !

GO GIIRA ! GO GOA !!

Venue : Gateway of India

Date : 6th March

Time : 0530

Event : The Sun, Sky, Sand, Surf - and a Sea Ray going home to GOA ! The euphoria and the excitement that Team GIIRA felt was at a different level.

Boarding boats of different sizes is a daily affair, but boarding one and going ALL THE DISTANCE to Goa, was something that really

Team GIIRA got an opportunity of its lifetime, to board a Sea Ray 330 heading home to Goa after the Mumbai International Boat Show '08...and thouroughly enjoyed this Odyssea.

READY! GET SET!! GO!!!

TWILIGHT - the first light of the day welcomed the start of our journey...

On-board the Sea-Ray were a total of eight of us...'Captain' Malcolm, 'Commander' Milind, 'Lieutenant' Wally, 'Officer' Dilip AND of course the 4 of us.


With all our lugguage stowed away in the cabin of the Sea-Ray and with engines warmed-up to the right temperatures, it was time to get moving.

Thanks to the jetty constructed for the MIBS '08, getting ourselves and the lugguage on to the boat was made easy, which would have been quite a task without the jetty...jumping on and off a tender (small row-boat) with lugguage and load.

CROWDED HOUSE

Almost pitch-dark, when we started off - the ever-expanding Mumbai Harbor - seemed like a small task to waiver around all the boats.

We sailed close to the Pride of the Mumbai Harbor - The Indian Empress. On closing in, we realised how BIG she was in all her beauty.

ONCE UNDERWAY...

...the fresh and cool breeze...kept us all in high-spirits! The team was really excited and did not know what to expect of the journey...but the feeling of being on the water with the surf created by the Sea-Rays twin stern drive engines and the Mumbai skyline slowly diminishing in the background was enigmatic..!

With Malcolm setting course on the Satellite-Navigation equipment and Milind keeping a look-out for the fishing trawlers and their nets with their beacons, we felt quite safe and secured to be in the right hands and on the right track.

Wally would keep ensuring that we ate and drank plenty, in order not to feel sea-sick but sadly since it was one of our first times being out on the sea for so long, got the better of some of us.

MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE

Now lets talk about the best part of the trip - BEING AT THE WHEEL OF THE SEA RAY !

YESSSS ! - we got to drive this fast-moving (30 Knots+) beast...and we felt a million bucks and in complete control of the immense power of this 640 Horse-Power monster...

The thrill and the euphoria you feel is way beyond comprehension. If you feel that the fastest car would be able to excite you as much...then you are wrong!!!

Nothing gets close to giving you the Sun over your head, silver-blue Sky, pristine white-sand beaches on your side and the powder-y Surf behind your back...would it!?

Thanks to Malcolm, who gave over the wheel to 2 of us and was guiding us how to ride the waves in order to feel least number of bumps and water splashing in...the drive was a great experience!

THANKS MALCOLM !

JAIGARH - AN OASIS IN THE SEA

Half way through and 5 whole bouncy hours into the drive...and the fuel alarm buzzers about to...we saw the Jaigarh jetty on our Sat-Nav screen...and felt quite relieved.

Because it was the first time that most of us had been so long on a boat moving fast on choppy waters, it did tae a lot physically and otherwise too...with the constant glare of the sun above our head.

Tanned we already were...but the sappy nature of the seas had us quite dehydrated.

Due to such an experience, we strongly suggests that if you ever plan to go to Goa in a yacht make sure that it is a good-sized one with an enclosed deck...or the weather would get the better of you.

But thanks to the Marine Solutions team, we were all well taken care of through the worse part of our experience.

Jaigarh - truly turned out to be an oasis in our case. But what an oasis it turned out to be?!...

We enter the creek that led us to the jetty. Surrounded by the famous Jaigarh Fort's architecture and green hills, we were excited to know what lies ahead.

Sadly, for a mult-crore yacht with a capacity of 1200 ltrs, we had to pump in every litre using a Sudanese pump, and once that pump broke, we had use the galli ka mechanic method of sucking the petrol and using small pipes.

A small fishing town, Jaigarh lives around its jetty. With fish being the staple diet, the jetty houses many a fishing trawlers with a bazaar to take care of its people's needs.

The small huts and cottages on the hilly terrain - that were home to the people there looked beautiful and the quality of life yet untouched by the cities around it.

SNOW-WHITE BEACHES

Once we filled the our stomach at a local eatery and the Sea Ray's really hungry belly with 1200 litres of fuel to suffice our 2nd and last leg, we headed out of Jaigarh underway to Goa.

As the waters got more choppier, what kept us happy was the fact that the waters were getting bluer and the snow-white sand virgin beaches along the Ratnagiri coast.

Dabhol came up with beaches with many windmills and then we had the Vengurla rocks which are commonly known as 'Burnt Rocks' - these are vertical land protrusions (islets) that come almost more than a kilometer into the sea.

Malcolm and Milind contemplated whether to take the channel running through the Burnt Rocks, but the final decision was taken by Malcolm to completely evade any danger to craft or human-life and we swayed out of course and away from the Burnt Rocks and carried on with our journey towards Goa.

THEN COMETH GOA

10 and a half hours !!! - that's what it took us to get Goa showing on our Sat-Nav systems.

First Anjuna then Baga...Calangute...Aguada and the Goa Creek.

The Governor's bungalow atop the cliff to the entrance of the Goa Creek was a fascinating structure.

Watch this space for what happens next in Goa...

(Hint : A Southern Oceans Sail-Boat and a Indian-made International Quality Speedboat...apart from all the fun)
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