The Complete Buoy
A little fish tells us that Gautam Singhania is trying to sell the M Y Ashena, which made a bit of a splash a few years ago as India’s first indigenously designed luxury yacht. It was built in Gujarat, reportedly with his active contribution to concept and design, and outfitted in Dubai at great expense. A friend who knows his Vinho do Porto from his starboard tells us that the good ship Ashena is, actually, rather bad. It’s built upside-down, he said a teak hull with a fibreglass upper body means that it’s heavy in the water. Much better to have had a fibreglass hull with gleaming wood fittings dolling up the interior. It’s also terribly underpowered and not safe anywhere outside a harbour, he went on to say. It’s about as sea-worthy as those motor launches people throw parties on, he said, chuckling evilly, a nice party boat to impress people who know nothing about boats.