She stood there at the Millennium Park jetty, her sleek white hull glistening in the sun. A brand new Prestige 500 yacht, with the fly bridge swooping up towards the sky and the sunpads catching the rays.

In around five minutes we were ready to sail. As she picked up speed to around 12 knots (about 25-30kmph) on the river Hooghly, it was hard to believe that this beauty of a cruiser was in Calcutta.

“She arrived from Nantes mounted on a vessel and wrapped like a present. We’ve been waiting for her. I’ve only had the chance to take her out to sea thrice because I’ve been travelling,” said real estate developer Rahul Saraf, as he called for a Prosecco to celebrate the moment.

The idea of shipping the Rs 8.5 crore yacht from France to Calcutta was born when Rahul and son Vidyut were brainstorming about their super-premium housing project on the Bypass called Atmosphere. They wanted to take the “lifestyle” that Atmosphere represented outside the four walls of what is billed to be the city’s landmark residential building.

“We have a beautiful river, absolutely phenomenal. It is sad that in spite of living in the city for more than 40 years, I never realised its beauty. There was no opportunity to experience it,” said Rahul.

That opportunity is now here for residents of Atmosphere, for whom the Prestige 500 will be available exclusively. “The yacht will belong to the association and each of the 80 families who will live there will have equal right to it,” said Rahul, the man behind Calcutta’s first mall, Forum.

In Mumbai, the cost of hiring such a cruiser is approximately Rs 25,000 an hour. “Even if the yacht were to be rented for Rs 12,000 an hour here, the annual running cost of the Prestige 500 of Rs 30 lakh would be covered in 250 outings. That’s roughly three outings a year — two birthdays and an anniversary — by each family,” explained Rahul as his mind worked out the math as quickly as the boat cruised upcurrent.

We had been gliding for around 45 minutes leaving the Howrah Bridge far behind. The lush green of the Botanic Garden swept past on the right. A few vessels we met along the way looked at us curiously while the smaller boats bobbed precariously over the streaming waves thanks to the modern pod propulsion of the yacht. “The pod engine makes it a lot faster, conserves fuel and is easy to drive,” reported a skipper on board.

Step inside the luxurious Prestige 500 and it’s surprisingly spacious — a master bedroom, two guest rooms, a salon with a dinette, a galley (kitchen area) well-equipped with a gas-fired oven and cooktop, a good way to go if you don’t want the generator running all the time.

Here’s a sail through the Prestige 500 with t2 being one of the first to board. Read it with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Cruisin’ in your ears. Because music is played for love, cruisin’ is made for love.

Karo Christine Kumar
Pictures: Rashbehari Das