KOCHI: Cruising the backwaters bathed in five-star luxury, or throttling up a fourstroke 250hp powerboat along a palmfringed canal - you probably owe that swell of a thrill to a Czech-sounding brand name: Praga. While the Volvo Race regatta has turned all eyes to Kochi, upstream, near the quaint old Aroor-Edakochi bridge, a slew of yachts, speed boats and luxury cruise liners are getting ready to be launched under the hallowed Praga banner.
“We are pioneers in fibreglass boat building in this part of the world, and we happened to build the first high-end luxury twin-hull fiberglass catamaran in Kerala, even before our tourism promoters ever heard of backwater resorts or air-conditioned cruise boats,” says Joe Nejedly, managing director of Praga Marine.
Half-Czech, half-British, Joe was born in Coimbatore. His father, Josef Nejedly, came from Czechoslovakia to Kolkata when he was barely 19 as an employee of the ubiquitous Czech footwear chain, Bata. Joe took to his abiding passion, sailing, in the UK and got his training in boat building too. He came back in 1975 and found the Aroor waterfront plot ideal for his boatyard. The name, Praga, was a salute to Prague and his Czech legacy. With a basic twin-hull design acquired from the UK, Joe built his first catamaran, M V Mainakom, for the Kerala Tourism Department in 1990. Two years later, M V Pathiramanal, a well-appointed catamaran that truly revolutionised the concept of leisure tourism in the backwaters of Kerala, was launched.
A familiar face at international boat shows, Joe has produced a number of tourist vessels like M V Ajanta for the Maharashtra Tourism Department and the Gateway Glory, a party boat with spacious decks for dancing, dining and entertainment, cruising by Mumbai’s Gateway. In 2003, Praga built the 32m-long M V Vrinda, a fully air-conditioned five-star luxury catamaran to serve 100 people, for the Oberoi Group of Hotels.
It was hailed as one of the biggest luxury catamarans in Asia. Another landmark vessel, a 28m Swiss-designed two-hull luxury catamaran with provisions for huge massage spas, jacuzzi and state-of-the-art accessories, is now decked up at the Praga Marine, commissioned by the Park Hotel Group.
“The two-hull catamaran provides for a wider body. And as the draught is as low as five feet, it is most suitable for shallow canals and backwater in Kerala. But we have to keep in mind the low bridges while designing the decks,” says Joe.
Having supplied rigid inflatable boats and Arrow and Lancer patrol boats to the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, Praga has made a niche for itself in the high-end luxury yacht segment.
“Initially, there was stiff resistance to switching over from wood hulls to fibreglass. I used to carry small replicas of fibreglass craft and demonstrate their unbreakable sturdiness by banging them on the floor,” recalls Joe.
One of his singular distinctions is the international licence to manufacture the Optimist class yacht, which is identical the world over. He exports this 5ft-8inch dinghy to various countries, including Italy, Mauritius, Libya and Sri Lanka.
Now Joe is all set to expand the Aroor yard for the burgeoning demands of the international market.
“Kochi is a vantage point for yacht maintenance.
This season, the first fleet of about 20 vessels of the Vasco da Gama yachters is scheduled to call at our port in the run-up to the Volvo Ocean Race. On an average, 50-60 yachts touch Kochi every season.” And the Volvo Race regatta is bound to propel water sports and related leisure activities to more sparkling and dazzling vistas.
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