City businessman takes to the water to beat Mumbai’s mad traffic rush…

 For most of us even the thought of a commute from Worli to Dombivli would make us break into a sweat. But for Worli resident Sagar Jondhale – who travels to the distant suburb every single day for work – the commute is a breeze… literally. Faster than a car or a local train, Sagar's mode of transport has a very high cool quotient. It's a speedboat – a Bayliner 245!
    Not only is the boat ride stress-free – no honking drivers or sweaty armpits on trains to contend with – it takes him half the time to get to his destination.
    Sagar says that while travelling by road would take anywhere between 2 to 2.5 hours to get to his office, it now takes him a maximum of one hour and 15 minutes in his Rs 38-lakh boat.
    "It's a 60-km drive from my house to Dombivli, whereas it's around 75 km on water. Yet, I reach faster than I would by road," he said.
    "Even if I had upgraded from my Honda Civic to a Merc, I would still be on the same roads," said Sagar, justifying his new toy.
    "Before I made my decision, I actually went around in smaller boats to inspect connectivity between Mumbai and neighbouring suburbs," said the 32-year-old businessman whose family owns a host of educational institutes in Dombivli. "It was only when I was convinced that the water bodies were good enough to support a speedboat that I made up my mind." Sagar then went about registering the boat with the Maharashtra Maritime Board, and recruiting a licenced driver. His expensive whim had a few teething problems though. On the first day itself, he ended up breaking a propeller when he hit a sand pit near Mumbra.
    "You have to study the waterways well to figure out sandpits and rocks. Once you know it well, you can cruise at 100 km per hour without worrying," he explained.
    Sagar, who believes more people should buy boats, also uses the Bayliner on fishing expeditions and adventure trips.
    "At times I dock on isolated shores. And then, there are times when I just stop my boat in the middle of water and watch the sunset," he smiled.
    So, what happens to the boat during the monsoon?
    "I haven't thought that far, yet. But I think the coastguards disallow boats during the monsoon months anyway, so I will have to brave the road traffic for three months."

Sagar Jondhale enjoys the sunset from his speedboat on his way back home from work

THE ROUTE

• Sagar sets out on the sea from Worli, and heads for Bandra.

• From Bandra he goes through Juhu, Versova, Madh, Gorai and Uttan before entering the Thane creek from Bhayandar.

• From there, it takes him seven minutes to get to Dombivli.

• He parks his boat with fishermen at both ends.