Reigning champions Tropical Titans finished first in the opening race of the Champions Boat League (CBL), the third edition of which kick-started with a keenly contested race held in the Marine Drive backwaters in Kochi on Saturday, by covering the 1-km track in 3.27 minutes.
Coast Dominators came second, followed by Mighty Oars, as crowds cheered the contesting snakeboats of the CBL-3 organised by Kerala Tourism.
While Tropical Titans (Pallathuruthy Boat Club rowing the Veeyapuram snakeboat) reinforced their presence in the championship, runners-up Coast Dominators (owned by UBC Kainakary Club rowing Nadubhagom chundan) clocked 3.41 minutes, and second runner-up Mighty Oars (NCDC Boat Club rowing Niranam chudan) clocked 3.42 minutes. Tropical Titans, who won the CBL titles in both the previous editions (2019 and 2022) of the championship, gained a good lead halfway in the final lap, only to further increase it and win by a comfortable margin.
In the races between the smaller iruttukuthy boats, Mayilpeeli came first in the ‘B’ category and Kochi Water Metro’s team Thaniyan came first in the ‘A’ category.
The CBL was launched on the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches. The next CBL race will be held at Kottapuram in Thrissur on September 23.
Inaugurating the event virtually, Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas said Ernakulam district had attracted the maximum number of domestic tourists (over 22 lakh) in the State in the January-June 2023 period.
The State-level arrival was 20% more than during the same period in 2022. The CBL contest organised by Kerala Tourism has been extended to northern Malabar, while it will be held in more districts in the coming years. It would further increase tourist footfall in Kerala since most tourists were keen to witness the State’s famed snakeboat races, he added.
In his address, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said Kerala, which was spread over a limited geographical area, had the maximum number of star hotels in the country. Its homestays too are unique. He distributed prizes to winning teams of the CBL. Mayor M. Anilkumar flagged off a mass drill held as part of the contest. A flash mob, band display by the Indian Navy, rendering of traditional boat songs, and ganamela too were held.
The CBL in Kochi was a 1-km-long race through a 50-metre wide track. The track was dredged by the Irrigation department to increase the depth to host boats having around 100 rowers each. The event that was launched in 2019 had got disrupted in the next two years due to the pandemic before resuming last year.
The Water Metro ferries that had halted operations for a few hours in connection with the CBL resumed service in the Marine Drive-Vypeen sector from 6 p.m., according to a release issued by Kochi Water Metro Limited.
