It is possibly the sun, the sand, and the gentle spray on the face that spurs such bravado.
Of late, it has become a trend, especially among the youth, at Mamallapuram to take tourists for jolly rides on boats, without any safety gear.
The younger generation of the fishing community, who are yet to take up fishing as a fulltime profession, sometimes persuade tourists into taking short tripS into the sea in the fishing boats and catamarans. On other occasions, the visitors to the beaches themselves are found requesting such jaunts.
These trips, which may last around 15 to 20 minutes, can become risky sometimes, particularly when the weather conditions are rough, say members of the community.
If the occupants of a boat cannot swim, the trip turns disastrous as up righting a fibre glass boat that has turned turtle is a challenging task even for seasoned fishermen. In such a situation, the young fishermen might not be able to help anyone in distress, said a middle-aged fisherman of Mamallapuram’s Fisherman Colony.
He added that such activities could be avoided if boat owners prevented such use of their vessels, and if law and order personnel kept watch along the seashore and warned against such trips.
