How to almost die in water

“It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquility”
~ William Wordsworth

One day while paragliding over a lake I felt at ease. The birds were hovering over me. The tree tops wanted to kiss my feet. And it was so safe since even if I crash I’d go straight in the water where I-… hold up I don’t know how to swim.
This is the thought that made me sign up for training sessions at my local pool. Naturally “growth” demands I learn more than just freestyle and backstrokes. So I looked up courses on ABVIMAS^[1] and thought it might be a good idea to give Basic Water Sports Course a try. The fees is INR 14,500 as of August 2026. Email them since online sign up probably still sucks for water sports at the time of you reading this.

view from cafeteria
Thy precious looking out at the training ground.

For spoilers there are a few activities that can get you pumped. Kayaking, sailing, electric hydrofoil and skiing being a few of them. Water skiing and waterboard surfing might be especially temptating because of the motorboat (wink wink) that pulls you instead of you making an effort.

How to get there

To get to Regional Water Sports Centre (Pong Dam, HP)^[2] I looked up the closest Railway station from New Delhi. Daulatpur Chowk (stn code: DLPC) appeared to be an ideal choice with 14053 Himachal Express taking care of the overnight journey.

Fun fact:
You can text RAIL to 139 to 
have an array of options to query 
you can do over SMS that feels like 
a linux terminal. For example you want 
to know which stn you just passed with 
<train number=14053>? Just send "SPOT 14053" 
without quotes to 139. Want to know which 
platform number the train haults along 
with arrival and departure time at 
each station? "ROUTE 14053" -> Platform 14. 22:50.

I took a bus early in the morning from Daulatpur Chowk to Talwara bus stand and then to Pong Dam. Tell your bus conductor you want to be dropped off at Maharana Pratap Statue/Checkpost in case he doesn’t understand your intent. You should totally invest in nose and ear plugs. There is a sports shop near “Varun Furniture” in Talwara where you can arrange for it. I remember the fiery conversation I had with the shopkeeper for an hour on politics in Bengal post elections.

How it kicks off

You get your own Personal Floatation Device (PFD) aka life jacket. Zip and buckle up well before you find yourself in water. I recommend you develop some level of swimming proficiency to have confidence in doing the coursework without fear of drowning. Whether you like it or not there is a LOT of focus on swimming and the instructors would pull you aside from the rest as days pass by if you’re lagging behind.

kissing rescue kayak
Thy precious with his precious rescue kayak.

Please don't show up if you have major injuries or infection in your ear since the water isn't turquoise. Better safe than sorry. Also in case you haven't jumped in dirty pools yet, you might have a sharp pain in your ears which will flow to your jaws as the course progresses so expect visit(s) to doctor for eardrops and see if having ear plugs help. I come from West Bengal so the filth in pools there has made me immune to filth in HP. Not something that I should be proud of though.

Medication you may want

Prescription for ear pain
Prescription shared by "Master".

5 day course
Zebuclav 625 mg 
Antibiotic
2 tab morning and evening

Walflame P tablet 
2 tab 
Aclofenac 100mg 
Paracetamol 325 mg
For pain and fever

Earwel drops 
3 drops 3 times

Optional medicine 
Rabnis DSR empty stomach 1 tablet 
Coffease tablet 1 time

Screw swimming; get to the good stuff

If the four styles of swimming did not impress you do note that there is still plenty of practice you can have with a kayak. The idea of sailing and kayaking came to my mind back in Feb of ’26 when I was looking for adventures in New Zealand. The Kiwi love for outdoors resonates well with the idea of an ideal life. By the way if you’re rich, Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world.

Sail boat diagram
Figure of a sailboat. Image courtesy of GPT 5.4 nano.

Ever wanted to be Popeye the sailor man and win affection of your Olive? Now is your chance to shine. The centre plate is undeployed as long as the boat is not rigged. You get to learn about rigging the boat starting with pulling the jib halyard all the way to steering the boat in the right direction using the tiller that guides the rudder. Life of a foresail crewman is all about pulling the jib sheet (the line controlling the foresail) on either side on the boat depending on wind. They don't face the danger of having the "boom" collide with their heads. Yes, the "boom" did get its name from the sound it makes via collison. Very sadistic and creative at the same time if you ask me. Sailing will teach you to accept fate and nature more than anything else. When you don't have strong enough winds you can stay stuck for a long long time. I remember a friend "rescued" an operator stuck in the middle of the dam. He was bored to death waiting for a single gust. They switched places. The foresail crewmen weren't as lucky and had to wait for an hour to come back ashore.

Kayak on shoulder
Yes you'll see me with the Kayak everywhere but on water.

Don't be fooled. I did not use the kayak for exploring what the sail boat could do. I was interested in something much worse.

Eskimo Roll

Eskimo Roll
The only time I show up with the kayak in water and it's capsized.

This can make an atheist pray. The courage quickly sinks when water seeps into your nose as you are upside down in the kayak with your knees stretched to the sides. You need to trust physics and yourself to make it happen. There is a "skirt" one wears that goes around the rim of the kayak. It prevents water from seeping into the cockpit when it's flipped. You need to get your paddle to the surface keeping your body to the left the entire time. Don't confuse a full roll or half roll for 180 or 360 degree. You always get back up from the same position no matter what. We don't want to waste time underwater deciding which side as if it's as important as a variable name in the code.

Once the paddle is up on the surface it’s orientation is confirmed to be parallel with taps. If it slides back in the water easily then its perpendicular. You then execude a sweep and simultaneously put pressure on your hips and right knee to roll back up to safety. Easier said than done. I have a coursemate, Deepak, who helped me get rid of disorientation and fear with dozens of rolls where I only held my breath and tapped on the edges when I wanted to be rolled back up. Dude really jumped over the kayak, caught an edge on the other side and flipped about 100kg of dead weight in water. I’m sorry man but for me to return the favour you need to cut down on your diet.

Honorable mention

While we just got an introduction for it, it was one heck of a ride. Starting with electric hydrofoil which felt like using a RC car with weights as controls.
I wish I could say I was able to do water skiing but skipping leg days showed up in more ways than one. As the motorboat pulled the rope, I had me knees closed for a few seconds until the speed was too much to handle. Being a stubborn kid I still didn’t let go. Until the surface tension started pulling my swimming trunks down. I may not pray to Gods but today is not a day to mess with Posiedon. I had to let go.

Waterboard Surfing
Let capitalism create waves when nature doesn't for you to surf.

Come back for more

As the badge ceremony ends we head back home with memories to cherish and sun tan to deal with. My mother refused to let me in the house until I showed her my birthmark. BWSC with A grade opens up gate for Advanced Sailing and other courses. I hope thy precious recovers from the tan and sets off on another adventure soon. Until then may the Gods watch over you.

References

1. Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (Himachal Pradesh)
2. Location of Centre on Google Maps

Keyboard shortcuts

Mountaineering