Chinna Reddy has been sailing since he was eight. In the 21 years since then, his love for the sport has shaped much of his life. “Whenever I shifted, I made sure there was a place to sail as well. That way, Chennai was the best place to move to because it is surrounded by water bodies,” he says brightly.
This city-based competitive sailor has just returned from Qatar after representing India in the Sail the Gulf international regatta. The five-day event had nine countries participating, including Australia, Germany and Great Britain. Out of the nine races held in the Hobie Cat 16 category, Chinna and his sailing partner, Kalaga Yakobo from Orissa, came in first in eight of the races. “In the first race, I came second and I wasn’t very happy about that. I wanted to do better, so I came first in all the other races with a steady lead,” says the winner of the Sail the Gulf 2015 Hobie Cat 16 trophy.
Chinna started as a member of the Sea Cadet Corps in Visakhapatnam. Early on, he was told he could go to the Olympic level with sailing, and since then, he’s had his eye on the gold. So while all his friends took to the street to play their sports, he gravitated towards the seas. He sailed throughout school and even while he was obtaining his engineering degree from Indira Gandhi National Open University from Visakhapatnam. When he finally had to choose a career, he decided to work as a 3D animator, because it gave him the flexibility to sail on the side. “I love sailing. When I’m in the boat, I forget everything else. All my troubles are left behind on land,” says Chinna.
Yet, he lacked the financial backing to invest in expensive sailing equipment that would further his competitive sailing career and dreams. It was in 2010 when he was invited to conduct a sailor’s coaching camp in Chennai by the Royal Madras Yacht Club, that he found the support he needed. A year later, he moved to Chennai as a sailing coach at RMYC and since then, has trained many sailors who went on to win medals at international level competitions. While doing so, he also started participating in races.
“My goal has been to win many regattas and to go around the world on a sail boat,” says Chinna, whose next step in the direction towards achieving his goal is to participate in the Hobie Cat 16 world Championship to be held in Italy later this year. “We have to get ready and practise before we go there. It’s a big championship,” he says excitedly.
