The wind speed ranged from 11 to 15 knots and the swells were bigger. The relative change in the conditions did not prevent TNSA’s K.C. Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar from consolidating their position in the Chennai Super Kings 29er Open Coastal National Championships here on Wednesday.
The duo won three races on day two to lead the overall standings with eight points. The TNSA girls’ team of Varsha Gautham and Aishwarya Neduncheziyan followed with 14 points; the promising team finished second in two races and took the third place in the other.
In the third spot was the RMYC pair of Shiv Rekhi and Ankit George with 20 points. Shiv and Ankit did well to emerge victorious in the first race of the day where Varsha and Aishwarya lost momentum after a bright start.
Sizeable leads
The rest of the races went according to the script for the top-seeded Ganapathy and Varun. The pair built sizeable leads with skilful sailing and held on. Varsha and Aishwarya were tested by Shiv and Ankit but did well to make up lost ground to finish second in two of the three races. In the final race of the day though, Shiv and Ankit clinched the runner-up position.
With the completion of eight races — the sailors have been allowed one discard each — the top three slots are being held by sailors from Tamil Nadu.
Talking about the 29er category, TNSA commodore Ashok Thakkar said to The Hindu: “The surface of the boat is flat and does not go under the water like other boats. It is hard to find balance in this boat but is exciting to sail on. It can travel faster than the wind it uses. The boat is growing in popularity around the world.”
The results: Race 5: 1. Shiv Rekhi & Ankit George (RMYC); 2. K.C. Ganapathy & Varun Thakkar (TNSA); 3. Aman Vyas & Subham Pillai (NSS). Race 6: 1. Ganapathy & Varun; 2. Varsha Gautham & Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan (TNSA); 3. Shiv Rekhi & Ankit George (RMYC). Race 7: 1. Ganapathy & Varun; 2. Varsha & Aishwarya; 3. Shiv & Ankit. Race 8: 1. Ganapathy & Varun; 2. Rekhi & George; 3. Varsha & Aishwarya. Overall: 1. Ganapathy & Varun (TNSA) 8 points; 2. Varsha & Aishwarya (TNSA) 14; 3. Rekhi & George (RMYC) 20.
