A storm warning is a strong deterrent for sailors. On the other hand, the lack of wind can be a huge source of bother as well. On a Thursday of low winds in the Chennai Super Kings Open Coastal National Sailing Championships, only two of the four scheduled races could be completed.
K.C. Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar of the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association (TNSA) won both the contests comprehensively to clinch the title with 10 points; the sailors were allowed only one discard.
The all-girls’ team of Varsha Gautham and Aishwarya Nedunchezhyan (TNSA), once again, held its own to take a creditable second spot overall.
Shiv Rekhi and Ankit George of RMYC came third.
On a day of overcast skies and a flat sea without swells or chops, the officials had to wait for an hour before the first race got underway. Only when a wind of six to seven knots blew from the East did the final day’s competition start at around 3 p.m.
The conditions were different but Ganapathy and Varun continued their domination.
In the first race, the ‘On Course Side’ signal went up, and the pair ducked back to the start line not wanting to take any chances. However, Shiv Rekhi and Ankit George continued sailing, and earned a disqualification.
Varsha and Aishwarya finished second with Aman Vyas and Subham Pillai in the third position.
The wind moved southwards in the 10th race.
Ganapathy and Varun, who gauged the shift, rounded the windward mark first, and thereafter maintained a sizable lead to win.
Varsha and Aishwarya, recovered to steadily gain on the others, and overtook two boats with expert rounding at the Leeward mark to take the runner-up spot.
Aman and Subham, despite finishing both races in the third position, were unable to wrest the overall third place from Shiv and Ankit.
Captain Ravikumar, principal race officer, said: “On a day of low winds, the sailors’ boat handling skills come into play. They have to take the boat forward with little support from nature.”
Ganapathy and Varun were not found wanting.
The results: Race 9: 1. K.C. Ganapathy & Varun Thakkar (TNSA), 2. Varsha Gautham & Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan (TNSA), 3. Aman Vyas & Subham Pillai (NSS).
Race 10: 1. K. C. Ganapathy & Varun Thakkar (TNSA), 2.. Varsha Gautham & Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan (TNSA), 3. Aman Vyas & Subham Pillai (NSS).
Overall positions: 1. K. C. Ganapathy & Varun Thakkar (TNSA) 10 pts, 2. Varsha Gautham & Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan (TNSA) 18, 3. Shiv Rekhi & Ankit George (RMYC) 29.
