A team from INS Dronacharya won the overall regatta trophy (called The Cock) while the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) School and the Diving School secured the runners-up position in the Kochi Area Pulling Regatta 2019 of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) that was conducted in the Ernakulam Channel on Thursday.
Races during the regatta were conducted in traditional pulling ‘whalers’ and held in four different categories viz. Junior Sailors, Senior Sailors, Officers and Best Whaler. The boats had to cover a distance of 1.6 km in the Ernakulam Channel, starting from the Venduruthy-Vikrant bridge and finishing at the North Jetty of the Navy. Six teams, formed from all major units of the SNC based in Kochi, participated in the regatta.
Vice Admiral A.K. Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Southern Naval Command, was the chief guest.
The regatta is one of the most prestigious and traditional naval sporting activities conducted in the Navy. The boats used in the regatta are 27-feet-long ‘whalers’ — a type of seaboat — each having a crew of five ‘pullers’ (rowers) and one coxswain (helm). The boats are named as ‘whalers’ as they were used in ancient times for hunting whales at sea.
The regatta is considered a signature event of the Command, which requires the highest standards of physical and mental fitness and sustained hard work.
