Tamil Nadu Sailing Association and the 29er Class Association of India had earlier made a formal announcement about the 29er Open Coastal National Championship 2013 which was held from the 27th to 30th of May 2013. Capt R Ravikumar, Principal Race Officer,Mr.Ajit Diaz, Organising Committee Chairman,Mr.Ravi Santhanam, Jury Chairman,Mr.Amish Ved, Coach, 29er Class Association of India and Dr.M Arumugam, Organising Committee member TNSA, highlighted the sailing championship details and spoke on the occasion.
Capt R Ravikumar, the Principal Race Officer explained that the races was held in the waters of the Bay of Bengal outside the Chennai harbour. He said, “A series of 12 races took place from the 28th to 30th of May with 4 back to back races each day.
Mr.Ravi Santhanam, the Jury Chairman for the event stated that the sailors followed the Racing Rules of Sailing that is being followed in events internationally.Mr.Amish Ved, the coach representing 29er Class Association of India said, “The 29er is the fastest growing international youth class and India has been doing extremely well in the European circuit this year.Dr.Arumugam, member of the organising committee spoke about the rise of the sport of sailing in Tamil Nadu. He praised Selvi J Jayalalithaa, Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu for taking timely measures to encourage and support young sports persons in the State.A practice race was also conducted that day to offer an opportunity for the sailors to gauge the conditions and the officials to perfect the conduct of the races.
In the finals K C Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar comprehensively won the Chennai Super Kings Open Coastal National Championship 2013.The winds provided glorious sailing conditions for the first 2 days of the championship turned truant today and kept the officials and sailors waiting for over an hour. The sky was overcast and the sea flat as eager eyes scanned the horizon for the elusive sea breeze. Ganapathy and Varun were in great form and finished ahead of the fleet in both the races with a considerable lead. In the first race, the ‘On Course Side’ signal went up and the pair ducked back to the start line not wanting take any chances. However the actual pair Shiv Rekhi and Ankit George that was ‘OCS’ continued sailing and earned a disqualification. Varsha Gautham and Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan finished second with Aman Vyas and Subham Pillai in third position. Aman and Subham were still ahead as they rounded the windward mark the second time however Varsha and Aishwarya managed to still finish the race second. Aman and Subham despite finishing both races in third position today, were unable to wrest the overall third position from Shiv and Ankit.
