Chennai  :

Twelve-year-old Varun, one of the members of the Royal Madras Yacht Club (RMYC) is getting ready for his sailing classes in the Optimist while his coach Chinna Reddy is giving him instructions about adjustments and speed control. “I am going to Hyderabad this year for the nationals. This is my first time,” he says happily.

A J80 is almost prepared to glide into the deep waters and in it are a few young sailors waiting for Chinna to get in. “We are the present champions of the club and also permanent members here,” one of the sailors introduces the group. As the boat leaves the dock, the champions start discussing flash mobs, demos and many more events they are planning to host in the coming days. “We are trying to create awareness about this amazing watersport. There is a huge potential for it in Chennai. The metropolis has such a huge coastline that you do not have to come to the port to sail. You can literally sail out of anywhere here. But the sad part is that nobody knows much about sailing as a sport or maybe they are unaware of the right place to look for,” complains Zephra Currimbhoy, who represented India as the only female practicing sailing squad in the 2010 Asian Games held at China.

“We have students from the ages of seven to 70 years,” Reddy says proudly. “Some children are afraid of the water initially but after awhile they literally start living in the sea!” However, inspite of their best efforts to promote sailing in more than 50 schools across the city, the instructor says with a sad smile, “The response has been limited.” But things quickly look up again when Rufus, a sailing student, speaks up. “I love the water and have come across a number of fascinating marine creatures. The kind of atmosphere out there is unexplainable.” As long as there are those who find a second home in the waves, sailing will have a fair amount of wind beneath its wings.

(For details, log onto: http://www.rmyc.in)

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Seetha Dinesh  / May 28th, 2014