MAY 2015
Governing Council
Shri Atulya Misra, IAS
Chairman, Chennai Port Trust
Shri Mohan Pyare IAS
Principal Secretary,
Youth Welfare and Sports Development
IG S.P. Sharma PTM TM
Commander, Indian Coast Guard
(Region East)
Commodore Amar K. Mahadevan
Naval Officer in Charge, Tamilnadu.
Commodore Vijesh Kumar Garg
Volume : 13 Issue : 05
ASAF Youth Sailing Cup Finals, Abu Dhabi
The fourth and final event in the ASAF Youth
Sailing Cup series was held at Abu Dhabi
from April 7th to 11th. The regatta was run
in Optimist, Laser 4.7 and Radial, RS One
and SL 16 classes. There were totally 74 sailors
from 8 countries participating in the event.
India had 10 sailors in the event, 8 Optimists
and one entry each in Laser and Radial.
DDG, NCC, Tamilnadu, Pondicherry,
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Day one of the ASAF Youth Sailing Cup Finals
in Abu Dhabi saw some tricky conditions that
Committee of Management tested the young athletes. At the start of the
racing for the day, the breeze was shifty and led
Commodore & Treasurer
Mr. Ashok Thakkar
to marks on all courses being adjusted as the
racing progressed through the day. This led to
Vice-commodore
Dr. M. Arumugam
most sailors on the Optimist course being scored
Honorary Secretary
DNF as many did not know the rules regarding
Ms. Nilma V. Shah
finishing at a gate in a shortened course
Acting Captain of Boats
situation. Three races were sailed with three
Mr. K. Balachander
different countries leading each of the classes.
Official Handicapper and Measurer
Ms. Kanthimathi Prabhakar
Committee Members
Mr. Munna Jamal
Dr. Mushtaq Ali
Mr. Ashish Mehta
Mr. Srinivas Reddy
Ms. Sucharita Kamath
Regd. Office :
No. 57, Arathoon Road,
Royapuram, Chennai - 600 013.
Tamil Nadu, India
Tel. : 044 - 2538 2253
Email : tansail@gmail.com
web : www.tnsa.in
Edited by
Dr. Mushtaqh Ali
Ms.Shantha Ravikumar
Formatted & Printed at
Pio Printers Pvt. Ltd.
www.pioprinters.com
For Private Circulation only
Day 2 saw the wind die completely and just 1
race was completed with a long day of waiting
on the water. It seems the wind Gods heard
everyone’s prayers and smiled on them on
Day 3. A south south-westerly breeze of 1014 knots provided ideal conditions after two
days of very light and shifty breeze. The Race
Committee took full advantage, with nine
races being completed across most of the
classes and consequently some major changes
took place at the top of the leader boards.
Asri Azman of Malaysia who last year competed
at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, Nanjing,
continued with his fantastic run, this time in
the Laser Radial. The end of the day saw the
top 10 sailors in the Optimist make the medal
race for the next day while all the rest sailed 1
last race. All the 8 Indian Opti sailors finished
in the top half of the 54 strong fleet, while
3 of them finished among the top ten, with
Chitresh Tatha leading among the Indians.
The Indian Contingent at Abu Dhabi
In the end, the Malaysian team picked up all
three medals in Optimist (Boys), two medals
in the Laser (Radial) and one medal in the
Optimist (Girls). The Hong Kong team walked
away with all the medals in RS One, a Gold
and Bronze medal in the Laser 4.7 and a Silver
in the Optimist (Girls). Indian sailor Nethra
Kumanan won a Bronze in the Laser Radial
edging out the Hong Kong sailor who was tied
on points going into the final race. The home
nation UAE won a Silver medal in the Laser 4.7.
ASAF Youth Cup Medal Winners
Optimist (Boys)
Muhammed Fauzi Bin Kaman Shah – MAS - Gold
Muhammed Syafie Bin Abdulla – MAS - Silver
Muhammed Dhiauddin Bin Rozani – MAS - Bronze
Optimist (Girls)
Nor Nabila Natasha Mohd Nazri – MAS - Gold
Nancy Highfield – HKG - Silver
Marie Oldeman- UAE - Bronze
Laser 4.7
Emman Fung – HKG - Gold
Abdulla Al Moudi – UAE - Silver
Molly Highfield – HKG - Bronze
Laser Radial
Nur Shazrin Muhammed Latif – MAS - Gold
Asri Azman – MAS - Silver
Nethra Kumanan – IND - Bronze
RS One
Cheng Ho Yin - HKG
Leung Pui Hei - HKG
Chan Tsz Wai – HKG
ASAF Youth Sailing Cup 2014-15
With the completion of the final event of the ASAF Youth
Sailing Cup in Abu Dhabi, the ASAF Youth Sailing Cup
Series 2014 – 15 came to a conclusion.
Kong who were tied on points. On the back of her Israel
Youth championship, Nethra managed to hold off Riley to
win the top spot in the class.
Day 1 of racing at Abu Dhabi, on the 8th, had low winds
around 6 knots, day 2 had only one race conducted for a
majority of the fleets and day three saw winds averaging 8-10
knots only in the afternoon. The race committee was forced
to have a long day of racing on day 3 to catch up on lost
races. This meant that the sailors with mental and physical
endurance would be the ones to come out on top. The
Malaysian team managed to stay at the top of things in Abu
Dhabi followed closely by Chitresh Tatha of the Tamilnadu
Sailing Association (TNSA). The last day saw a variable 6-11
knot breeze that blew across the specially setup race course
along the Corniche, Abu Dhabi. A large number of people
had gathered to witness the Medal Races.
Hong Kong went home from Abu Dhabi laden with medals
and the ASAF Youth Sailing Cup Nations Trophy for the
2014 – 15 Series. They walked away with three Gold, three
Silver and three Bronze medals, followed by India who picked
up two Golds, one Silver
and two Bronze medals,
whilst Malaysia won a
Silver and Bronze in the
ASAF Youth Sailing Cup
2014 – 15 Series.
The top honours in the
ASAF Youth Cup, run across
4 events conducted in India,
Hong Kong, Singapore and
Abu Dhabi was fought
out
between
Chitresh
and another TNSA sailor
Aniketh Rajaram who had
India wins all 3 Opti podium
managed to pip Chitresh in
positions
the third leg in Hong Kong. In Abu Dhabi the tables were
turned and Aniketh was pushed to second spot in the ASAF
Cup standings by Chitresh who sailed with consistency and
grit. Naveen Kumanan, also from TNSA, pulled out all stops
on the final medal race to finish third in the medal race and
win bronze in the ASAF Youth cup.
In the Laser Radial Class, the fight was even tighter between
Nethra Kumanan of the TNSA and Riley Cameron of Hong
Sportswomen of the Year
TNSA sailors have won a
prestigious award from the
Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists
Association bringing sailing
to the forefront among better
known sports disciplines in
Sportswomen of the year 2015, the State. With sustained
meritorious performances in
Varsha and Aishwarya
Asian Games and other international events, our sailors
Varsha Gautham and Aishwarya Nedunchezhian have been
grabbing headlines for a while now. The pair was awarded
the Sportswomen of the Year for 2015, by the TNSJA on
April 29 at their annual awards function. It is a matter of
pride for sailing as a sport and for TNSA in particular, that
they won this from among a list of luminaries that included
athletes like squash champion Dipika Pallikal, etc. It is
Nethra Kumanan is the Laser
Radial champion
Sheikh Khaled Zayed Saqr
Al-Nehayan, Chairman
of the UAE Sailing &
Rowing Federation and
Dr Malav Shroff, President ASAF gave away the Medals
at the closing ceremony that was held in the evening. The
ASAF also announced the four Regattas that will constitute
the ASAF Youth Sailing Cup Series for the year 2015 – 16
and are as follows:
(a) ASAF Youth Sailing Cup 1 - YAI, India - 25 - 29 Nov 2015
– IIR 2015, TNSA, Chennai
(b) ASAF Youth Sailing Cup 2 - HKSF, Hong Kong - 17 - 21
Feb 2016, HK Race Week, HK
(c) ASAF Youth Sailing Cup 3 - SSF, Singapore - 19 - 23 March
2016,
(d) ASAF Youth Sailing Cup Finals - UAE SARF, UAE, 05 09 April 2016
quite an achievement for a sports association which has
just entered its teens and speaks volumes of TNSA’s efforts
and dedication towards promoting this sport. Kudos to the
two girls, Varsha and Aishwarya! Thank you TNSJA for the
support and encouragement!
Champions - ASAF Youth Sailing Cup 2014-15
Optimist (Boys)
Chitresh Tatha – IND - Gold
Aniketh Rajaram – IND - Silver
Naveen Kumanan – IND - Bronze
Optimist (Girls)
Nancy Highfield – HKG - Gold
Nor Nabila Natasha Mohd Nazri – MAS - Silver
Marie Oldeman- UAE - Bronze
Laser 4.7
Molly Highfield – HKG - Gold
Emman Fung – HKG - Silver
Shikhar Garg – IND - Bronze
Laser Radial
Nethra Kumanan – IND - Gold
Riley Cameron – HKG - Silver
Nur Shazrin Muhammed Latif
– MAS - Bronze
RS One
Cheng Ho Yin – HKG - Gold
Leung Pui Hei – HKG - Silver
Chan Tsz Wai – HKG - Bronze
-With information from ASAF
website and inputs from
Ms.Sucharita Kamath
Breaking new paths
Sailing is new to Coastal Security Group, but this sailing
expedition on sail boats from Pulicat to Kanniyakumari
covering a distance of 1076 kilometers was formidable. It was
accomplished by the marine commandos along with sailors
from Indian Coast Guard and Indian Army from 23rd Feb to
3rd March 2015.
The dynamic president of Tamil Nadu Sailing Association Mr.
Ashok R. Thakkar is the driving force behind this marvelous
feat. The robust sailing boats Viking Mist and Viking Swift
were made available for this long haul sail apart from a team
of support staff. The team leaders were seasoned sailors Mr.
Selvam and Mr. Durai Raj, both Subedars of Indian Army.
Dignitaries at the flag off ceremony
The marine commandos of Coastal Security Group were
trained by the staff of the TNSA; consequently eight
commandos were selected for the sailing expedition. These
men had sailed the whole distance in 10 days. I had the
privilege to join them in the second half of the expedition.
Dr C Sylendra Babu and IG S P Sharma flag off the expedition
The worst was yet to come. The greatest danger was
encountered during the return journey that commenced
from Kanniyakumari. The low pressure area off the coast of
Sri Lanka developed into a cyclonic storm, quite unusual for
that time of the year bringing unprecedented rough weather
condition. The sailing from Kanniyakumari to Turicorin was
extremely tough, which the CSG sailors later would describe
as ‘sick and tired of sick and tired’. All sailors suffered sea
sickness but still they held on to the sail boat and endured the
tempest. The marine police’s 12 tonne boat that escorted the
sail boats had a tough time negotiating the rough sea, and it
sank off Manapad coast at 02.00 hours on 11th March. Three
of the boat’s staff including skipper S.Ravichandran and
maintenance engineers Ramachandran and Vinothkumar
were rescued by the life guards from ICGS Vaibhav.
Sailing wasn’t a very smooth affair despite the detailed
planning by the TNSA and other stake holders. The boats
survived the rough weather, but one of the sail boats lost
its mast in the violent friction with the shallow mouth at
Cuddalore harbor, which it was learnt has claimed the lives
of a few Cuddalore fishermen already. Later in Turticorin,
Viking Swift was damaged badly due to the violent action of
wave on the jetty. The boat had to be lifted on to a truck to
bring it back to Chennai. The high swells, bad weather, strong
wind, the low wind or no wind, shallow sea, etc., had to be
tackled apart from communication and the safe berthing
of boats. Whenever such unforeseen situations arose, as
they are likely in such adventure trips, we looked up to Mr.
S.V.Balachandar, Captain of boats, TNSA, who was always
available for us.
A dream come true
Naturally the most important challenge when the rough
weather subsided was to recover the 12 tonne boat that
reached 72 feet deep sea floor and settled on the sand bed. It
was proposed to bring in rescue experts from Mumbai at high
cost but the CSG worked out its own strategy of rescue with
the help of local fishermen and salvaged the boat in 24 hours
of efforts and brought it to Tuticorin old Harbour.
The sailing that was flagged off by IG Satya Prakash Sharma,
PTM, TM, Commander, ICG Region (East) in Chennai arrived
at Kanniyakumari on 3rd March in the august presence of
Kanniyakumari district Collector Shri. Shajan Singh Shawan,
IAS, SP Mr. N. Manivannan and the Commandant, ICGS,
Tuticorin Mr. Adhi Narayanan.
What started off as an imaginative sailing expedition ended
with joy in the success of the mission and experience in the
failures and adversities. But it must be admitted that it was
a dream come true to the Tamil Nadu marine police. We
became stronger in maneuvering of boats and experts in
handling crisis in the sea.
Valedictory function
Guard, the Indian Army and TNSA emerged as heroes, who
endured harsh conditions to accomplish the cherished goal,
Salvaging the sunken boat
one of the longest sailing expeditions taken up by any agency
I am grateful to the officers and staff of TNSA, the Indian along the coast of Tamil Nadu.
coast guard, Indian Army, and the Police department for the
-Dr. C. Sylendra Babu. IPS. Addl. Director General of Police,
untiring support they extended to accomplish the task. Of
Coastal security, Tamil Nadu.
course the sailors of Coastal Security Group, Indian Coast
The return of the Golden Cat
We reached Kavaratti before dawn at about 0230 hours on
26th March and waited for daybreak to enter the Port. It was
enchanting to watch the sunrise from behind the island, a
sight that will linger in my memories for a long time. After
sunrise, we sailed into the emerald waters of Kavaratti lagoon
and were amazed to see a picture perfect island.
Anchored at the Kavaratti beach
to the island. We stayed on land during the day and slept on
the boat at night, as we were used to the rocking of the boat.
It felt like home on the boat. It was an awesome experience to
stay in this exotic place with beautiful people for over a week.
The days of this week were among the best days of my life!
The picture perfect Kavaratti island
The island of Kavaratti lies 360 km (190 nautical miles) off
the coast of the state of Kerala at 10.57°N 72.62°E. Kochi is
the closest major city on the Indian mainland at a distance of
404 km (218 nautical miles). As the capital of Lakshadweep,
it is the most developed of all the islands. Tourism is the
primary industry on the island. It is well known for its pristine
white sand beaches and calm lagoons. The serene lagoons of
Kavaratti are ideal for many water sports like sailing, wind
surfing, scuba diving, kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling, water
skiing and swimming. We had a great time sailing, scuba
diving, snorkeling, swimming and water skiing too.
The other industries on the island are fisheries and cultivation
of coconut, since the staple food of the local population is
rice with fish and coconut. This is the only resort on the
island and it has a lovely view of the beach and the turquoise
blue waters of the lagoon. The island is so beautiful and cool
because the whole island is fully covered with lots of coconut
trees, it looks like a carpet of coconut trees.
We anchored the boat just little away from the beach, and used
a Gemini with a 4hp engine to shuttle from the catamaran
Interestingly, the island has over 50 ancient mosques spread
out all over. The most famous of them is Urja mosque, built in
the 17th century by Sheikh Mohammed Kasim; this mosque
is particularly noteworthy for the ornate carvings on pillars
and ceilings. The Marine Aquarium has a vast collection of
varied types of shells, corals and fishes and other aquatic
specimens.
View from the Light House
During our exploration of the island we visited the low
temperature desalination plant (LLTD) in Kavaratti
commissioned by the Government of India in May 2005, with
a capacity to supply 100,000 liters of drinking water every
day. Another interesting place to see is the lighthouse of this
island. It is about 40 meters in height and has a geographical
visibility range of 17.4 nautical miles.
The island had all the facilities like schools, hospitals,
banks, post office, shops, restaurants serving fresh catch of
fish cooked in the local style; there are a couple of internet
browsing centers too to stay in communication with the
mainland. The lifestyle is simple and everyone has some work
to do and is happy with their activities. It is said that there
has never been any theft on the island. People never lock their
Simple life in an exotic place
doors and tourists find their valuables untouched even if they
left them anywhere unmindfully. People on this island are
very friendly, helpful, happy and contented.
Times to remember
The fifth member of our crew joined us here for the return
voyage. Siegfried Wilhelm Werner Hoff, aka Siggi, joined us at
Kavaratti. He is a Hobie 16 competitive sailor from Germany
who has been nationally top ranked for many years. Since
2011 he has been working in Bangalore and has participated
and won in our Hobie 16 Coastal Nationals a couple of times.
He has often sailed in offshore sailing races in Europe and has
a very good knowledge of ocean sailing.
With PADI Team of Diving Instructors
While we explored the island in the afternoons, in the
mornings we were exploring the sea. We had enrolled in the
scuba diving course under the professional diving instructors
from PADI. I must confess that I have always been scared of
water animals all my life. But once I was inside this clean clear
water, I could not stop myself from seeing and enjoying the
life under water.
Swimming with sea life
It was very difficult in the beginning, but with encouragement
from the other crew members and the instructor’s support I
started enjoying the dives. I managed to dive up to 12 meters!
The only way of communication under water is through sign
language. As we descend deeper the water pressure is so high
that it affects our ears, so we have to keep popping them very
regularly, while diving deeper.
Ready for the return voyage
The island looked more beautiful in the nights than day
time! The real beauty of this island lies in its coconut trees.
On the 2nd of April finally we decided to cast off from
Kavaratti, as we had to get back to our routine life on the
mainland. We had got so used to the life here and wished
we could stay for a longer period!
And off we go!
The return journey was as adventurous as the onward one.
The first day we had very low winds. The second day was our
lucky day, the wind speed increased and Siggi wouldn’t miss
this chance to put up the spinnaker and we picked up speed. It
was really fun as for Paras and me this was the first experience
of spinnaker hoisting for such a big boat. The wind speed was 8
knots and we managed to sail the boat at 7 knots on an average.
Unlike the onward journey, all the members were busy most
of the time, trying to maintain the shortest course without
reducing the boat speed. It was very challenging and fun too.
The spinnaker up!
My biggest achievement
of
this
expedition
was overcoming my
sea sickness. While
returning I managed not
only to join my crew for
meals in the galley but
also managed to cook
in there. I could spend
more time working in
the confined area of
galley or the cabins. With
steady and good winds
we covered the distance
in half the time we took
to reach Kavaratti. This
saved us a day, as we were
expecting to reach only
on the 5th April.
Sailing Quiz
This case will explain how Rule 13, While Tacking is applied
by the Protest committee
Question
Rule 13 applies until the tacking boat ‘is on a close-hauled
course.’ However, the rule does not say whether the boat
must be moving when she assumes a close-hauled course. Is
it intended that, at the moment rule 13 ceases to apply, the
boat must actually be moving through the water on a closehauled course and not merely be on such a course?
Answer
A boat is no longer subject to rule 13 when she is on a
close-hauled course, regardless of her movement through
the water or the sheeting of her sails.
A boat is no longer subject to rule 13 when she is on a
close-hauled course, regardless of her movement through
the water or the sheeting of her sails.
Bonne Bouche ...
No excuses please: Go help!
A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud
pounding on the door.The man gets up and goes to the door
where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is
asking for a push. “Not a chance,” says the husband, “it is 3:00 in the morning!” During
the
last
few hours of the
expedition, I had
mixed feelings of joy
and sadness. Joy of
coming back safe and
meeting my people
and waiting to tell
them about all my
adventures of this
expedition and all the
things I did for the first
time in my life. And
sad because I shall
miss the company of
my lovely friends and
the awesome time
spent together. I am
grateful to Mr. Rajen
He slams the door and returns to bed
“Who was that?” asked his wife. “Just some drunk guy asking for a push,” he answers. “Did you help him?” she asks. “No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the
morning and it is pouring rain out there!” “Well, you have a short memory,” says his wife. “Can’t you
remember about three months ago when we broke down,
and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him,
and you should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk
people too. The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into
the pounding rain. He calls out into the dark, “Hello, are you still there?” Cooking on board
Shah for giving me this lovely opportunity to sail along with
him on his lovely Golden Cat and to all the crew members
who supported me in every way. I shall cherish this all my life.
-Nilma Shah
-Photos Golden Cat Crew
“Yes,” comes back the answer. “Do you still need a push?” calls out the husband. “Yes,
please!” comes the reply from the dark. “Where are you?” asks the husband. “Over here on the swing,” replied the drunk.