The voyagers return! Monday, March 08, 2010 After a nonstop sail with the spinnaker up sometimes, the sailors reached Vizag in a record time of just 4 days which resulted in a rather lengthy break at Vizag as they had to wait for the other teams to catch up. At Vizag a fresh team took over the cycling and one more member from TNSA, Shantha Ravikumar joined the sailing team for the return voyage, while Brig R M Mittal, Commandant MEG joined for a day and night sail upto Kakinada. Flagged off by Rear Adm K B Singh, Chief of Staff Easter Naval Command, the sailors faced a tight beat all the way back with both wind and current against them. After a brief stopover at Kakinada, they sailed nonstop all the way back and were welcomed back by Maj Gen Nitin Kohli in a colourful flag-in ceremony organized by the HQ ATNK & K Area. Sail the Gulf 2010 Sunday, February 21, 2010 The 18th edition of Qatar International Regatta was held from 16th to 20th Feb 2010 by the Qatar Sailing and Rowing Federation. A series of 10 races were held in the Doha Bay in Optimist, Laser 4.7, Radial and Standard, 470 and Hobie 16 classes of boats. In the event where 180 sailors from 27 countries participated, Indian sailors dominated, winning the most medals. India managed to win medals in all the classes except Laser 4.7 in which class we had not fielded any entry. The final figure was a total of 6 medals for India with 3 Golds, viz., Rajesh Chaudhary in Laser Radial, Pushparajan Muttu and Narendra Singh Rajput in 470 and Yuvraj Singh and Samal Pradhan in Hobie 16, one Silver for the Indian team of Yakouba Kalaga and Rajeev Kumar in Hobie 16 and 2 Bronzes, one won by Bijoy Rout in Laser Standard and the other by Shikar Garg in the Optimist Under-12. On a voyage northwards Wednesday, February 17, 2010 The two Maxi 77s Viking Mist and Viking Swift left on a nonstop sail to Visakhapattinam as part of the Golden Palm Tri-medium Expedition undertaken by HK ATNK & K Area. Led by Lt Col Berry, the boats were sailed by two teams of 5 each from Madras Engineering Group with Lingesh being the lone participant from TNSA. The Expedition, in which the other mediums were paramotoring and cycling, was flagged off by Lt Gen Pradeep Khanna, AVSM, VSM, ADC, GOC-in-C, Southern Command. With a northerly current and winds from south, south-east, the sailors expect to reach or run all the way to Vizag. National Squad Selection 2010 Monday, January 25, 2010 Selection trials for forming a National Squad for intensive training and participation in International events during the course of this year including Asian championship and the Asian Games were conducted at Mumbai and Chennai during 20 - 24 January 2010. The five-day event was organised by the Yachting Association of India (YAI) and hosted by the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Center (Mumbai) and Tamil Nadu Sailing Association (TNSA). International Race officials from Singapore and India were invited to ensure fair trials. The trials were held in three categories ie Match Racing, Laser Radial (Open) and Optimist (Boys & Girls). 3 Match racing teams, 10 laser radial sailors, 10 Optimist Boys and 5 Optimist Girls were selected to form the National Squad. IODA Asians 2009, Langkawi Saturday, December 19, 2009 The IODA Asian Championships were held at Langkawi, Malaysia from 12th to 19th December. India fielded 7 entries, 5 boys and 2 girls, Rufus P, Praveen P Ganapathy and Niveditha from TNSA and Upamanyu Dutta, Sankalp Kapur and Ekta Yadav from Mumbai. While the top Indian Optimist sailors finished mid fleet, Thai girl Noppakao Poonpat won the championship convincingly with an 18 point lead over the silver winner Muhammad Farhan from Malaysia. Thacharin Narbonne, also from Thailand, who finished third won the under-12 crown as well, underscoring Thailand's future strength in this class. Time for a Toast Saturday, November 07, 2009 As the skies opened up to empty its contents, the sailing fraternity gathered to celebrate and felicitate the young talents. Vice Admiral Anup Singh AVSM NM Flag Officer Commanding - in - Chief, Eastern Naval Command was the Chief Guest and presented the Chera Trophy to the 29er champions Kristian Kirketerp and Mathias Sletten. Mrs.Anup Singh presented the PallavaTrophy for the Optimist Girls to Niveditha Ravivarman while NOAI President and Comdt, College of Military Engineering, Pune Lt.Gen USP Sinha VSM presented the Chola Trophy for Optimist Boys category to Rufus Patrick. India Rules! Friday, November 06, 2009 Copious rain brought the curtains down on the Optimist racing as all the Optis returned to the safety of the shore fleeing a thunderstorm that threatened to envelop the racing venue. Indian sailors won all the top positions in this class with Rufus Patrick claiming the Gold, Ganapathy the silver and Upamanyu the Bronze. Among the girls, Niveditha won the Gold while Zephra and Sidra won the Silver and Bronze respectively. Danish Delight Friday, November 06, 2009 The final day of races came to a conclusion with the skies opening up causing abandonement of 3 of the scheduled 12 races in the Optimist Class. However the entire complement of the 29er races were held and the danes Kristian and Mathias establised their supremacy convincingly by winning the series with 11 points. Xerxes and Krish finsihed second with 23 points while Aman and Sachin clinched the Bronze with 25 points. In celebration of India Thursday, November 05, 2009 During the India International Regatta, the YAI and TNSA had organised several cultural evnets to acquaint the visitors with the Indian art forms as well as few trips to places like Mahabalipuram, which is rich in art and heritage. On the 2nd the widely acclaimed movie on global warming by Nobel Laureate Al Gore, 'An Inconvenient Truth' was screened on the 2nd while the visitors were treated to Talavadyam on the 3rd and Bharathanatyam on the 5th, all at the Students Activity Centre, IIT Madras. Racing starts in earnest Monday, November 02, 2009 On the 2nd of Nov, racing started in earnest for the 2 classes of boats Optimist and 29ers. With the little experinced Indian sailors having trouble mastering the waves on their 29ers, the 29ers races were held inside the harbour while the gleeful Optis headed out to the sea north of the shipping channel. India International Regatta 2009 Sunday, November 01, 2009 The first edition of the India International Regatta started off in style with a practice race in the afternoon and a grand inauguration ceremony in the evening at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. In the Practice Race Upamanyu Dutta, Chintan Chhattbar and Praveen Prabhakar all from India finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the Optimist Class. In the 29er class kristian Kirketerp and Mathias Sletten from Denmark finsihed first while Xerxes Bamboat / Krish Makhija and Shweta Sadanandan / Aishwarya Neduncheziyan teams came in 2nd and 3rd. Tonny Tan's Coaching Camp Friday, October 30, 2009 Tonny Tan, a renowned coach from Singapore and also the National Coach of Thailand was in Chennai to conduct an Optimist Race clinic from the 21st of Oct to the 30th. His wards have gone on to win medals in several interntional events and it is expected that the Indian sailors will hugely benefit from the training they have had under him and we hope for early results to show in the India International Regatta due to be held from Nov 1st to 7th. TNSA sails for a cause Saturday, October 24, 2009 On the World Polio Day on the 24th of Oct, TNSA joined hands with the Rotary to spread the message of Polio Eradication. Three maxis and two launches sailed out with bright red flags emblazoned with "End Polio Now" and anchored off the Marina Beach for an hour for the benefit of the beach going public. TNSA on top of a medal pile Monday, October 19, 2009 Chennai Port Trust Optimist National Coastal Sailing Championships 2009 came to a conclusion today with TNSA sailors taking home most of the top honours. All fourtop positions were taken by TNSA sailors with Rufus Patrick winning the championship with consummate ease while K C Ganapathy won the silver and Praveen Prabhakar clinched the bronze. Niveditha Ravivarman finished 4th overall and retained the Girls Trophy for the 4th time in a row while Sidra Sabir of NSS and Ekta Yadav of INWTC, Mumbai won the silver and bronze. Shikar Garg from NSS, Bhopal won the under-12 Trophy. TNSA tigers undisputed leaders! Sunday, October 18, 2009 The team championship of the Chennai Port Trust Optimist National Coastal Sailing Championships 2009 was held today and the TNSA team sailors were indomitable finishing most of their races with 1,2,3 and 4 positions. They raced against NSS team and finished ahead of them with ease in just 2 races in a best of 3 finals. Rufus, Praveen, Ganapathy, Niveditha and Varsha made up the winning team, while the NSS sailors were Aman, Sidra, Shikar, Shubham and Prince. RBYC team of Upamanyu, Anshul, Piran, Zeus and Jahan won the bronze. Optimist Coastal Nationals are on! Thursday, October 15, 2009 Chennai Port Trust Optimist National Coastal Sailing Championships 2009 kickstarted today with a Practice Race which saw about 50 of the 57 sailors participating. In light winds and calm seas, the sailors had to do a trapezoid outer loop in which TNSA sailors dominated taking the top 4 positions. Rufus Patrick finished first with a 30 boat length lead, defending Under 12 champion Varsha Gautham finished second and Praveen Prabhakar finished third. Ganapathy wins Gold Tuesday, October 13, 2009 In a 24 hour sailing event which went on nonstop from 2:00 PM Saturday, 10th Oct 2009 until 2:00 PM Sunday, 11th October, K C Ganapathy from TNSA won the Gold in Laser Pico class of boats.With just a couple of hours of sleep over the entire 24 hours, Ganapathy and his team, sailing solo in light winds and with crew in heavier winds, finished first with 73 laps in the 24 hours, way ahead of the second team which only finished 58 laps in the same time.Hebe Haven Yacht Club, Hong Kong which conducts this 24 hour Charity Race annually, completed the seventh edition over the weekend. Inspiration comes to TNSA! Saturday, September 26, 2009 Here is an inspiring story of high adventure and human achievement. Two days back, unheralded, a lone German seafarer wandered into Chennai waters in a 29 foot sailing boat. He had set sail from Thursday Island, the most northerly township of Australia and his last port of call, 44 days back and traversed the Indian ocean all alone since to reach here 2 days back on the 26th. This is true adventure because there are no support teams, no one taking care of logistics, the gentleman is totally on his own circumnavigating the world. He did not even have papers to enter Indian waters and was duly stopped by the Marine Patrol at the harbour mouth. It was at this point that TNSA became aware of this lonely seafarer and stepped in to facilitate his entry into the harbour by helping him get temporary permission to come and berth inside the Chennai Port. His boat is now moored in the harbour alongside TNSA boats and he is staying in the boat while he awaits the German consulate to help him arrange an Indian visa. That is not all, his first Inspiration, after carrying him for 20,000 miles sank in the bay of Mexico and he has now embarked on this for the second time. Scholz Gerhard Horst left East Germany in July 2008 and hopes to reach back by the middle of next year and plans to spend a few weeks on Indian shores. Volvo on Board! Thursday, September 17, 2009 Volvo, one of the leading supplier of producers of trucks, buses and construction equipment and leaders in the fields of marine and industrial power systems and aircraft engine components has signed on as the exclusive corporate sponsor of India International Regatta, scheduled at Chennai during 01 - 08 November 2009. Volvo Buses and Volvo Penta on behalf of the Volvo Group in India, concluded this understanding today with Yachting Association of India, the governing body for the sport of sailing in India, which is traditionally headed by the Chief of Naval Staff, Indian Navy since its formation in 1959. The regatta to be sailed off Chennai is expected to see more than 150 sailors from across the world racing in the Optimist and the 29er class of boats, which have been recently procured with the assistance of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. Varun wins Gold at Singapore Regatta Saturday, September 12, 2009 From the first of September, Varun Thakkar has been training in Singapore in preparation for qualifying for the Youth Olympics in the Byte Class of boats. After 10 days of training at the Singapore Armed Forces yacht Club, Varun won the Gold with 1st, 2nd and 2nd finishes in the monthly Regatta held by SAFYC overcoming the locals in a fleet of 14 boats. At present in India there is just one Byte imported by TNSA which sees a future in this boat which is similar to Laser but much less expensive and hence more affordable for the sailors growing out of the Optimist category. Skiffing at TNSA Friday, September 11, 2009 A week long training session in the newly introduced 29er class of boats came to a conclusion today with about 30 to 25 sailors gaining a fair amount of proficiency in handling these faster than wind and highly unstable skiffs. Clynton Wade Lehman, the builder's representative and an Olympian sailor was here through the week to ensure that the participants learnt to handle the boat comfortably and to get ready for the India International Regatta coming up. Over 25 sailors from all over the country participated in the training conducted by the 29er Class Associaiton. Rufus in the top 10 in Ireland! Sunday, August 23, 2009 The Mitsubishi Irish National and Open Sailing Championships 2009 held at Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland came to a conclusion yesterday. Eleven races out of the scheduled twelve were held in tough conditions with heavy winds and choppy seas, while one race was abandoned due to drifting marks. In the last race, Indian sailor Rufus sailed with a loosened mast which moved back and forth, but still held on to 7th position much to the admiration of the worried race and rescue officials. The Irish sailors excelled and took 8 of the top 10 positions with only one sailor from US and one from India sneaking in into the top 10. Rufus Nathaniel Patrick from Tamil Nadu Sailing Association finished 9th overall out of a total 244 sailors, while his fellow sailors Praveen Prabhakar and Niveditha Ravivarman finished 24th and 34th respectively. It is felt that if the sailors had been able to reach there a few days earlier and also had been better prepared for the climatic conditions we could have come back with medal winning performances. Irish Gun! Thursday, August 20, 2009 There is great news from the three top Indian Optimist sailors, all from Tamil Nadu Sailing Association sailing at the Mitsubishi Irish National and Open Championships 2009 at Royal St George Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. In the very first race, Praveen Prabhakar finished first in the senior Gold Fleet. There are a total of 244 sailors participating in the regatta from America, Australia, Canada, Ireland, UK and India. They have been split into Senior (Gold and Silver depending on the sailor's national ranking) Fleet of 77, of age between 12 and 15, Junior (Gold and SIlver) Fleet of 100 entries upto the age of 12 and a Regatta Fleet of 67. At the end of the first day, Rufus is in the 10th position overall with 41 points, Niveditha in 18th with 68 points and Praveen is in 31st position with 105 points. Where it all started! Tuesday, August 18, 2009 The Irish National and Open Optimist Championships 2009 are to be held at the Royal St George Yacht Club at Dun Laoghaire near Dublin from August 19th to 22nd. Ireland is where yacht racing is supposed to have started and this venue will also be hosting the 2011 Youth Worlds! Three sailors from TNSA, Praveen Prabhakar and Rufus Patrick, who finished first and second among the boys and Niveditha Ravivarman, who finished first among the girls in the YAI Selection Trials held in Mumbai in May have left for Ireland to participate in the Championship. Sail faster than the wind at TNSA! Thursday, August 13, 2009 Fifty new Optimists and 10 new 29ers were inducted today at the slipway west of the TNSA premises. The 29ers which are said to sail faster than the wind are being inducted in the country's fleet of sailboats for the first time. The sailor/owner of the lone 29er in the country Dr.Malav Shroff along with Capt Amish Ved was at TNSA to help us with his experience in these skiffs. The HSG of YAI Brig M S Pillai, JHSG Comdr Ajay Narang who have been instrumental in augmenting the fleet of sailboats in the country and Col Alok Bajpai, Secy of National Optimist Association of India were present with us to share in our celebrations. Thank you all gentlemen, for being with us today. So sailors come sail faster than the wind at TNSA! TNSA causes tremors! Thursday, August 13, 2009 "TNSA is the epicentre of sailing in the South" said Admiral Sureesh Mehta PVSM AVSM ADC, President, Yachting Association of India, who visited TNSA to hand over the 10 new 29ers and 50 new Optimists we have acquired under the 75:25 scheme. After a formal handing over ceremony at the Port Trust Conference Hall, the Admiral helped our youngest sailors Navin and Nithya cut the ribbon and inducted the new fleet. Gracing the occasion were Shri M Kutralingam, IAS Secretary, Govt of TN, Youth Welware and Sports Development, Capt Subhash Kumar, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, Cmde Rajiv Girotra, Naval Officer in Charge, TN, IG SPS Basra, Commander of Coast Guard Easter Region, Cmde Sartaj Imam, Deputy Director General, NCC. It was a memorable and historic day for TNSA! You made this day special for TNSA by your presence, thank you Sirs! Laser Inland Nationals 2009 Saturday, July 18, 2009 The Inland Laser Nationals held on the Hussain Sagar Lake, Secunderabad came to a conclusion today. Ten races were held totally over 5 days in tough conditions with winds unpredicatably swinging and sometimes gusting over 30 knots. Conducted with meticulous attention to details, the event had an unprecedented 110 entries, 33 in the Standard, 57 in the Radial and 20 in the 4.7. Jasvir Singh from AYN won the Standard Trophy with B K Rout and Sukhvir Singh, both from AYN finished 2nd and 3rd. Rajesh Chaudhury swept away the Radial Gold with magician like ease completing the series with a perfect score of 10 without discards, with his compatriots from AYN Gajender and Dharmender finishing 2nd and 3rd. Mrinialini from TNSA won the Radial women's Gold, Alekhya Sudam, SSC the Silver and Shantha, TNSA the Bronze. Sachin Singha from NSS, Bhopal took the Trophy in the 4.7 category, Hussain from TNSA won the Silver and Gaurav Pikale from Mumbai, sailing for EMESA, Secunderabad won the Bronze. Shweta from TNSA won the 4.7 Girls Gold, Aparya Mahule, NSS, the Silver and Aishwarya from TNSA won the Bronze. Varun Thakkar from TNSA won the under-16 Gold in 4.7 while Ajay Singh Bhagel, NSS and Ankit Rastogi, SSC finished 2nd in 3rd. Six on Six! Saturday, July 18, 2009 At the recently concluded Inland Laser Nationals on the Hussain Sagar lake, six TNSA sailors participated and ALL of them came back with a medal! In the Laser 4.7, Hussain Bhavnagarvala won the Silver and Varun Thakkar won the under-16 Gold. Shweta Sadanandan won the 4.7 Girls Gold while Aishwarya won the Bronze. Mrinalini Santhanam brought home the Gold in the Women's Radial while Shantha Ravikumar came back with the Bronze in the same category. GO TNSA TIGERS! TNSA wins 3 Bronzes for India! Saturday, June 27, 2009 The 17th edition of Al Bareh International Regatta was held in Bahrain from 22-06-09 to 27-06-09, where 10 countries participated in Optimist and Laser classes. There were 5 competitors from TNSA who represented the country at this prestigious annual championship. At the conclusion of the championships on Saturday 27th, fifteen year old Praveen Prabhakar TNSA sailor and National Champion in the Optimist class at the recently held YAI multiclass regatta in Mumbai won the bronze for India while compatriot sailor national Under-12 Champion Varsha Gautham picked up the bronze in the Optimist class for sailors under 12. TNSA sailor Mrinalini Santhanam who was the lone representative from India in the Girls category in the Laser Radial (W) missed the silver by just 1 point and had to be satisfied with winning only another bronze for the country in her class. Rufus Patrick finished 5th in the Optimist and Varun Thakkar finshed 9th in the Laser 4.7 class. YAI Multi Class Regatta Tuesday, May 19, 2009 In the recently concluded YAI Multi-Class Regatta held for the selection of sailors to represent India in International events TNSA came up trumps with an excellent performance. TNSA sailors Praveen, Rufus and Ganapathy finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Optimist Boys category while Niveditha turned in an impeccable performance finishing first in all the 9 races in the Optimist Girls. Another 4 girl sailors finished among the top 9 with Varsha finishing 4th overall and first among the under-12. In the Laser 4.7 Varun and Hussain finished 2nd and 4th in the boys and Shweta and Aishwarya finished 1st and 2nd among the girls. Mrinalini finished second among women in the Laser Radial. The culmination of LCN 2009 Thursday, April 30, 2009 Our relationship with the Taj Hotels continues and this time the venue for the Prize-giving was the snazzy new Taj at Mount Road. Maj Gen Rajesh Kochar, VC National Classes in the YAI Council flew in to take part in the celebration besides Capt Bunty Sethi and Commander Ajay Narang from YAI Secretariat. Most of the dignitaries who were at the inauguration and who provide us rock solid support through the year lent their graceful prasence that evening. Vestas Laser Coastal Nationals 2009 Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Held for the sixth consecutive time by TNSA the 2009 Laser Coastal Nationals came to a successful close on the 29th. 12 races were conducted in perfect sailing conditions with wind Gods playing their role with enthusiasm. The winning names are getting to be a bit monotonous though with AYN sailors taking away all the top prizes in the Standard and Radial category and TNSA in the 4.7 category. In the Standard, Rajesh Chaudhury of AYN sailed through to retain his trophy while his compatriots Jasvir Singh and BK Rout took home the silver and bronze. Gajendra Singh, Dharmendra Singh and Ramesh Kumar all from AYN finsihed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Laser Radial while Varun Thakkar took the 4.7 Trophy with Hussain and Shweta finishing 2nd and 3rd. Rohini Rau from RMYC was first among women radial sailors while Mrinalini from TNSA and Ayesha Lobo from RBYC finished 2nd and 3rd. Vestas Nationals 2009 Sponsor's Race Saturday, April 25, 2009 After the inauguration ceremony, the top sailors were cast off by the dignitaries and a Sponsor's race was held which was won by Jasvir Singh, AYN in the Laser Standard, Dharmendra Singh, AYN in the Laser Radial and Hussain Bhavnagarvala, TNSA in the Laser 4.7 Class. Vestas Laser Coastal Nationals 2009 Inauguration Saturday, April 25, 2009 The Vestas National Laser Coastal Sailing Championships were inaugurated on the 25th of April 2009 with Mr.K S Sripathi IAS, Chief Secretarry, Government of Tamil Nadu as the Chief Guest, who also was with us at TNSA's inauguration in 2002. Also present at the ceremony were city Police Commissioner Mr.Radhakrishnan, IPS, Vestas MD Mr.Arvind Kaul, our friends from the Chennai Port Mr. K Suresh, Chairman Chennai Port Trust, Commodore P E Van Haltren, Naval Officer in Charge I G S P S Basra, Commander, Coast Guard and and Mr.Ennarasu Karunesan, CEO, D P World. Summer Camp 2009 Sunday, April 19, 2009 Our summer camps provide newcomers to the sport an excellent platform for learning the basics and also provides us with with a fresh crop of young sailors and this year was no exception. This year's summer camp drew to a successful completion on the 19th with the Beginners' Regatta. The winners in the Optimist class were Nikonshk Jain and Meghana who finished first and second. Inthe Cadet class the winning team was Keshub and Chitra while Leander and Anna came second. Sudha Suresh and K R Kannan won in the Enterprise Class Maritime adventure Wednesday, April 01, 2009 Two of our Maxi 77 yachts Viking Mist and Viking Swift were sailed from Chennai to Mandapam, Rameswaram and back as part of Golden Palm Bi-medium Expedition conducted by HQ ATNK & K Area, Indian Army. There were 2 TNSA sailors through out the expedition with 8 army sailors, while 2 others from TNSA joined for a leg each. The expedition which was flagged off from Chennai Port on 16/03/2009, halted at various ports along the coast and also sailed during many nights and ended successfully in a flagging ceremony back in Chennai on the first of April. Army ladies acquire sea legs! Sunday, March 08, 2009 What better way to celebrate the Women’s Day than letting loose your spirit of adventure and enjoying the fresh salty breeze and listening to the crying Gulls? That’s just what Ms.Kochekkan, wife of Maj Gen E J Kochekkan, GOC ATNK & K Area, chose to do on the 8th and TNSA had the pleasure of hosting her and Ms.Ananth, wife of Col.Ananth. Along with us to capture the day in print was Ms.Komal Todi and Mr.Satish from Chennai Times. At the end of the day the uniformly enthusiastic reaction from all was “When can we sail again?” Anytime! Women, Wind and Water Saturday, March 07, 2009 As part of the International Women’s Day celebrations, TNSA took 43 ladies from Cognizant sailing and gave them a day to remember. “I have been in Chennai for the past three years and today was the best day of those three years. I never knew anything like this existed!” was the beaming response of one of them. TNSA has been associated with Cognizant for a couple of years now and their Day Out at Sea programmes are a regular feature. Felicitation of the TNSA Tigers Sunday, February 15, 2009 TNSA members gathered in large number in the Timber Pond to celebrate the victorious return of the Optimist sailors from Kochi. In a short and warm ceremony all the participating sailors were given certificates and the accompanying parents thanked with flowers. The day closed with the theme song of the Tigers which they rendered with unbounded enthusiasm. Return of the Triumphant Tigers! Thursday, January 29, 2009 The Kochi Backwaters reverberated with the roar of the TNSA Tigers as they took a successful swipe at the top prizes and won 4 out of top 5 positions. TNSA tiger Rufus Patrick won the Gold in the National Optimist Inland Championship while fellow feline Praveen Prabhakar was snapping at his heels to end up with the Silver, just a point behind. The Bronze went to the NSS Bhopal sailor Aman Vyas, while Niveditha Ravivarman from TNSA was a tigress in defending and retaining her Girl Champion Trophy. Varsha Gautham was the best Under-12 Girl Sailor, while another Chennai sailor Shiv Rekhi was the best Under-12 boy sailor. With 13 of the 17 TNSA Tigers in the Under-12 category, TNSA looks forward to many more fruitful hunts in future. Kudos to the TNSA Tigers! TNSA Tigers on the prowl! Saturday, January 24, 2009 17 sailors, the "TNSA Tigers" have left yesterday to take part in the National Inland Optimist Championships to be held at Poika Backwaters, Cherai, Kochi by Kerala Yachting Association from 26th to 30th. The TNSA Tigers have been training rigourously for the last few weeks under the watchful eye of our Chief Coach Mr.Munna Jamal. Some of the familiar names of top sailors like Hussain, Varun and Shweta are missing in this championship, but other top sailors like Praveen Prabhakar who won the Mumbai Invitational Regatta recently, Rufus Patrick who finished a very creditable 16th in a 105 strong fleet in the Langkawi Regatta last week, Niveditha, the Girls Champion in the 2008 Optimist Coastal Nationals and Varsha, the under-12 Champion in the Optiomist Open Fleet will be participating. TNSA already has the next line of champions ready, with eleven of the 17 sailors being first time contenders and the youngest a mere 7 year-old. TNSA’s Young Achievers! Monday, January 19, 2009 TNSA sailor Hussain Bhavnagarvala was presented the Young Achiever Award by the Rotary Club of Madras Midtown in a simple and elegant ceremony on the 19th of Jan 2009. This award was presented to Hussain for winning the Al Bareh International Regatta at Bahrain and his other sailing accomplishments over the last few years. Also recognised was Kumaresan, another fine sailor from TNSA, who won the Gold in the Regatta Fleet in the Optimist Inland Nationals held in Khadakvasala, Pune in 2006. Kumaresan is one of the fisherfolk children who have been sailing at the TNSA for the last few years under the SDAT (Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu) Scheme. TNSA has coached these economically disadvantaged children free of cost for the last several years besides taking care of their sailing equipment needs and sending them for championships out of Chennai. KFC Langkawi Regatta Sunday, January 18, 2009 Sailing in extremely tough conditions with winds going up to 40 knots, TNSA’s 3 sailors turned in a fine performance at the Asian level event. Rufus Nathaniel Patrick sailed very well to finish in 16th position in a fleet of 104 sailors, while Praveen Prabhakar came in 36th. Varsha Gautham, participating in her first international event turned in a creditable performance finishing 29th in the girls category, despite being unable to finish 2 races due to rig failure. Kudos to you kids! TNSA overcomes Mumbai Tide! Monday, December 29, 2008 In the Mumbai Invitational Regatta 2008 held by the Sea Cadet Corps in the end of December, TNSA sailor Praveen Prabhakar, triumphed comprehensively finishing first in 5 of the 8 races held. Sailing for the first time in Mumbai using indigenous equipment, Praveen proved that it is the sailor’s mettle that matters finally. Ganapathy finished 4th, while 11 year old Varsha Gautham, another first timer, contending with rig failure, finished 20th. VOR Stopover at Kochi Saturday, December 13, 2008 For the first ever time the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race made a stopover in India at Kochi and a troop of die-hard sailing enthusiasts went over to Kochi to take an eyeful of the 8 70-foot beauties. Ericsson 4 was leading over the 2 legs that were complete and the elegant ladies set off on their next leg to Singapore after a grand ceremony and blessing of the fleet. YPO sails out of TNSA Friday, December 12, 2008 The YPO – Young Presidents Organization, is a worldwide body of well-heeled and well-connected individuals who head organizations that are successful. During their annual jamboree, thanks to TNSA member Ms.Abarajitha Manoharan, they decided to make sailing a part of the event and TNSA and the ever obliging sailors of TNSA gave the YPO an adventure to remember. New YAI Council Thursday, November 27, 2008 After the restructuring, the new council has been elected to the Yachting Association of India and have already met once. Admiral Sureesh Mehta PVSM AVSM ADC is at the helm of the Association while 3 TNSA members have found a place in the council. Mr.Ashok Thakkar, Commodore of TNSA is Chairman Club and Sailing Development Committee, Ms.Shantha Ravikumar is Chairperson Women's Sailing Development Committee and Mr.Shankar Narayanan, nominated by Inland Windsurfing and Sailing Academy, Pune is Chairman Fund Raising and Publicity Committee. Aban Pleasure arrives at Chennai Thursday, November 20, 2008 The new 51-foot yacht belonging to Plasma Estates and Developers arrived at the Port of Chennai on board a container ship. The gleaming white beauty nestles in the timber pond area heralding the arrival of many more such yachts, changing the yachting scene of Chennai. A member of TNSA, Mr.Reji Abraham, Chairman and Managing Director, Aban India Ltd is the proud owner. IODA Asians at Doha Friday, October 31, 2008 The seven top sailors selected during the DP World Optimist Coastal Nationals in May this year took part in the IODA Asians held at Doha, Qatar. Varun, Hussain, Rufus, Praveen, Shweta and Niveditha from TNSA and Aman from NSS Bhopal were the chosen seven and the Indian team elected to go at their own cost as this event was not sponsored by the government. Though the positions are a good improvement over previous IODA performance, the sailors were able to finish only mid towards bottom of the fleet. Asian Sailing Championship 2008, Bali Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Four Optimist Indian sailors participated in this championship, Hussain, Varun and Shweta from TNSA and Sidra from NSS, Bhopal. Hussain and Varun finished 12th and 13th in a fleet of 16 and Shweta and Sidra finished 9th and 10th in a fleet of 13. It was a hard learning for our sailors that though they are in the top in the country, they have much further to go in the Asian fleet. TNSA goes to School Thursday, September 18, 2008 TNSA’s Taking Sailing To Schools project has gathered momentum after being released by Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Chief of Naval Staff and President, YAI during the YAI EGM on Aug 30th. TNSA has already made presentations at Padma Seshadri School and the response is very encouraging. We will soon be going to other schools and we hope to augment the TNSA fleet of sailors multifold in the near future. TNSA gets judgemental! Monday, August 25, 2008 Four of TNSA committee members took the National Judges Exam conducted in Hyderabad on the 10th of August. And all four passed the exam with flying colours so we have four budding national juries in the TNSA stable now. Dr.Mushtaqh Ali, Ravi Santhanam, Ajit Diaz and Nilma Shah, congratulations! Bound for Bali Friday, August 22, 2008 Selection Trials were held by the YAI in the Bay of Bengal, Chennai, for Laser Standard and Optimist Boys and Girls to represent the tricolour at the Asian Championships 2008 to be held at Bali, Indonesia from 7th to 13th of October. While AYN clinched the top two positions in the Laser Standard, hosts TNSA won three of the four top positions in the Optimist Boys and Girls category. Hussain Bhavnagarvala, Varun Thakkar and Shweta Sadanand from TNSA and Sidra Sabir from NSS Bhopal will be representing India in the Optimist Class and Rajesh Choudhary and Jasvir Singh of AYN will be sailing in the Laser Standard. Laser Inland Nationals 2008 Sunday, August 10, 2008 This year the Laser Inland Nationals saw one of the biggest turnouts with a total of 104 sailors, 35 in Standard, 54 in Radial and 15 in 4.7. The winds blew at an average of 14 to 16 knots dsuring the championship and the raingods waited till the finish of the races before opening up. Rajesh Chaudhary of AYN took the Standard Trophy while Gajender Singh also of AYN took the Men’s Radial Gold. Mrinalini Santhanam of TNSA won the Women’s Gold and Xerxes Bamboat of RBYC won the Youth Gold in the Radial. In 4.7, Xerxes clinched the trophy while Sarav Rajavelu from TNSA won the Silver and Shweta Sadanand won the Girls’ Gold. Volvo Youth Worlds Wednesday, July 23, 2008 India had one entry at the youth worlds in Aarhus Denmark this year. Mrinalini Santhanam was the sole Indian sailor in the Laser Radial Class, in the company of 252 sailors from 60 countries worldwide. Just stepping into the world of adult sailing, it was a great experience for the young girl who had to sail in low temperatures and heavy winds. Life begins at 98! Sunday, June 29, 2008 TNSA had the rare honour of having the oldest sailor in the country, perhaps in the world, brighten our portals this Sunday. All grace and charm, Col Manning captured our hearts with his joie de vivre and adventurous spirit. The insouciance with which he climbed over survey launches to get into our Maxi 77 was remarkable. Out for a spin in the outer harbour, the smile never once left the venerable gentleman’s face and for those of us who spent the morning with him it was one of the best ever Sunday mornings. Moments to treasure, indeed! Gulf Gold Monday, June 23, 2008 It is customary for traveling Indians to bring gold from the Gulf countries. TNSA was no exception, only we earned it instead of buying it! Hussain Bhavnagarwala won the Al Bereh International Regatta Championship and returned today with the Gold in the Optimist Class. All Indian sailors finished creditably with 4 of them within the top 10. The results are Hussain – 1st, Varun Thankkar – 6th, Rufus Patrick 7th, Shweta Sadanandan 10th and the Girls Gold, Aman Vyas from NSS 13th, Praveen Prabhakar 14th and Niveditha Ravivarman 17th. A Dream Indeed! Wednesday, June 18, 2008 TNSA sailor Hussain Bhavnagarwala is topping the charts at 5 points (3, 1, 1) with a solid 13 points lead in the 3 races held on the first day of the Al Bareh International Regatta Championship. There are 31 Optimist sailors in the Regatta which is also being held for the 3 Laser classes, Standard, Laser and 4.7. All the 7 Indian sailors have finished within the top 15 positions and the Indian support team has been doing an excellent job in taking care of the team as well as conscientious daily reporting. Watch this space for further news. The Arabian Dream Saturday, June 14, 2008 Seven top Optimist sailors in the country have left Chennai today for Bahrain to represent India in the Al Bareh International Regatta Championship to be held in Al Jazayer beach area from June 17th to 21st. A record 13 countries are taking part in this regatta this year held by The Bahrain Maritime Sports Association, namely Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Greece, India, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan, Qatar, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey and the UAE. We wish the Indian sailors fair winds! DP World Optimist Coastal Nationals 2008 Prize-Giving Thursday, May 22, 2008 As customary, the valedictory function was held at the Taj Coromandel to felicitate the young sailors. Shri K Suresh IAS, Chairman Chennai Port Trust graced the occasion as the Chief Guest of Honour and other dignitaries attending the function were Shri Ashok Varadhan Shetty, Secretary Government of TN Rural Development, Commandant Coast Guard, IG Basra YSM, TM, PTM and CEO of CCTL and DP World Chennai, Mr. Ennarasu Karunesan. After a brief ceremony where the much awaited prizes were given away, the sailors proved that their sea legs could do a jig with equal panache. Selection Trials for International Optimist Regattas 2008 Thursday, May 22, 2008 The Optimist Coastal Nationals was also the selection trials for all the International Optimist events that India will participate in and the top 5 boys and 2 girls have been selected from the Coastal Nationals event. Out of the 7 sailors selected, 6 are from TNSA, which is one more than last year, and 1 sailor from NSS Bhopal. The sailors are Varun Thakkar, Hussain Bhavnagarvala, Aman Vyas, Rufus Patrick, Praveen Prabhakar, Niveditha Ravivarman and Shweta Sadanandan. DP World Optimist Coastal Nationals 2008 Wednesday, May 21, 2008 In wind conditions that varied from 6 knots to a feisty 19 knots on one of the days, 12 races were completed as scheduled and TNSA put up an excellent show. In a nail-biting finish on the last day of the races, Varun grabbed the Tolani Trophy from Hussain who had remained on top till the last race and tied with Varun at 20 points but had to be content with the Silver by virtue of getting one gun less than Varun. Aman Vyas won the bronze with consistent sailing and Niveditha and Shwetha finished first and second among the girls. Varsha maintained TNSA’s tradition and won the under-12 Chowgule Plate. DP World Optimist Team Championship 2008 Monday, May 19, 2008 An interesting part of Optimist racing, the Team Championship was held on the third day of the Nationals in which 7 teams took part, 3 from TNSA, 2 from NSS, 1 from Mumbai & Pune and 1 from Kerala Yachting Association. The top TNSA team with Hussain, Varun, Nishanth, Rufus and Ganapathy walked away with the Trophy while TNSA 2 with Shwetha, Niveditha,Varsha and Tanmay won the silver. NSS 1 Bhopal with Aman Vyas, Sarad Singha, Ajay Singh and Sidra Sabir fetched up third. DP World Optimist Coastal Nationals 2008 Sponsor’s Race Friday, May 16, 2008 In the Sponsor’s race held on the inaugural day of the races, Hussain Bhavnagarvala, a top TNSA sailor won the Trophy with style in his 4 year old patched up Praga. Mr.Ashok Thakkar, commodore TNSA has given an imported hull to Aman Vyas from NSS Bhopal, who finished 8th in the race. DP World Optimist Coastal Nationals 2008 Inauguration Friday, May 16, 2008 The DP World National Optimist Coastal Sailing Championship 2008 was inaugurated on the 16th of May by LT.Gen U S P Sinha VSM, President, National Optimist Association of India. Other dignitaries present during the function were Mr.Ennarasu Karunesan, CEO DP World Chennai. The event saw 37 sailors from 7 clubs in the fray with 19 entries from TNSA. NOAI AGM Friday, May 16, 2008 On the morning of May 16th, the Annual General Body meeting of the National Optimist Association of India was held at the Seafarer’s Club. All the clubs participating in the Optimist Coastal National besides the other local club RMYC, including Kerala yachting association which has recently applied for NOAI affiliation, attended the meeting.. LT.Gen U S P Sinha VSM chaired the meeting and Maj Karunakaran gave the secretary’s report. Also present on the dais was the Vice President, NOAI, Col.Alok Bajpai. Vestas Laser Coastal Nationals 2008 Prize-Giving Wednesday, April 30, 2008 At a simple yet dignified ceremony held at the poolside of Hotel Taj Coromandel, the winners of the Laser Nationals were felicitated. Present at the function was Lt.Gen Ravi Khetarpal, Vice-President, Laser Class Association of India, Commodore Phillip Vanhaltren VSM, Naval Officer in Charge, Mr.Rengarajan, VP Finance, Vestas, Comdt Hardip Singh Gill, CISF and Mr.Arindam Kumar, GM, Taj Group of Hotels. Vestas Laser Coastal Nationals 2008 Tuesday, April 29, 2008 A series of 12 races were held from the 26th of April, with 3 races each day finishing on the 29th in mostly low wind conditions except one day which had about 12 to 14 knot winds. AYN sailors maintained their grip on the top positions and took away all the three top positions in the Standard category with Rajesh Chaudhury claiming the Trophy while Dharmendra and B K Rout finished 2nd and 3rd. In the Radials, Shekar Yadav from INWTC claimed the trophy with Parvinder, AYN finishing up second and Rohini Rau from RMYC finished third who also claimed the Gold in the Women’s category. Placing second among women, Mrinalini Santhanam, TNSA won the Youth Gold, while Ayesha Lobo of RBYC fetched up third among women. Among the 4.7, Xerxes Bamboat emerged the champion with Aman Vyas and Sarad Singha of NSS Bhopal coming in second and third positions. Shweta Sadanandan, TNSA and Sidra from NSS were first and second among the girls in 4.7. Vestas Laser Coastal Nationals 2008 Inauguration Friday, April 25, 2008 The Vestas National Laser Coastal Sailing Championship 2008 was inaugurated on the 25th of April by Shri K Suresh, Chairman of the Chennai Port Trust. Other dignitaries present during the function were Commodore Phillip Vanhaltren VSM, Naval Officer in Charge, Mr.Christodass Gandhi, Secretary, Dept of Sports and Youth Welfare, Govt of TN, Mr.Lars Moller, Director Engineering, Vestas, Mr.Ennarasu Karunesan, CEO DP World Chennai and Comdt Hardip Singh Gill, CISF. This event had the largest number so far in the Coastal Nationals with 55 boats participating in the three categories Standard, Radial and 4.7. Vestas Laser Coastal Nationals 2008 Sponsor’s Race Friday, April 25, 2008 In the Sponsor’s race held on the inaugural day of the races, AYN sailor B K Rout claimed the Trophy in the Standard Category. INWTC sailor Gaurav Randhawa finished first among the Radials and ex-Opti Champion Xerxes Bamboat from RBYC won the 4.7 class. Summer Sailing Camp 2008 Sunday, April 20, 2008 The annual summer sailing camp was held for a week from the 14th April and 16 youngsters participated in the camp. In the beginner’s regatta held at the end on 20th April Alfin Kennedy who is a second time camper came first in the Optimist Class. Pratheesh who is another second timer won in the cadet class while 15 year old Varuneswaran finished first in the Enterprise class. Commodore Claudius Memorial Regatta 2008 Sunday, March 16, 2008 On a Sunday of rather low winds of 4 to 6 knots the annual race for the Commodore Claudius Trophy was held near the sunken ship. 15 boats of various classes participated in a series of five races held during the afternoon under the Portsmouth Yardstick Index. With one discard, Shantha emerged winner overall and claimed the trophy. Bankers Day out! Saturday, March 08, 2008 Once again the sailing bug bit the bankers and this time there were 37 of them enjoying their day out in the sun and water. As several of them got over their fear of water, it was difficult to keep them on boat and off water. TNSA sailors had their share of dunking as well as capsizes were the greatest hit with the visitors. Visiting sailors from SSC Monday, February 25, 2008 Arun Mehta and Abhishek from the Secunderabad Sailing Club who were in the city came to sample the salty waters of the Bay of Bengal. Enchanted by the boundless ocean and the fun of wave riding in a laser, Arun has vowed to come back to sail the Laser Nationals to be held here in April. Inauguration of premises Sunday, February 17, 2008 The swanky new premises of TNSA was inaugurated today by Shri.K Suresh IAS, Chairman, Chennai Port Trust, in a simple but elegant ceremony where he cut the ribbon and lit a traditional lamp. TNSA is greatly indebted to this gentleman who continues to bestow his whole-hearted support to us. Under the watchful eyes of Ms.Abarajitha the clubhouse was transformed with decorative chains of marigolds and a beautiful floral Rangoli giving it a festive air. XSP boat to Kumaresan Sunday, February 17, 2008 Kumaresan, one of our children from an economically background has been performing well in the club as well as national level races. In recognition of his efforts, TNSA has given him one of the new imported Optimist boats to sail, today the boat was ceremonially handed over to him by an appreciative Secretary of Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, Shri R Christodas Gandhi IAS. Dinner at Eden Garden! Sunday, February 17, 2008 Well, a lot seems to have happened this 17th, and it all culminated in a fun filled evening at the CISF Officers’ Mess on the beachfront, very graciously offered to us for use this day by the CISF Commandant Shikar Sahai. He, along with his beautiful lady Ms.Swastika Sahai joined the sailing fraternity for dinner and made the evening memorable. Friends and Family Day Sunday, February 17, 2008 One of the special features of club activities is going to be the quarterly Friends and Family Day and the first one was kicked off today. A lot of the sailor families came in force to enjoy a day out in the sea and try out their hands at sailing. Greeted by a perfect day, the families had a wonderful time out on water. XSP Optimist Boats from Singapore Tuesday, February 05, 2008 Twenty eight brand new Optimists have arrived from Singapore and some of them have been already bought by some of the sailors. The Association is selling them to its members at a discount or alternately on an easy interest free installment scheme. All credit for this hugely increased fleet goes to our commodore Ashok Thakkar who has put up part of the payment upfront and has offered the discount/installment scheme.If you wish to purchase one for your child, please contact the Captain of Boats at rmanian@gmail.com Angling and Catamaran Race Saturday, February 02, 2008 What started as a one off event last year to commemorate the 125th year of Chennai Port Trust’s Operations has been resurrected this year again. Enthused by the response from the fishermen to these competitions last year, CPT Chairman Shri K Suresh IAS has decided to hold this as a yearly event to coincide with the Port Trust anniversary and TNSA continues to conduct these events to the Chairman’s satisfaction. TTK Trophy Sunday, January 27, 2008 With a new Sailing Calendar set in place by our Official Handicapper and Measurer, Jan 27th saw our sailors racing for the TTK Trophy. On a day that saw winds of gentle 7 to 8 knots eventually blowing up a storm of 25 knots accompanied by monstrous waves, we managed to hold seven races. Hussain was the eventual winner of the TTK Trophy. Anniversary Regatta Monday, January 21, 2008 Twenty six boats of various classes, Optis, Lasers and Enterprises took part in this annual event, racing under the Portsmouth Yardstick Index. Three races were held on a triangular course in winds of about 8 to 9 knots. Finishing first in the first and third races and fourth in the second race, Shantha took away the Anniversary Trophy, while Ganapthy finished second and Nishanth third. On the Land of Serendip Sunday, December 30, 2007 Based on the performance in the Optimist Inland Nationals held at Bhopal, the top sailors, Nishanth, Hussain and Ganapathy from TNSA and Aman Vyas from Bhopal Sailing School were sent to participate in the Southern Asian Yachting Regatta held on the picturesque waters of the Bolgoda Lake in Sri Lanka from 27th to 20th December. It was primarily a team event, where two teams from Sri Lanka, and one team from Pakistan took part besides India. Sri Lanka Team II won the Gold and India won the Silver. TNOA Affiliation Saturday, November 24, 2007 At the Annual General Meeting of the Tamil Nadu Olympic Association held on Nov 9th, the TNSA was affiliated with the body, establishing our sailing credentials as the leading body in the sport in the State. Announcing this at the EGM held on the 24th of Nov, our Commodore Ashok Thakkar said,”this is an honor that the TNSA hopes to capitalize upon to give its policy of broad basing the sport in schools in Chennai a major push.” TNSA wins ‘em all! Wednesday, November 21, 2007 The National Inland Optimist Championships held from 18th Nov came to a conclusion today with TNSA winning everything in sight, the overall Gold, Silver and Bronze, the best Girls’ Trophy, the under-12, all of it. Great going Optis, you do us proud. With seven out of the top eight positions, Nishanth gets the Gold and the overall title, Hussain, the Silver and Ganapathy the Bronze besides retaining the Chowgule Trophy for under-12 that he won in the Coastal Nationals earlier this year. Niveditha brings home the Girls trophy. SDAT - TNSA Southern Regional Optimist Sailing Championships 2007 Sunday, October 21, 2007 The first ever Southern Regional Sailing Championship was conducted successfully from the 19th to 21st October 2007. As usual, Coast Guard and Navy pitched in to help with their Geminis for mark boats and Mr. Raj Malhotra NJ from RMYC graciously agreed to be the jury. With renovation of premises going on, the place was quite a mess, but there was not a whisper of a complaint and TNSA thanks all who were present. The Gold in the individual event went to Niveditha Varman (TNSA), Silver to Zephra Currimbhoy (RMYC) and bronze to Varun Thakkar (TNSA). The team race Gold went to team B (TNSA) consisting of Nishanth, Tanmay, Ganapathy and Niveditha. MS SDAT sails with us as we beat back home Sunday, October 14, 2007 We cast off on the return at 11:00 knowing it was going to be a tough beat back all the way and Mr.Atulya Misra, IAS, MS SDAT, along with DIG Mr.Pramod Kumar, IPS. sailed with us in the Viking Mist. Winds were reasonably good to begin with, but the Sun beat down on us mercilessly, and the shoreline seemed to not vary at all after three hours of sailing. Finally Viking Swift, the first boat to reach the harbour hove in at 6 PM and the Viking Pride, with a failed engine reached at 7.30 PM after giving us a few moments of anxiety. TNSA Vikings go sailing Saturday, October 13, 2007 Reviving an old Tamil tradition of Naval exploits from Tamilnadu by Mamalla and later the Chola Kingdoms, sailors from the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association set sail on the 13th of this month. Representatives from the three English dailies The Hindu, Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle joined in the fun and our three maxi 77s Viking Pride, Viking Mist and Viking Swift had to contend with two hours of extremely low winds which picked up moderately later. After six hours of sailing the three yachts dropped their anchors close to the shores of Fisherman’s cove and the sailors went to shore on obliging fishermen’s boats for a sumptuous lunch at the Taj. Singapore Consul gets his first taste of the Ocean. Saturday, October 13, 2007 In the afternoon as the winds picked up, some of the sailors lifted anchor from the Viking Mist and the sail was graced by the presence of Mr.Ajit Singh, the Consul General for Singapore and a friend Mr.Varun Aswani. The enthusiastic sailors missed calculating the current strength and part of the return was in complete darkness and the torchlight waved by our lascars from the anchored boats was a welcome sight. The evening ended with a bonfire dinner by the seaside with Mr.Ajit Singh, where Mr.P M Amza, the Deputy High Commissioner for SriLanka and Mr.Aminur Rahman, the Consul General for Australia also joined us. Own your Opti Saturday, September 08, 2007 Here's a wonderful chance for TNSA sailors to buy their own optimist boats. There are two secondhand XS hulls from Singapore, which we have recently imported. But the really exciting news is that Mr Dilip Thomas of the AVT Group of Companies (who is also a Life Member of our Association) has come forward to provide a subsidy of 20% for those wanting to buy a new Optimist boat. Our Commodore Mr Ashok Thakkar has arranged to procure 28 new Optimist Boats from Singapore. An installment scheme is also available for those who prefer that. So don't lose time and contact tansail@gmail.com or Anthony at 2538 2253 now! Congratulations sir! Friday, August 31, 2007 Several young sailors and members of TNSA visited I G Rajendra Singh, Commander, Coast Guard Region East to felicitate him for having been awarded the President’s Tatrakshak Medal for Distinguished Service. Varsha greeted him with a bouquet of flowers and Shwetha read out a felicitation congratulating him. Ashok Thakkar presented him with a small memento from TNSA and Nicholas, our youngest sailor was chosen to receive a plaque that the Commander presented to TNSA.. The evening ended with a high tea that the Coast Guard had very kindly provided. Singapore, watch out for India la! Wednesday, July 04, 2007 After three weeks of rigourous training under Mayekar, the five sailors Nishanth, Hussain, Gerad, Shwetha and Nivedita leave today for the shores of Singapore to sail the IODA Asian Optimist Championship. Frolicking on the beach, the team is gung-ho about their chances. The two Colaba Sailing Club sailors Gaurav and Arisudan will be joining them directly at Singapore. For sure, the telecom industry will be directly benefitting until their Singapore sojourn is over. TNSA wishes all the seven Indian sailors fair winds and hopes they will keep the Indian colours flying high. Vestas and TNSA care! Tuesday, June 05, 2007 On the World Environment Day, who better to carry the message than TNSA, a sporting association that promotes a non polluting sport and Vestas, a firm promoting a non polluting generation of energy. TNSA teamed up with Vestas, the Danish wind energy firm to conduct a sailing rally to emphasize the importance of caring for the environment. On a muggy low-wind day, TNSA sailors turned up in good strength to sail a rally and a race for the cause in the Bay of Bengal. Laser Coastal Nationals 2007 Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Curtains came down on the fourth Laser Coastal National Championship as May drew to a close. For the very first time Tamil Nadu Government has sponsored this event thanks to the efforts of Shri Atulya Mishra IAS, MS, SDAT and of course, as always Navy and Coast Guard were in the forefront with logistical support. DP World-CCTL fed the hungry sailors and TI Cycles, Accel Frontline, ICICI Lombard, ONGC and Impact Machines backed us with financial support and made this event a success. The excellent press coverage of the event will surely spawn greater interest in this sport in future. TNSA is deeply grateful to you all who have helped make the championship a success and sailing a sport to watch for. Laser Champions 2007 Tuesday, May 29, 2007 The AYN sailors made a clean sweep of the Standard and Radial category winning all three top positions. Rajesh took the Standard trophy with an incredible 10 guns out of 11 races and Dharmendra won the Radial trophy. In the youth category 4.7, erstwhile Opti sailor Sarav Rajavelu sailed with panache to take the Boys Gold and the Opti Girls Champ Shwetha took the Girls Gold. Ruhi on a Roll! Tuesday, May 22, 2007 Ruhi M Ali, our Hon.Sec, Dr.Mushtaqh Ali’s daughter, has just rolled her way to a gold in the 44th National Roller Skating Championship Meet that concluded at Calcutta on the 18th of May 2007. Barely 16, she is the current National Champion of the 16 and above age group, Kudos to you Ruhi. While there is a pang that we lost a sailing champion, we rejoice in the glory you have achieved in your chosen sport. Roll away Ruhi, TNSA wishes you the very best in life! Beating the favoured tack with Vestas Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Shwetha Sadanand finds favourable winds with Vestas the wind energy firm from Denmark. Vestas have chosen to promote Shwetha and will be sponsoring the sailing career of this young Girls Champion. Discussions are underway to also build a long term relationship with this company in the larger interests of this exhilarating sport. Singapore, here comes TNSA! Friday, May 11, 2007 At the sailing championship for juniors, held by Tamil Nadu Sailing Association, from May 4th to 11th , 5 out of the 7 sailors selected are from TNSA to represent the country in Singapore in the forthcoming IODA Asian Sailing Championships 2007 to be held from July 7th to 15th. A coach from Chile is expected to arrive in the third week of June to train these 5 sailors for the event and accompany them as a coach during the Championship. Congratulations to our Asian Team Nishanth, Hussain, Gerad, Shwetha and Niveditha. Then we all danced! Friday, May 11, 2007 The prize giving ceremony on the 11th May, 2007 was graced by the presence of Chief Guest Mr.N.Ramachandran; Associate VP, Indian Olympic Association, presided over by Shri.Atulya Misra IAS, Member Sec, SDAT. Col. Alok Bajpai,. Executive Vice President National Optimists Association of India, added solemnity to the occasion and Ms.Revathy, the special touch of art. After the prize distribution to thunderous applause, children and adults alike danced away till the wee hours, and a good time was had by all. TNSA thanks all the visiting sailors, their families and managers for making the event special. The Optimist Coastal National 2007 Thursday, May 10, 2007 Chennai Port Trust National Optimist Coastal Sailing Championship races finished on the 10th May, 2007. When dust settled and TNSA heaved a collective sigh that it had gone very well, reality struck hard; TNSA had cornered eighty percent of the medals but lost the Championship trophy somewhere in the melee. But Gaurav Pikale of Colaba Sailing Clup went home happy. A patient and consistent young sailor, he deservedly carried off the N.P.Tolani Trophy, bravo Gaurav, TNSA wishes you the best! Summer Sailing Camp 2007 Sunday, April 22, 2007 The annual summer sailing camp for 2007 came to a close on 22nd April with a record participants of 37, out of which six were adults. From all accounts it seems to have been a huge success with the participating children as well as their parents looking for exciting activity for them during the holidays. Their grasping of the basics of sailing seems good and we expect a fair number of this clutch to take up sailing seriously. Cheers to the future TNSA champions. Optimist Nationals Training Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Ninad Mayekar, the national Optimist Coach was in Chennai to conduct a pre-nationals orientation camp for the TNSA sailors. A TNSA contingent of 16 optimist sailors who will be participating in the nationals benefited from his coaching, as also some of the laser sailors preparing for the nationals to be held after the Optimist Nationals. Thank you Mayekar! ABN AMRO Ahoy! Saturday, April 07, 2007 The Dutch bankers were back again last Saturday and a fleet of 8 sailboats, 3 lasers, 4 Enterprises and a Maxi were out to make their day enjoyable. Seems like even weather favours those with power over money, the April afternoon was mellowed by a cloud cover and reasonably good winds made the sail adventurous enough for rookies. The feedback was heart warming and we hope to see them back at TNSA soon for a salty drink, yes, as always capsizes are a major hit. Nine years old and still wet behind her ears Sunday, April 01, 2007 TNSA known for its young sailors had a birthday celebration last Sunday April 1st when Ursita Kurien celebrated her ninth birthday. Still wet after a capsize drill this pint sized youngster whose arm can rival a tiller extension for girth size, blew hard on the candles as all the members at the TNSA sang ‘Happy Birthday to You’, including the bit about ‘You were born in the zoo!’ Cutting the cake, (baked to perfection by her mom Meera) which was the shape of a sailboat, Ursita went on to show her petite strength by crushing Capt of Boats Munna Jamal's hand to pulp. TNSA is wanted by the Police! Sunday, March 25, 2007 TNSA was the proud host of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. C V Rao, this sunday and took him and his wife Mrs. Radha and her brother Mr. Rajashekar, a software executive working in Chennai for a taste of the wide open sea in the Viking Mist a Maxi 77 class belonging to a group of our members. Not satisfied, the IG jumped off the yacht in the harbour waters for a close to the water experience in a laser. Thank you sir, for visiting us. We enjoyed having you over as much as you relished the experience. Chennai sails at TNSA Saturday, March 24, 2007 After the appearance of the TNSA article in The Hindu on 12th March, several Chennai residents were fired up and approached us for a day out at sea. Enthused by the public reaction, TNSA conducted a day out programme for an adventurous bunch of 'Chennai'ites whose ages ranged from 11 to 70! Thank you folks, it was fun having you over. TNSA enjoys Navy’s munificence Monday, March 19, 2007 Commodore P.E. Vanhaltren, the NOIC, honoured TNSA today by personally visiting to hand over a rescue launch fitted with 15HP OBM. This will further improve the safety standards always strictly followed at TNSA. Thank you commodore, the beneficiaries are the 25 odd sailors being coached here. Corporate Day Out - Cognizant Saturday, March 17, 2007 Cognizant is constantly in the news! The composition this Saturday was a little lopsided with only two of the so-called fairer sex, but the two showed enough spirit to match the rest. One of them, Rose learnt to helm the opti all by herself while Kavita, Sajid and Shiva conquered their hydrophobia and jumped into the water with abandon. TNSA lauded their enthusiasm and presented them with a T-shirt each. TNSA is in the News Monday, March 12, 2007 The 'Day Out At Sea' Programme that TNSA offers captured the interest of the Press and Hindu carried an article on TNSA. Please follow link to read the article. http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/12/stories/2007031216150200.htm Corporate Day Out - ABN AMRO Saturday, March 03, 2007 Closely following on the heels of IT, the Dutch Bank, famous for their association with sailing had a 'Day out at Sea' with us. Having keenly followed the Volvo Ocean race, 2006 sponsored by them in which 2 ABN AMRO teams participated and one of them took the trophy, the 'would-be' sailors-bankers enjoyed a first-hand experience at sailing. COGNIZANT - Day out at Sea Saturday, February 24, 2007 After a couple of months break, Cognizant was back at TNSA, hungry for more action. Experienced as TNSA is, the day went with clockwork precision and the software professionals heartily appreciated the efforts that TNSA put in to make their day special. Their warm words made every capsize the obliging TNSA sailors went through for the adventurous IT bunch well worth the effort. Gotheborg Trophy Sunday, February 04, 2007 Well, no event is ever complete at TNSA unless we finish off with a race. In honour of the visiting Gotheborg, the three Maxis were sailed on the sunday afternoon by the SOIC, the Gotheborg crew and Team TNSA, vying for the beautiful crystal trophy. After holding the lead for most of the course, the TNSA team regretfully watched as the superior spinnaker handling skills earned the SOIC team the trophy. The same day the Optis raced for the STP trophy which was taken by Hussain Bhavnagarwalla. Visit to Gotheborg Sunday, February 04, 2007 The Sunday TNSA was invited to visit Gotheborg and several keen members braved the sharp sun and queued up to get on board. The feel of the polished wood, the huge coiled ropes that were handmade and the maze of riggings brought out exclamations of awe from all present. The feeling of being part of history was palpable and the one regret was that it was not possible to go up the riggings, explore every part of her and sail off aboard her on the forthcoming voyage. Sailing to Gotheborg Wednesday, January 31, 2007 Not content with watching from shore, the next morning some of us sallied forth in three Maxi 77 yachts to where Gotheborg was anchored to look at her up close. Sailing out to greet the biggest wooden sailing ship on a morning when the rest of the world worked provides for great pleasure, and we sailed around her to drink in her beauty from from various angles. Gotheborg's arrival and fireworks Tuesday, January 30, 2007 Gotheborg, the largest wooden sailing ship, a replica of the Swedish vessel of the same name which sank in 1745 came calling on Chennai. It took 10 years to research, fund and build her and she set sail from Gothenburg in Oct 2005 to cover the silk route to China and is expected to reach back Sweden in June 2007. As she anchored off the coast near Marina, TNSA helped the SOIC organize a brilliant display of fireworks in her welcome. Anniversary Regatta Night Sunday, January 21, 2007 With the New Year having dawned it was time for the new sailing season to begin. The Anniversary Regatta was flagged off on Jan 21st, for Lasers, Optimists and Enterprises and was sailed under the Portsmouth Yardstick Index. The battle on the seas was fiercely fought and the prize distribution was presided over by our Governing Council Member, the new NOIC, Commodore, P.E. Van Haltren, VSM. The evening ended with a lip smacking dinner amidst fun and laughter. Port of Chennai 125th Year Regatta Tuesday, January 16, 2007 As part of the 125th year celebraions, TNSA conducted a Regatta in which many classes of boats took part. The chairman of the Port gave away the 125th year Regatta trophy to Laser Std sailor Mr. Venkatesan who finished the regatta with a straight win. A total of 23 boats comprising of Optimist, Enterprise, Laser 4.7, Laser Radial & Laser Standard took part in this race. MULTI DISCIPLINE CLINIC, Mumbai, India 8th to 12th January 2007 Friday, January 12, 2007 The Clinic started with Measurement instructions on 8th under the direction of ISAF Instructor (Measurement) Barry Johnson (AUS) . The venue of the clinic was at sprawling surroundings of the Army Yachting Node under the guidance of Col. Shekar and his team. There was a total Twenty nine eager participants for this measurement clinic. This clinic was focussed both on the theory and practical side of what sailboat measurement/inspection was about. The morning session of day one focussed on the role of the measurer/inspector and requirements of such. Pre/Post event inspection was covered in an easy but comprehensive way in order that all attendees gained a better understanding of both requirements. The organisers had arranged for a number of tools to be made available for the instructor and participants throughout the clinic. A rigged Optimist, 420, 470, Laser and sailboard was also at the clinic’s disposal for ease of explanation when speaking on spar bands, illegal hardware etc. Day two focussed on the fundamental measurement of sails and with many sails being made available all attendee’s had the opportunity to undertake the measurement on a variety of ISAF class sails. During the clinic wrap up it was evident that those who had participated had listened and observed very well as the rigged classes were modified during the morning of day 2 and the attendees were asked to inspect and report on any findings that may have noted being non class compliant. The response was exceptional. The Judges clinic was held on 10 to 12th January under the able guidance of Mr. Graeme Owens, an accomplished International Judge with over 50 years of active involvemnt in this sport. The Clinic took the form of a Racing Rules Workshop at which the participants undertook two days’ study and instruction of the racing rules, commencing with the foundations such as the definitions and building up to embrace advanced racing situations. there was a total strength of 36 attendees who were present on all days and took active part in all the sessions on all the three days. Kudos to Col. Shekhar and his team for the excellent hospitality and arrangements. Farewell to Commodore T. Hari AVSM NM Saturday, December 23, 2006 A fitting farewell was hosted by the TNSA for Commodore T. Hari on his retirement from service. He was the Naval Officer in Command for Tamilnadu for the past three years and as the Governing Council member of the TNSA he was largely instrumental in promoting this sport in Tamilnadu by his unstinted support and encouragement. At a select gathering at the Taj Coromandel, Chennai an informal dinner ge ttogether was attended by the Commandant Coast Guard, Region East, Shri Raj Kumar IAS besides other dignitaries Top