CHENNAI:Wearing a life jacket and climbing down a ladder to a motor boat, little did I know how adventurous my day was going to be.
With the setting sun and a blowing sea wind giving company, four budding sailors and I will be escorting two sailboats. Aboard these, young and aspiring sailors get hands-on training during the week-long summer sailing camp organised by the Tamil Nadu Sailors Association.
Slowly wading past a decommissioned submarine and mammoth ships anchored at the Chennai Port Trust, the sail boats - Optimist and Laser- gain momentum. “The art of sailing is amazing,” begins Kusshal, a class 4 student, excitedly spotting long yellow-orange jellyfishes freely swimming around our boat. “Sailing amidst big ships in the harbour itself is an experience,” he says. He never believed in the existence of jellyfishes before taking up sailing. This is the second time after a couple of years he has taken up sailing classes.
Meanwhile, Kriti, a class 12 student, gives me crisp lessons on sailing. For her, the most interesting part is “hiking straps”, an act of leaning out as far as possible to lessen the extent of heeling of the sail boat. “We use three types of sail boats here – Optimist (for sailors with less than 35 kg body weight), Laser and Four Twenty (420). Of these, Four Twenty has two sails – a main sail and a jip sail,” she explains like a pro.
Negating the myth that sailing is an expensive or elite sport, Prathap, a trainer with fishing background, narrates how he took up the sport. “I joined sailing classes in 2002 out of curiosity. For the last six years, teaching kids to sail has been real fun. I also learn a lot in the company of these young enthusiasts,” he says. Trainer Prithvi, who represented India in sailing events at Qatar and Singapore, throws more light on the nuances of the sport. "Sailing demands mental and physical strength,” he says. A BCom graduate, he fell in love with sailing when he was just 10 years old. Standing near the tall sail of Laser, he trains Surya (class 9) on tacking and jibing. “Use the tiller a little and watch the sail,” directs Prithvi, even as the sun decides to retire for the day.
Circling the two sailboats on a rib (a balloon boat), Ashwin, a class 12 student and a sailor-cum-trainer, says, “Safety is never an issue while learning. We enter the water wearing life jackets and a bottle of water to keep ourselves hydrated. We also have at least one motor boat to attend to the trainees in case of an emergency or if the sail boat capsizes.”
The trainer-learner culture followed by the Association is unique; they reverse the roles in the course of time. “There are many accomplished and senior sailors who volunteer to teach students on weekends. We have more than 100 sail boats ready for use. TNSA has organised about nine international regattas so far,” says, Srinivasa Reddy, treasurer of TNSA.
According to TNSA president Ashok Thakkar, sailing trains the brain to work for a long period of time and thus improves concentration power in children. “If a sailor tightens the sail beyond the requirement or overspeeds the boat, there is chance of capsizing. This means, a good sailor should always have self control. This sport also helps learners to make quick and wise decisions to race ahead of other sailors,” he says. He says that one can start sailing even at the age of 6. "The oldest TNSA member to sail was 98-years-old Col Manning," he smiles. Sailing also develops team-building. Trainee Iniya, a 10-year-old Singaporean, says, “I joined sailing classes along with my brother and sister. Together we learn how to tackle situations and thereby become more independent.”
Meanwhile, the children are enjoying the session by calling trainer Annas to help catch a jellyfish with the bailer, a mug-like vessel used to discard water from the sail boat. There's no dearth of adventure near the sea.
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Sailing into the future
Students under 18 years of age who wish to practice sailing can sign up for the student membership at `500 per month with the TNSA.The late chief minister J Jayalalithaa had sanctioned `7 crore for the construction of a building for TNSA near the Marina Beach. Recently, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDTA) floated a tender for the construction work and IIT-Madras is coming up with the design plan. The construction is expected to be over in a couple of years.