The fourth Raymond’s India International Regatta will take off at the Chennai Port from Tuesday. Spread over six days, the best sailors of the country alongside a fair sprinkling of overseas entrants would compete for honours in the 3 classes.
This year would see the introduction of Laser 4.7 class for the first time in the country, apart from the regular 29er and Optimist classes. The Optimist class would feature sailors in the seven to 15 age-group and would sail against the wind. The 29er would have two categories — 16 to 18 and 18-22 open classes. The feature event is the single-handed Laser 4.7 class. Organised by the Chennai Sailing Academy, under the aegis of the Yachting Association of India, the event promises to stretch the sailors’ skill to the maximum.
“The monsoon will set in any day and hence the conditions would be challenging. North Westerly wind and rain are expected and so the sailors would be competing not just against their competitors but also the elements,” said Ashok Thakkar, Commodore of Tamil Nadu Sailing Association.
However, the CSA guaranteed adequate safety measures. “The safety measures we have taken here is top class. There will be eight Coast Guard and rescue boats prowling around. Hence, the sailors needn’t worry about their safety at all. We never had any issue regarding the safety of our sailors,” assured Thakkar.
Unlike the previous edition, foreign participation is rather modest.
“We needed the approval of Youth, Home Affairs and External Ministries, besides the State government. This time their clearance was slightly delayed. So, many of the interested candidates couldn’t plan in advance and get their visas. Since we are going to make it a ranking event from next year, we hope to see more foreign participants from next year,” he said.