CHENNAI: A 75-year-old man was part of the nine-member team which went on two sailboats from Chennai to Puducherry two weeks ago. For a journey which takes a little over two hours by road, it took the team around 13 hours to reach the Puducherry coast as they were solely dependent on the winds.
“Thirteen hours might seem long, but it is the fastest in the history of the 110-year-old Royal Madras Yacht Club,” said captain Vivek Shanbag, the expedition leader. The boats were tracked by the Indian Coast Guard and supported by Indian Navy.
The oldest participant in the expedition, K Chidambaram, said the winds were in their favour this time as they were able to cover the distance in 13 hours. This time, the two teams sailed on J-80 sailboats. Chidambaram had earlier completed the same Chennai-Puducherry voyage four years ago with another team and it had taken the team more than 20 hours.
The latest expedition was a practice run for the national level offshore regatta to be held on the same stretch in March.
Chidambaram, a former marine engineer, took up sailing as a hobby at 45. Shanbag, an airline pilot, started sailing in his early 40s and has been sailing competitively since. His team came third in the J80 World Championship 2019 held in Spain in the mixed category and was ranked fourth at the Asian Championship 2019 held in China in the open category.
“Sailing is an eco-friendly sport and we intend to popularise it in Tamil Nadu. Already, our sailors are consistently winning at various International and national events including the Asian Games,” said Shanbag.
Chidambaram said Europeans have conditioned Indians to have a natural fear of the sea during their rule despite the state and the country’s rich maritime history. “There is no age limit to take up sailing. More children should come forward to take up sailing,” he said.