Every year with the advent of the monsoons in July the gentle ripples on the Hussain Sagar Lake at Hyderabad in India make way for larger waves and forceful winds, transforming the waters into a paradise for Sailing. The Monsoon Regatta celebrates the season with a purpose. The theme of the championship is to protect the environment and steadily improve the quality of the lake. The Monsoon Regatta endeavours to create awareness and helps bring the sailors, the people and the Government on a common platform to solve this problem in perpetuity.
The Theme of the Event:
The theme of the championship is environmental – to improve the quality of the lake.
30 years ago, Hussain Sagar had a visibility of more than 5 feet and one could even pick up coins from the shallows in the sunshine.
Today, the lake, while host to many a Regatta, is far removed from its pristine glory. The Monsoon Regatta endeavors to create awareness for this situation and helps bring the people and the Government closer together to solve this problem.
The Monsoon Regatta in collaboration with the 10 K Run foundation will be conducting a panel discussion amongst the senior Government functionaries closely working with the agencies responsible for the cleanliness and upkeep of Hussain Sagar.
The Fleets:
The Optimist – The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by young people. It is the only dinghy approved by the International Sailing Federation for sailors under 15 years of age. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, over 85% of the medal winning boat skippers were former Optimist sailors.
The Hobie 16 – The word Catamaran is a corruption of the Indian language Malayalam Kattamaram, meaning logs of wood (maram) tied together (katta) in outrigger style. The Hobie 16, of course, is a sophisticated Catamaran and the most popular in the world that flies through the water at break neck speeds. The colorful sails are a splendid site to watch and the racing even more spectacular.
Match Racing – Essentially the spectator friendly version of Sailing, this format is an interesting watch, especially because it is a race between two skippers in large identical boats.
With a lot of interesting and close pre-race maneuvering where each is trying to outmaneuver, inflict penalties on the other, the event enthralls many a sailing enthusiast. With efficient boat handling and discreet use of wind and currents, a trailing boat can escape the grasp of the leader and pass. This one-on-one duel is a game of strategy and tactics, and there is only one winner. The Match racing nationals were sailed in the J-24 Class.
J-24: World’s Most Popular One-Design Keelboat – The J-24 is unquestionably the most popular racing keelboat to make waves around the world. J-24 is the largest in this championship at 24 feet and about 10 feet wide weighing 1.1 tons.
J-24s are exclusively available for sale in India with West Coast Marine Yacht Services…and fine examples of these performance boats are all over the Mumbai Harbour.
