Conditions were good for sailing on day one of the Sonata India International Regatta off the Chennai Harbour here on Wednesday. Wind speed was 10 to 12 knots with long, gentle swells.
In the largest boat of the competition, the 29ers, Denmark’s Caspar Ladeford and Jakob Jensen, came up trumps.
Otherwise, it was a good day for the Indian sailors who finished on top in the Optimist, 29er, Laser Radial and 4.7.
In Laser Radial, India’s Vishnu Saravanan and Johnny Durcan of Ireland won a race each and finished second in the other. Rishab Nayar of India is tied on points for the first place with Mohammad Abdulkareem from UAE in 4.7.
Among the 29ers, Caspar and Jakob took the first race but went far right in the second to finish fifth. The duo, however, managed to hold on to the lead thanks to a protest against a competing team. Jayalakshmi and Aditi from the TNSA are in second place, followed by compatriots Naveen Kumanan and Aniiketh Rajaram.
Among the four windsurfers, Dayne Coelho romped home in both races.
In the Optimist class 48 boats, India’s Chitresh tied with UAE sailor Saif Saeed for the first place.
The results (provisional):
Optimist: 1. Chitresh Thatta (India) & Saif Saeed (UAE); 3. Navyn Prabhakar (India).
Laser 4.7: 1. Vishnu Saravanan (India) & Johnny Durcan (Ireland), 3. Vishnu Sujeesh (India).
Laser Radial: 1. Vishnu Saravanan (India) & Johnny Durcan (Ireland), 3. Mansoor Al Mahroogi (Oman).
29er: 1. Casper Ladeford & Jakob Jensen (Denmark), 2. Jayalakshmi & Adithi Prakash (India), 3. Naveen Kumanan & Aniketh Rajaram (India).
