March 1: INS Ranvir won the Western Fleet Cock at the Western Fleet 40th Pulling Regatta here today.INS Ranvir gained 70 points while INS Viraat was second with 64 points in the event which was held between Dolphin Rock Lighthouse and the Knuckle Point of Naval Dockyard, with Gateway of India as backdrop.INS Ganga was third with 59 points.In the float competition, INS Ranvir won the championship while INS Ranjit was second.The Pulling Regatta is the sailors' way of paying homage to the earliest form of propulsion used when man first ventured into the seas.Twenty-seven whalers were used for the races to cover 1600 yards, each boat with a crew of six. A coxswain controls the boat while five men seated on the planks (called thwarts) pull.
