Winter wind kills sailors’ enterprise

Wind geography is crucial to sailing, and it would take a university scholar to explain the intricate dynamics. It will suffice to say here that Sunk Rock, the venue, experiences cross breeze in winter, thanks to the seasonal north-easterly and the daily delay in sea (sea to land) breeze setting in.

There were some disappointments off shore too. R Mahesh and Girdharilal Yadav, among the favourites, were penalised 42 points for a premature start (OCS) in the second race, and finished a disappointing 12th in the third. The duo had won the opening race yesterday.

Joint defending champion Naresh Yadav, along with Jitendra Rami, won the second race and came in third in Race 3 to hold second place in the overall standings.

Naresh, winner of the Navy Championship, later said, “the second race was a start-to-finish win, but we meandered a bit in the third. The wind was good this morning, and the lack of action in the afternoon is disappointing.”

Naresh and Girdharilal had won the title here last year, but Naresh decided to re-pair with Rami, his old-time crew, after Naresh was shored with some back problems this year.

The surprise was Sanjeev Chauhan and Rajesh Dhulaji, who finished second in all three races to lead the pack of 41. The third race was won by Ram Kumar Singh and K Raghu, who were placed sixth.

Placings (after three races): 1 Sanjeev Chauhan & Rajesh Dhulaji 9 pts; 2 Naresh Yadav & Jitendra Rami 11.4 pts; 3 Dharmender Singh & Joseph Joji 29.1; 4 Mehul Ashar & Girish Rao 29.7; 5 Dilip Kumar Acharya & Binayak Majhi 31; 6 Ram Kumar Singh & K Raghu 35.