Offshore regatta sees record number of participants

Chennai: The fourth edition of the Unifi Capital Offshore Regatta was flagged off by the member-secretary of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, Meghanatha Reddy, on Monday from the Boat Basin inside Chennai Port Trust. The event features the popular J/80 class sailboats and is organised under the Yachting Association of India.

With nine teams taking part this year, the participants have been split into two groups the Gold Fleet for professional sailors and the Silver Fleet for amateurs. The contest includes two routes: a 100km round trip between Chennai Port and Mamallapuram and a 40km round trip between Chennai and Kamarajar Ports.

The regatta has drawn 54 sailors the highest number so far in members participating in the event and is being judged by an international jury and race officers. Boats are equipped with satellite trackers from Elektronik Labs, allowing the public to follow the races live at www.trackanything.in using the username ‘rmyc' and password ‘offshore'.

On Monday, three races were held for both fleets. Abhimanyu Panwar's team, representing the RMYC Ennore centre, led the Gold Fleet, while 14-year-old Ragav of RMYC, sailing a J/80 for the first time, surprised everyone by winning the Silver Fleet race.

The event is supported by TN Tourism, Chennai and Kamarajar Ports, and the Indian Navy and Coast Guard.