Leading Sailors from Kochi, Pune, Goa and Mumbai will be testing the waters and vying for the top honours in the Johnnie Walker sponsored The Festival of Sails, an annual weekend sailing regatta conducted by the Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC) along with the Royal Bombay Yacht (RBYC), and which will commence at the Mumbai Harbour, near Gateway of India from March 23 to 25, 2018. The Festival of Sails is being promoted by the Sailing Association of Maharashtra (SAM).
(from left to right) Lt. Col. Gautama Dutta (Retd), Organising Secretary FOS, Sam Pochkhanwala, Commodre, RBYC; R. Adm. Pradip Joshi – Vice Commodore INWTC, Commodre Subhash Gadhvi, Director INWTC and Narendra Murkumbi, President SAM during the inauguration of The Festival of Sails, an annual weekend sailing regatta.
Like in the past, races will be organized according to the size and type of boat – from the little but highly competitive ‘Optimist’ class for children aged between 8 to 16, the Olympic classes like single handed ‘Laser’ dinghy, the exciting double handed ‘470’, the highly demanding sailboard ‘RS:X’, to the sleek and stately ‘keel boats’. A featured event of the Festival of Sails is the ‘Away all Sails’, where all the larger sailboats race on a common course.
Rear Admiral Pradip Joshi, Vice-Commodore INWTC, who officially inaugurated the Festival said, “the Festival of Sails is a regatta comprising of multiple classes, which gives amateur sailors a chance to gain the experience, which would help to become professionals. It’s important for every sailor to have an experience of the sea as it teaches them the concept of leadership, teamwork and also discipline. This is primary the key to success in one’s life.”
This year all eyes will be on the Indian yachting legends who will be battling to claim the Navy Commander-in-Chief’s (C-in-C) Cup, the prestigious annual keelboat race on Sunday, March 25. The line up include ex-World and Asian champions, Arjuna awardees, national champions Cmde SurinderMongia, Farokh Tarapore, Capt Homi Motivala, Nitin Mongia, Cdr R Mahesh and others. The C-in-C’s Cup was re-instated last year thanks to the personal interest of the C-in-C Western Naval Command, V Adm Girish Luthra PVSM, AVSM, VSM, himself a keen sportsman and yachtsman.
The event comprises a series of daylong exciting sail boat races to be conducted in Mumbai Harbour near the Gateway of India. Spectator boats and ferries will take citizens to the racecourse and experience the thrill and excitement of sailboat racing.