Date:21/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/21/stories/2008052160362100.htm

Sport - Sailing

Varun Thakkar completes a hat-trick of wins

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Varun Thakkar completed a hat-trick of wins on the fourth day of the DP World Chennai Optimist National Coastal sailing championships.

Varun’s performance saw him climb to second place in the overall standings behind championship leader Hussain Bhavnagarvala, who finished second, fourth, and second in Tuesday’s races. The championships conclude on Wednesday with races 10, 11, and 12.

Tuesday’s racing was different from the preceding days. The six earlier races were sailed in winds of around seven to 10 knots, favouring light-weight sailors.

On Tuesday, the wind picked up, reaching speeds of 16 to 19 knots. The strong current pulled to the north.

Thriving

Consequently, sailors that had the weight, the skill, and the knowledge of the interplay of these factors benefited. Varun, who has been biding his time for just this kind of scenario, thrived in the conditions.

“I started well and took the right side of the course as the current was very strong and the left side made the boats drift away from the windward mark,” said Varun, runner-up in the National Inland championships in 2006 and bronze medallist in the Regional Optimist championships in 2007.

“After that I had to tack continuously, holding my position all the way to the windward mark.”

Shwetha Sadanand, last year’s girls’ champion, found her calling in the heavy seas and brisk wind, finishing sixth, second and fourth.

The results:

Race 7: 1. Varun Thakkar (TNSA); 2. Hussain Bhavnagarvala (TNSA); 3. Aman Vyas (NSS Bhopal); 4. Nishanth Chandrashekar (TNSA); 5. Rufus K. Patrick (TNSA).

Race 8: 1. Varun Thakkar; 2. Shwetha Sadanand (TNSA); 3. Rufus K. Patrick; 4. Hussain Bhavnagarvala; 5. Praveen Dhanasekaran (TNSA).

Race 9: 1. Varun Thakkar; 2. Hussain Bhavnagarvala; 3. Rufus K. Patrick; 4. Shwetha Sadanand; 5. Nishanth Chandrashekar.

Overall standings: 1. Hussain Bhavnagarvala (18); 2. Varun Thakkar (21); 3. Aman Vyas (26); 4. Rufus K. Patrick (35); 5. Nivedita Varman (53).