Date:07/11/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/07/stories/2009110750931700.htm

Sport - Sailing

Rain plays spoilsport

Raakesh Nataraj

— Photo: V. Ganesan

Rufus Patrick.

Chennai: Rain forced the abandonment of the last day’s sailing at the India International Regatta here on Friday. The winds dropped below three knots and the Optimist vessels, not designed to distil much speed from such low air-currents, struggled to make it past the first mark in the stipulated time and the race officials decided to call the first race off. The steady cloud build-up meant that the other races were forsaken as well.

Rufus Patrick took home the title as he was leading the fray at the end of nine completed races. K.C. Ganapathy, let a good start to the event slip by and ended up second. Niveditha Ravivarman finished way off the leader-pack but was first in the girls’ division.

The conditions in the harbour were placid in comparison to the churlish weather in the high seas and finally some element of competition was introduced into the races as the Danish pair of Mathias and Kristian retired after the first race of the day having already sewn up the title.

Xerxes and Krish won the last race of the event to nick the second spot after getting the better of Aman and Sachin by two points.

The result (29er): 1. Kristian Kirketerp and Mathias Sletten (11 Pts), 2. Xerxes Bamboat and Krish Makhija (23), 3. Aman Vyas and Sachin Singha (25).

Optimist final standings: 1. Rufus Patrick (13 Pts), 2. K.C. Ganapathy (29), 3. Upamanyu Dutta (32).