Sailors battle it out in Candolim waters at all-india yachting festival

This week, Candolim beach witnessed a yachting extravaganza in the form of a championship featuring over a 100 participants, and an array of vibrant, colourful yachts, catamarans and wind surfers. Participants from Goa, and various other cities like Pune, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, withstood the scorching heat, to venture in the ocean waters with their Hobie Cats, RS:X windsurfing sails, and Lazer Standards, to bag the top prizes.
Gautama Dutta, the event director, told us, one of the main purposes behind the event – “I’m looking forward to getting more people off the floor and into the water. I live in Mumbai, and I have a place near the water, and I don’t see any windsurfers there. There are 20 million people there, but no one goes into the water.”
He added, “There are a lot of opportunities for people in Goa to pursue this sport, and the state also offers sailors a nice breeze. There are various types of yachts available too. Even if you don’t to buy one, many associations and clubs offer those who want to learn, the chance to practice on sail boats, at a fee of`2,000 to `5,000 a year.”
Among the participants were some seasoned and veteran sailors. Goa’s own Katya Coelho, who won the bronze medal at the 34th SIM Open Asian championship, in the under-17 category in Singapore in 2015, was present at the event, where she spoke about the serious lack of competetive sailors in the nation. “In countries like Singapore, and Thailand, they are excelling at the sport. They have windsurfing schools, where they teach huge batches of students. At the competitions we go to, Thailand will usually have five to six participants, but from India, sometimes it’s just us (she and her brother Dwayne).” Both Dayne and Katya are now training for the Asian Games in August.
Major Sahil who was representing the Hyderabad team of the army at the competition, spoke about how a sailor is essentially like all other athletes – “We train hard. A sailor has to be physically tough and mentally alert the whole time – to make sure the water and the wind won’t drift the boat to another direction.”
Katya argued against the misconception that yachting is ‘a rich man’s sport’. “Though the equipment is very expensive, if we get the government’s support – in providing us a handful of sails and surfboards – a lot of people can go for it.” She added, “There is a lot of scope in this sport, like in any sport. There are the Asian Games, Youth Olympics, and many other championships.”
In fact, many of the participants there were from the navy and army, who told us that besides championships, yachting can even open up career options for people in these fields. “There is a lot of scope for young Goans to venture into the army and navy, if they take it up. This sport is recognized and given consideration during selections,” said Cosme Da Silva, member of the Goa Yachting Association, who added that the state offers training, as well as workshops, which are conducted by seasoned, international-level yachting experts from the armed forces.
Rajesh, who was representing the Indian Navy headquarers in Vasco, told us, “I learnt to sail only after I joined the navy, and we would compete against people from different cities in India.” Rajesh, who has been doing this for a while, spoke about how in his earlier days, “getting various parts for the sailboat was a task, but now you can easily get them in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. In fact, sailing in India is getting more and more advanced.”
What was surprising was the lack of women participants at the event. “There are very few women who participate in this sport. Most aren’t aware of it, Katya said, adding, “For that matter, not many Goan men participate in sailing either. That’s because it’s a new sport, and only those who know of it will let their kids venture into it. It’s usually passed down from the parent to the kids.”
In a place like Goa, with its ample beaches, yachting could become a new tourist attraction too.
Katya, who used practice sailing outside her father’s shack, said, “A lot of tourists – both men and women – would walk up to me and ask me if they could use our boats, and I would have to tell them that they are not for renting out. In fact, there were times, when the parasailing boats would stop where I was sailing, so people could click pictures. This is a beautiful sport that needs to be encouraged.”
Besides, Goa is blessed with clean waters and strong winds – which is all that this sport needs. “There is a lot being done by the government for marine tourism. They are building jetties and infrastructure, where such sports persons can dock their sails. However, just having the infrastructure is not enough. Many such events should take place too. This sport is now getting more and more recognition, just the same way golf is catching up in the country. People will start taking up this sport very soon,” says Gautama.