India International Regatta - Challenging for Team Hong Kong

by Molly Highfield on 13 Jan 2015 The 2014 edition of the India International Regatta, hosted by the Tamil Nadu Sailing Association in Chennai and also the first of four events in the ASAF Youth Cup series, was undoubtedly a challenging one for Team HKG, with uncertain weather conditions in strange new waters. For some of us, it is our first time competing in open sea: traveling eastwards across the Bay of Bengal, the next landmass would be the Andaman Islands, over a thousand kilometers away.

We departed Hong Kong International airport late on the night of Monday the 15th of December, with our coach Akira Sakai and team leader Cam Highfield, on a five-hour flight to Madras International Airport, Chennai. Despite it being the early hours of the day, the terminal hummed with the quiet chatter of many passengers and journeymen. Once through customs, immigration and baggage claim, we were greeted by a warm winter night and a transport to our accommodation for the coming week.

An hour of weaving through (often bewildering) traffic, and we were pleasantly welcomed to the Taj Club House, a mere fifteen minutes from the TNSA. Once rooms were arranged, we all took our chance to rest before registration and measurements in the morning.

A buffet breakfast of Tamil, Oriental and Western woke us up to our first proper day in India. In the lobby whilst waiting for our passes and transports, we met the teams from New Zealand, Switzerland, and Sweden, and quickly became well acquainted.

Unfortunately due to a few delays, none of us were able to make the practice race or the opening ceremony. A car trip through the bustling streets, filled with tuktuks and vendors of every ware eventually brought us to the port and the TNSA, where we met old and new friends. Tracking down the boats, getting all our equipment sorted, applying sponsor stickers and registering was done by late afternoon, but no more sailing was scheduled anyway.

The first day of racing introduced us to the conditions we were to face for the next few days: 16-18 knots, with gusts over 20, tides, and waves averaging two metres. Team HKG had a strong start to the regatta, with Riley Cameron and Chris Bezy coming first after three races in the Radials and 4.7s respectively, whilst Thomas and I remained in the fray. Nancy and Faolan fought hard in the rough seas in Optimists, with top 10 and top 15 results.

Day two brought similar conditions, large swells and medium winds shaped another three races for all classes. Though their sailing was consistent, Riley and Chris dropped to second place in the two Laser fleets.

The following day races were canceled due to severe conditions. Whilst waiting on shore for the race committee's signal we heard of curling waves of five metres and over outside the breakwater. For many the AP over A was a slight relief.

The sea calmed enough on the fourth day for racing to resume, with 2-2.5 m waves and roughly 17 knots easing to about 12 later in the afternoon. Because the RC did not want to run any races on the fifth and final day, five races were run. At the end of the day Riley and Chris had managed to defend a second place in their respective fleets, Thomas and I held on in the 4.7s, and Nancy and Faolan maintained top 10 positions overall.

After an exceptional prize giving the next day, Team Hong Kong left with awards for second Radial and 4.7, first 4.7 girl and second Optimist girl. However, that is not the reason we the sailors have mutually agreed that this trip was one of the highlights of our year: it was because we gained an amazing experience, populated by new faces, and a great source of nostalgia for a very long time. And honestly, it doesn't get much more rewarding than that.

Coach: Akira Sakai
Team Leader: Cam Highfield
Laser Radial: Riley Cameron
Laser 4.7: Thomas Norto, Chris Bezy, Molly Highfield
Optimist: Faolan Whyte, Nancy Highfield

India International Regatta 2014 - ASAF Youth Sailing Cup

Laser (Radial)

POS	Name	G	DOB	Country	SAIL NO	T	D1	D2	FT
1	Vishnu Saravanan	M	24/02/1999	IND	9	14	2	2	10
2	Riley Cameron	M	20/02/1998	HKG	189410	19	2	2	15
3	Nethra Kumanan	F	21/08/1997	IND	195372	33	3	3	27
4	PRINCE NOBLE	M	12/03/1996	IND	2	50	10	4	36
5	Aditya Krishna	M	23/06/1999	IND	197410	56	6	6	44
6	Govind Bairagi	M	08/08/2001	IND	204630	79	10	10	59
7	Tanu Bisen	F	12/11/1996	IND	204634	88	10	10	68
8	Sarah Peter	F	24/06/1996	IND	195407	92	10	10	72
9	Urvish Gahlot	M	25/08/1997	IND	41	110	10	10	90

Laser 4.7 (Girls)

LASER 4.7 (GIRLS)
POS	Name	DOB	Country	T	D1	D2	FT
1	Molly Highfield	19/03/1999	HKG	80	13	9	58
2	Kaviyaselvi Gurumurthy	12/06/2001	IND	139	23	23	93
3	Ananya Siwatch	22-09-1999	IND	138	16	18	104
4	Gauri Agarwal	19/01/1999	IND	159	17	18	124
5	Alyauma Akma	02/06/2000	MAS	183	20	20	143
6	Mahak Mankar	30/08/2000	IND	206	23	23	160
7	Nikita Nayar	07/12/1998	IND	211	23	21	167

Laser 4.7 (Boys)

LASER 4.7 (BOYS)
POS	Name	DOB	Country	T	D1	D2	FT
1	Vishnu Sujeesh	04/02/1999	IND	15	3	2	10
2	Christopher Bezy	08/02/2001	HKG	67	23	23	21
3	Shikhar Garg	26/07/1999	IND	35	4	4	27
4	Zul Aqir Helmy Hasan	29/09/1997	MAS	45	6	6	33
5	Dheer Singhi	02/09/1998	IND	51	7	6	38
6	Asmawi Azman	02/07/2000	MAS	82	23	10	49
7	Nagarjuna. A	16/05/2000	IND	91	15	11	65
8	Ashwin Murali	22/08/2000	IND	110	19	12	79
9	Tanishq Desai	17/12/2000	IND	119	23	16	80
10	Ahad Rahim	02/03/1998	IND	128	16	14	98
11	Venkat Krishna K	11/06/2001	IND	161	17	17	127
12	Thomas Norton	02/08/1999	HKG	172	23	18	131
13	Raghavendra K	20/06/1998	IND	193	23	23	147
14	Alankar Suryawanshi	13/06/2000	IND	202	23	23	156
15	Sargunan Gurumurthy	13/01/2000	IND	253	23	23	207

Optimist (Boys)

POS	Name	G	DOB	Country	T	D1	D2	FT
1	Robbie McCutcheon	M	06/08/2001	NZL	77	7	56	14
2	Aniketh Rajaram	M	24/02/2001	IND	36	6	6	24
3	Mahesh Balachander	M	05/06/2001	IND	65	10	11	44
4	Naveen Kumanan	M	17/07/2001	IND	113	12	56	45
5	Chitresh	M	30/10/2001	IND	68	13	9	46
6	Leela Sagar P	M	02/02/2002	IND	86	12	12	62
7	Faolan Whyte	M	10/11/2002	HKG	107	18	14	75
8	Sainath Balaji	M	22/07/2000	IND	112	16	16	80
9	Navyn	M	10/05/2003	IND	115	16	15	84
10	Vishal Singh	M	08/06/2000	IND	133	19	18	96
11	Rishab Nayar	M	08/01/2001	IND	177	56	21	100
12	VIvin Vinil	M	22/09/2002	IND	187	56	18	113
13	Neelanand R	M	18/01/2004	IND	222	56	30	136
14	Ananya Chouhan	F	03/01/2000	IND	232	56	30	146
15	Pranavaidiya K	M	23/10/2001	IND	222	26	26	170
16	Ram Milan	M	05/03/2003	IND	226	28	25	173
17	Anirudh KS	M	14/04/2003	IND	241	38	27	176
18	Prasad Y	M	22/08/1999	IND	231	27	24	180
19	Muhammad Syahrul Fttri Ali	M	18/03/2004	MAS	283	56	32	195
20	Abhishek Pandey	M	24/09/2001	IND	346	56	56	234
21	Sai Baba M	M	15/10/2001	IND	367	56	56	255
22	Lukesh Gurung	M	04/04/2003	IND	369	56	56	257
23	Satish Yadav	M	13/04/2003	IND	388	56	56	276
24	Adhish D	M	25/02/2004	IND	414	56	56	302
25	Raju P	M	02/02/2002	IND	428	56	56	316
26	Arman Sawhney	M	11/10/2004	IND	449	56	56	337
27	Shaurya Agarwal	M	23/09/2000	IND	481	56	56	369
28	Sanjay J	M	12/12/2004	IND	497	56	56	385
29	Shubham Balode	M	30/06/2000	IND	531	56	56	419
30	Varun Srivathsan	M	03/05/2003	IND	546	56	56	434
31	Mehul Agarwal	M	26/03/2002	IND	552	56	56	440
32	Agastya Mehra	M	19/09/2005	IND	563	56	56	451
33	Aradhya Joshi	M	15.01.2004	IND	578	56	56	466
34	Chirag Agarwal	M	27/10/2004	IND	600	56	56	488
35	Sachin G	M	16/03/2006	IND	602	56	56	490
36	Revanth Reddy	M	15/10/2000	IND	616	56	56	504
37	Ehsaas Shrivastava	M	03/03/2005	IND	616	56	56	504
38	Uday Kiran S	M	06/10/2002	IND	616	56	56	504
39	AJAY D	M	17/11/2006	IND	616	56	56	504
40	Saketh P	M	15/05/2007	IND	616	56	56	504
41	Anil G	M	10/09/2002	IND	616	56	56	504