DAY 1 - REPORT

The Int'l 420 Class National Championship was inaugurated by the MTDC Managing Director Mr. Bhushan Gagrani, today at the H2O Watersports Complex, Chowpatty, Mumbai.

A total of 26 teams from around the country are participating in the series which is the most prestigious event for the class in the country. The competition is extremely fierce inspite of the absence of world champions Farokh Tarapore & Vikas Kapila. National champs Sanjeev Chauhan & Rajesh Dhulaji of the INWTC start out as favourites along with Ayaz Sheikh & Sandeep Jain of the Army Yachting Node, who had recently represented India in the 470 World Championship. The 420 is a boat that allows sailors of all ages to compete on fairly even terms and the youngest participant at 13, is Dilip Nalla of the INWTC.

10 Races will be conducted over 4 days and series will conclude on the 8th of November. The boats can be seen racing everyday off Marine Drive in the Bay between 1400 to 1730 Hrs.

Conditions were rather shifty and unpredictable at first, much to the dismay of the Race Officer, R Singh who had a rather harrowing day on the water. The first race was abandoned due to a massive swing in wind direction which also meant that the Course had to be re-laid. The second attempt to start was also aborted due to many boats being over the line early.

A total of 3 races were sailed today and defending champ Sanjeev Chauhan and Rajesh Dhulaji had a dream start to their series by winning all three. Chauhan read the conditions beautifully and managed to get away from the pack in the first beat itself, leaving his competitors to battle it out behind him.

The Wind was quite light and there was a premium on knowing where the pressure was and reading the shifts to perfection.

Ayaz Sheikh was still struggling with the conditions however and finished 2nd in Race No:1 and only managed 4th place in Race No:2, behind compatriot P Muthu (AYN).

Muthu on the other hand sailed well to get a 2nd place in Race No:3, only to be adjudged OCS at the start, which means he is disqualified from that race. Hence Ayaz who was otherwise 3rd moved up to 2nd place.

The main contenders for the Junior title, P Shelar & Deepak Nalla of the INWTC, were forced to miss the first race due to a serious equipment failure on the water. However, they came back with a bang to finish 3rd in Race No:3. Another Army team was forced to retire when the crew dislocated his shoulder during a rather violent Gybe.

In conclusion, it was Chauhan's day all the way and he along with Dhulaji displayed exemplary skill and technique to leave the competition trailing in his wake.

Results:

Race #1:
1. Sanjeev Chauhan & Rajesh Dhulaji (INWTC);
2. Ayaz Sheikh & Sandeep Jain (AYN),
3. P Muthu & (AYN)

Race #2:
1. Sanjeev Chauhan & Rajesh Dhulaji (INWTC);
2. P Muthu & (AYN)
3. Mithu Nahak & (AYN)

Race #3:
1. Sanjeev Chauhan & Rajesh Dhulaji (INWTC);
2. Ayaz Sheikh & Sandeep Jain(AYN);
3. P. Shelar & Deepak Nalla (AYN).