SEABIRD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
The 25th Seabird Class National Championship was held in Mumbai Harbour on 7th and 8th April 2006.The event was conducted under the burgees of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, the Bombay Sailing Association the National Seabird Class Association.
The Seabird is an excellent boat designed specifically for sailing in Mumbai Harbour in the 1920s by Mr. Morgan Giles. She is a gaff-rigged vessel of wood or Fibre construction with an asymmetric Spinnaker and a racing crew of 3.
There were a total of 7 races sailed with varying conditions testing the skills of the sailors. Wind-speeds ranged from 5-10 Knots. The wind was quite shifty ensuring that fortunes swung as wildly as the wind itself. The sea however, was relatively flat, making for good sailing conditions. The tide was negligible in most races.
There were 14 entries with many of the top yachtsmen from the country participating, including teams from the Navy and the Army. The competition this year was especially stiff with past champions such as Sheri Bamboat (Neil) & Cyrus Heerjee (Greyeagle) battling it out with Asian Champion Naresh Yadav (Skua), Olympian Malav Shroff (Whimberel) & P Madhu (Sea Eagle). Ms. Pia Sanyal was for the second year in a row, the only female competitor in the fleet.
The racing was intense with various permutations possible for top honours, right unto the race. Due to the inherent speed differences in the boats due to their age and construction, there are 2 simultaneous series conducted, which are Line Honours & Handicap. The Line Honours are given to the team that finishes first on the line regardless of handicap. The results of the Handicap Series are calculated after applying the specific boats' handicaps to their finishing time to compensate for the boats' relative speeds with respect to each other.
The Godrej Trophy, however is awarded to the winner of the Line Honours. This trophy was instituted by Mr. Naval Pirojsha Godrej in 1982. Mr. NP Godrej was a pioneer of sailing in Mumbai and a great supporter of the sport. The trophy was designed by Mr. AP Unwalla, an accomplished artist.
Finally P Madhu managed to get the better of his competition, and won the Godrej Trophy. Malav Shroff who represented India in the Athens Olympics in the 49er Class came in 2nd. The Handicap Series had some surprises with debutante Ramkumar in Seagull taking top place with NK Yadav coming in second.
OVERALL RESULTS
Line Honours :
1. P Madhu, Col. Premkumar & D. Shaji (EMESA) - Sea Eagle
2. Malav Shroff, M Kapileshwar & VAundhkar (RBYC) - Whimberel
Handicap :
1. Ramkumar, T Siva & GM Tambe (CESC) - Seagull
2. Naresh Yadav, MK Desai & Dharmendra Singh (CESC) - Skua
SEABIRD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
