Sailor-made success

Riding the power of wind and waves and "sailing to best potential,” veteran yachtsman Farokh Tarapore, with Vikas Kapila as crew, won the gold in the 420 class at the prestigious Kiel Week Regatta in Germany in June. It was the first time an Indian pair had emerged overall winners in a particular class of boat, though Indian yachtsmen, including Tarapore had won individual races at Kiel earlier. Soon thereafter Tarapore left Bombay for France to take part in the World Championships at the end of July, where the pair placed ninth overall. In a superlative performance, Tarapore and Kapila had won the World Championship in 2002 in the 420 class at Tavira in Portugal.

Now in its 123rd year, the Kiel Week Regatta is reputed as the oldest sailing competition in the world. "It is similar to what you term in tennis a Grand Slam event. There are over 5,000 boats, in 25 classes. In fact the fleet was so big that the organizers had to regroup several races and cut down on some,” Tarapore told Parsiana. Also present at Kiel was chief national coach Homi Motiwala.

(From left) Tarapore, Motiwala and Kapila with Kiel trophies

"Known as Sailing City, the crème de la crème of sailing is at the starting line in Kiel and attracts worldwide attention,” states the website www.kieler-woche.de It coincides with the biggest summer festival in northern Europe, involving the entire city and attracting three million visitors, adds the site. For the Indian media, however, Tarapore’s win was but a blip on the radar, despite the fact that another Indian pair, Sanjeev Chouhan and Rajesh Dhulaji, placed eighth overall in a flotilla of over 155 competitors from 19 countries.

The previous best by Indian yachtsmen at Kiel was Tarapore and Kapila’s own performance in 2002 when they placed fifth overall. The Regatta this year saw them sailing out of their skin to win the last two races and clinch first place. "The conditions were pretty good. It was like Bombay weather and we were comfortable,” Tarapore asserted. Though the team was supposed to have an Australian coach, he could not join as the ministry of sports did not obtain the clearance in time. "Farokh’s win was fabulous,” bubbles his wife Anahita. "It took a long time coming (Farokh has been participating at Kiel for many years) but it was worth it. Farokh has always wanted to win at this competition.”