420 and J24 - something with the numbers 2and 4 (also my birthday;)

I sailed the 420 nationals that was hosted by the Royal Madras Yacht Club in September 2008. I had just finished my exams ... and was in the middle of practical exams when I got sucked into sailing the 420 with Pallavi - another one from Chennai this time. The only difference was that I was going to be helming.
For about a week or so we practiced together... she would come over to the club after school, I would make it between studying for my practical exams.
It was great stepping back into the 420. Memories came flooding back... I remembered why I loved the boat so much.
I started racing with no great expectations... I was looking at it more as a great way to give something back, in the way of teaching someone. And also to see if I had it in me to helm this boat. She weighed 43 kilos and I was about 64, The weight was definitely in the wrong place, but I think we did quite well in the 15 knot breeze. We started off finished 8th and 7th in the first few races. But towards the end we started to get a little more confident, finishing 4th and finally 3rd overall in the last few races.

We finished a creditable 5th overall out of 15 and won the Women's National Title. It felt great!
Thanks Pallavi for the opportunity, I had a blast :)


I also sailed the J24 and match raced for the first time. It was an all girls team with Pallavi Naik (Goa) skipper, Trisha Sabir (Goa), Alekhya (Hyd) and I (Mad) lol...haha We called ourselves the 'Good Fun Team'.
It was the selection trials for the women and men's teams to take part in the Regional Finals that was going to held in Bombay in Oct 2008.
We had had hardly 1 day before the selection trials to finally sail together as a team as every one was either falling sick,,, or getting sea sick ;)

All in all it was another great experience, We beat Ayesha's team by the skin of our teeth. Our first surprise win was beating Ashim Mongia after being nearly 20 boat lengths behind... that was an amazing race,,, we just crept up from behind him and stole his thunder!... We couldn't believe our luck.
Then we had mishaps with our Jib Halyard.... which didn't go up around the windward mark, We lost to Ayesha and had an action replay with Barik.

Both Ayesha and us were tied...but she would win the tie as she had beaten us. We thought all was lost, until we realized that there was a knockout race for the 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 and 12th places. But even then, only if we got to sail against Ayesha did we have a chance of winning. To our luck , we were 9th and 10th.

The pressure was on... Ayesha was clear ahead, but still had an outstanding penalty! Suddenly we notice near the windward mark, she was head to wind and we passed her. And went on to win that race by a mile.

We later realized that Ayesha, had no idea how to do a penalty after all the match racing she has done... she actually did 2 tacks and 2 gybes...
So we won.!!!! In spite of all the odds... We get to participate in the Regional Finals, International Mumbai Match race and most probably the Nations Cup 2009 in Brazil :D Woohooo!!!!

For the love of sailing

For the love of sailing

YOUNG LIKE US Despite handling the pressures of the sport and pursuing her degree in medicine, Rohini Rau manages to stay afloat. R.NARAYANAN

It started as a leisure activity and soon became an addiction . And soon the addiction transformed her life so much that she simply refused to get out of it. Meet Rohini Rau, whose addiction to sailing has fetched her one Asian Championship gold medal, many national titles and also made her the first Indian woman sailor to be ranked in the international chart.

When did it all begin?

It seems I was hardly a year old when my mom, who was also a sailor, took me to the Royal Madras Yacht Club. That must have been my first tryst with sailing. When I was 11, I used to take part in camps organised by her and slowly got hooked on to the sport.

You have been sailing for a decade now. Tell us about your experiences.

I started off in the Optimist Class. Since I was too big for the boat, I never made it big in this class. Unfortunately, I was too small for the Laser Radial Class boat. That’s when I got into the 420-class and tasted my biggest success in the Asian Championship in Mumbai in 2004 along with Pallavi Naik. Now, I have moved over to the Laser Radial Class.

Given the vagaries of this sport, you have been fairly consistent and successful. What is the secret?

The love for the sport keeps pushing me all the time and that is reflected in the good results. When you enjoy doing something, you tend to go all out to make things happen.

Sailing must have taught you to handle the ebb and flow of life.

Yes. It has helped me grow as a person and also given me the independence to make my own decisions. I have to chart my own course when am all alone in the sea. I used to be a tomboy when I was younger but things are different now.

Isn’t it tough battling the elements of wind and water?

Many people think that we are fighting against nature. It isn’t so. We sailors have learnt to respect and embrace nature, and use it to our advantage. We know that every day is different, and we have to be prepared all the time.

You trained in Europe before going to Portugal for the Beijing Olympics qualifier. What did you learn there?

That I was as good as the best sailors in the world! Initially, it was hard but slowly I got used to the competition and took pleasure in beating some of the top sailors. In New Zealand recently, I even finished eighth in one of the races and was so overwhelmed that I cried.

You are pursuing medicine as well, aren’t you?

Yes. I am doing my second year MBBS at the Chengalpattu Medical College. I take my studies very seriously and even got a distinction in one of the subjects (anatomy) in the first year exams. I plan to specialise in sports medicine. I want to prove that one can excel in both academics and sports at the same time.

Do you have any plans as a doctor?

Once I finish sports medicine, I want to open a sports centre in India which will have all the facilities under one roof.

Who are the other sportspersons you are in touch with?

Squash champion Joshna Chinappa and I are very good friends. World Junior Billiards champion Pankaj Advani and I hit it off really well when we met in New Delhi at an awards function. Despite his achievements, Pankaj is down-to-earth. He never forgets to call me on my birthday.

The funniest moment in your life was…

My two best friends in sailing come from Belgium and Latvia. We enjoy each other’s company and once shot a video of us singing songs. Whenever we watch that video, we burst out laughing.

What is your dream destination?

South America. Brazil in particular.

What is your Olympic dream?

I am eyeing the 2012 Olympics in London. For this year’s Beijing Games, I started as late as 2007. Even if India gets a wild card entry to this year’s Olympics, only one can make it. I am third on the Indian wild card entry list. Who knows, I might get lucky and be on the plane to Beijing too!

Super Woman!!!????!

A lot of people think I have a great life... and that its all hunky dory all the time. But you will all be quite happy to note that I am no extraordinary human being.
I also have good days and bad, sometimes more bad days than one would want.
It hasn't been easy doing medicine and my sport! My first year was quite hard... I stayed in the hostel, I wasn't able to keep fit, or get much sailing practice but in spite of everything I took part in 7 sailing championships including 3 International ones which made me defer my exams 6 months later.
It was hard to watch my batch move on without me. But I wrote my exams and to my amazement I passed!!! But this was only the beginning... 2nd year, I was in a class of 3. Everyone else in my batch were 6 months ahead. The only thing that got me through it were my friends, family and my Dean.
I went on European circuits for a total of 5 months... so that made my second year extend by 1 more year. When i came back after the European circuit this time, I was very close to quitting! Yes, I suddenly felt that it was just too much for me to handle and that I wasn't going to be able to do it. I didn't go to college for the first few days. Finally my mom dragged me to college on the 3rd day and we went and met the Dean in charge. I got a lot of support from him, and my friends. Mom said that I had come too far to quit now... They reminded me that I wasn't a quitter! And that I have never started something and not finished it.
So here I am, still at it, when everyone around me said that I would quit. When my own coach said I would never make it at a World level - Im now ranked 219 in the World
When the rest said that I should quit sailing and concentrate on Medicine now that I have got in - I got a distinction in Anatomy
When they said I would never be able to concentrate on my sailing and medicine together - I won the Nationals - top 3 Overall

My friends and family stood by me every step of the way. If you have even half of what I have in terms of my family and friends, I would consider you to be quite Super. As they are the ones who make me the 'Super Woman' I am today...

Back to University!

After my really long break (December 21st to April 24th 2008) I am finally back home and back to my books.
I sailed the Coastal Nationals in Chennai soon after I landed here on the 24th of April. It was great to sail in my home waters, even though it was really HOTTT!!!! no seriously it was about atleast 40 - 41 degrees C.
Anyways I managed to finish 1st among the girls... no surprises there. But after I came back on the last day of racing I realised that if only I had finished 1st instead of 2nd in the last race, I would have finished 1st overall.
I settled for the bronze medal overall. The medal actually said ' Second - runner up - MEN' :D haha!!! I showed them.

Well, I now have exams coming up in August, this is my 2nd year exams. yes i am a year behind the rest of my class. So right now my head will be clouded by Pharmacology, Microbiology, Pathology and Forensic Medicine for the next 2 months!

HELP!!!!!