Ok. This was supposed to happen. And it did. I had spotted a billboard near Ega Theatre that said Chennai was hosting the Coastal Nationals. That's the Sailing Championships. I had to be there. Question is - where is it being organized ? Were they expecting us to stand on the beach and wait for the regatta to start ?

Google to the rescue. And I got some links. From May 2nd to May 7th. The Indian Navy was providing logistical support. I learnt me sailing at the Naval Sailing Club, Vizag. The most natural thing to do was calling up INS Adyar. It worked. Gate#7, Chennai Port. I was there at last. Got there with Mansukh. There at 1430hrs. The place was swarming with kiddos. Not the regular kiddos. These guys are veterans at 10yrs. Everybody's done Nationals ! One fine lady had won a Gold in an International event ! And she isn't even eligible to vote yet ! This was not the ideal place to show what an amateur I was. But I had to sail.

They couldn't believe how I found out about the event. But I was very welcome ! I sailed the Optimist, after a good 13yrs. Thundering Typhoons. Blistering Barnacles. Anchor Time. Was introduced to Cmde. T. Hari, NoIC Tamil Nadu. Was happy to be in Navy company again. Atta Boy !

Took some tips from Hussein and Sarav - had forgotten all me knots. The boat parts - Kicker, tiller, Centre-board (Keel), Reef Knot, Figure'o'eight, pointers.. heheh.. It was all coming back to me.. And then I set sail.. The Coastal Nationals were over. I was sailing as part of the 'Celebrity Race', a mock race to entertain the big-shots who had come to watch the event after it was over. Yeah right. I was the only Optimist sailing in a race full of Enterprises. Those guys just zipped. Took me a while to figure out the Tack. Heheh. That done, I realized I'd be able to manage. I did. Well, fairly well. Except that, if this was a real race, I would have been disqualified straightaway. I didn't go around any of the buoys. Then my kicker came loose. Further, I changed my course into incoming traffic and took all the shortcuts I could. In spite of that, I came in last. But the point is, after 13yrs, I had sailed. Yahoooooooooooo.