Sunday was fun for a bunch of teenaged sailors, who got an opportunity to act as “teachers” to a group twice their age. Strapped together in sailboats, some of which were as heavy as 150 kilos, a team of youngsters from The Yacht Club of Hyderabad were part of the sailing and kayaking tutorial, which will now take place every Sunday and is yes, open to all who literally wish to set sail.
“It was quite the experience,” said Akheel Mohammed, as he stepped down from his boat, the Optimus, which weighs around 40 kilos and one that beginners usually pick.
“I don’t know how to swim and that was my first time in a sailboat, so I was nervous. What was more impressive was that the fact that the boat was being handled by two sailors, who were around 15,” added Akheel, who works with L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited.
Akheel was one of the 20 participants who turned up for the tutorial, along with his colleagues, Sahana Joy and Subhakar J.V.
“This Sunday has been worth it. I have been in Hyderabad for three years now and I never knew, until now, that such adventurous activities were taking place in the city,” said Subhakar J.V., a site execution engineer and a first-time sailor. He admitted that he wasn’t apprehensive during the sail, even when his little boat “tacked” — a manoeuvre wherein the boat appears to tilt on one side.
“I do know how to swim, but an even bigger assurance were the children who were managing these massive boats. They are actually experienced sailors and some even winners on the national level. They were thorough professionals,” said Subhakar, gesturing to the young sailors, who were busy hauling the heavy boats out from the water and into storage.
The gang of “teachers” comprised students from all over the city and they have been training at the club for the past two years, some even longer.
“We come here to practice over weekends and during competitions, daily. But today, we got to act as teachers, which has never happened before. We taught the participants the components of a boat, their working and how the boat moves. For them it was a tutorial, for us it was a weekend joyride,” said Tanishq Desai — a 14-year-old Delhi Public School student and a national-level sailor.
If you think sailing is not that challenging, then you like Revanth Reddy, will also be proven wrong in the long run.“I used to find the sport boring in the beginning but not anymore,” added Revanth, who didn’t mind having his boat capsize in Hussainsagar.
