The Unifi Capital Offshore regatta to be held from March 11 to 14

Jitendra Dixit, Joint Secretary of Yachting Association of India (YAI) stated that the event will be be the first of its kind and has generated a lot of interest.

At the logo launch (From left): Vivek Shanbhag, Vice-Commodore of RMYC, Jitendra Dixit, Jt. Secretary of YAI and Commander Abhilash Tomy.

The Unifi Capital Offshore regatta to be held from March 11 to 14. The two-legged race, which will be between Chennai and Puducherry and back, will cover a distance of 160 km., one way. The race is expected to be completed in 60 hours (two ways).

Four teams will be taking part in the event, which will have J80 class sailboats. The teams are Navy (Commander Bakshi, Imo Lemnok), Army (Major Vikram & Swami), Royal Madras Yacht Club (RMYC) (Commander Abhilash Tomy & Capt. Vivek Shanbhag) and the Pondicherry Sailing Association (Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi & Aurofilio).

“This is the first of its kind event in the Bay of Bengal, a stepping stone so to say. We hope to build on it and make it an event of grand scale. We are planning to have it in alternate months in all parts of the country,” said Jitendra Dixit, Joint Secretary of Yachting Association of India (YAI), at a virtual meet here on Tuesday.

Vivek Shanbhag, Vice-Commodore of RYMC said the J80 boats are the ones used in Asian Games. “The boats are being provided with satellite trackers and the public can view the race at www.  trackanything.in ,” he said.

Commander Abhilash Tomy, racing for RMYC, said the offshore regatta has generated a lot of interest as the event will be a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The event is being organised by the RMYC and YAI.