Ajay excels in his new venture - Ocean racing

Sydney: Top Indian laser sailor Ajay Rau made his debut last week in Yacht racing. Last Tuesday Team M finished 1^st, on Tuesday’s Twilight Race, sailing the Sydney36CR class. This was the young sailor’s first time racing for a professional team. On Friday he raced a 60 foot yacht –Kite Runner, and finished 2^nd.

“It was a great experience being part of a professional team and racing in these massive keel boats. I have a long way to go and there is a lot to learn. This development is the beginning of chasing my dream of maybe one day competing in ‘Ocean Racing Regattas’ such as the ‘Rolex Sydney to Hobart’ or the ‘Volvo Ocean Race’.”- remarked an elated Ajay

The talented world no 15 Radial Sailor has again expressed interest in taking part in the 2009 Down under series. With the 2012 Olympics in London and 2016 in Rio, Sailing is going to be the centre of attention during the next two Olympic Games as both host countries are very strong in this sport and both the locations boast of some of the best racing conditions in the world. Ajay is one of the rare Indian sailors to make rapid progress in the sport in such a short time.

Looking back .... moving forward!

A welcome break I took a well deserved break after securing India’s best position at any Laser World Championships. In view of the fact that I am not on an Olympic campaign this year, I decided not to go to the UK to do the Sail for Gold Regatta (World cup event hosted at the 2012 Olympic venue). I took some time off to do a lot of thinking and to reflect on my current campaign. My mind and body have taken its toll. I desperately needed to make some serious decisions regarding my Sailing campaign. I escaped to the Blue Mountains to do some trekking and camping with my friend Ravish. I got to enjoy the great outdoors and it gave me the much needed rest from the rush of living a university / sailing life. It is unfortunate that I don’t have much financial support at the moment for my sailing campaign. On returning from the trek, Josh decided to take us white water rafting since my friend Mike Leigh (Olympic representative for Canada, Beijing) was getting married the following week. This was a whole lot of fun. The UNSW Sailing Club: my new baby! I have always enjoyed introducing new people to sailing and coaching. This led me to initiate the UNSW Sailing Club. To my delight this little venture has been rather successful. In a matter of 3 weeks our University sent a 14 member squad to the Australian University Team Racing Regatta. I managed both the teams and managed to secure a 6th place in the gold fleet and a 3 rd place in the silver fleet. A top result for a fledgling sailing club - barely 2 weeks old at the time of the Regatta! Seriously training I am now seriously preparing for the upcoming ‘Down Under’ series. It is my goal to better my personal bests of last year’s ‘Down Under’ series. This year has been exceptional in terms of results, barring the odd result in Europe. I hope to have some more top notch results this time and continue to improve as a sailor. I have started a heavy gym and fitness program which involves running, cycling, weights, swimming etc. I have resumed my training on my Laser. As the season draws closer there will be lots of sailors to train with. Only last week I took part in my first yacht race, sailing a 60 foot Yacht! Thanks to a last minute crew cancellation, I managed to get myself on a Sydney 36. We were way ahead of the pack and won the race in style. It’s a dream come true being able to crew on keel boats. Keel boat racing has always fascinated me. It has been one of my important goals. I am glad I was able to get this rare opportunity to sail these yachts. I hope this becomes a regular affair. Much needed support All in all, it has been a very tough year, despite being India’s best performing sailor at international Regattas this year. The funding hasn’t been great and sailing politics in India is scaling new heights! In a way I am glad I am in this situation, as being away from the Indian system has actually helped me yield better results. I am able to concentrate on sailing here in Sydney which is what I want to do at the end of the day. I will give it my best. I will sit and wait patiently for support to make my journey easier towards achieving my goals. I really hope to get the support I richly deserve. For the moment I will continue training and work with whatever resources I have now to become the best sailor I can be…..