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Schooling on sails
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Training naval officers in the city for world-class sailing is a mission that Argentinean coach Martin Flores simply enjoys doing. TANYA ABRAHAM on the first phase of this training session.
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Martin Flores (standing fourth from left) with the trainee naval officers.
WITH KOCHI being on the throes of unique progress, the place has been witness to different people and what they have to offer. A recent one has been evident in the waters of the Arabian Sea. Of laser class sail boats, with their masts propped high and sails fluttering in the wind.
On one of these is Martin Flores, a professional sailing coach scrutinising and directing a team of young naval officers. A thorough professional with years of sea experience behind him. Flores says that he is on his first visit to the country and his mission is to train naval officers for world-class sailing. "We have sailors from different parts of India who have come to Kochi," he adds.
Training
A professional in Laser, Snipe and Optimist Class of sailing boats, Flores was asked to train the personnel of the Indian Navy and help them turn into real class sailors. An Argentinean by birth and a resident of Italy, Flores says that it was his contact with Commander Narang (head of the Naval Yachting Association) at one of the international championships that paved the way for this assignment. For Flores sailing is a passion, "I have been doing it since the age of three." He later became part of the Argentinean National Federation and won the national championship at the age of 11. That was the beginning, and since then he has been six times champion in Laser Class and twice in the Snipe and Optimist class competitions. And after a satisfying career in sailing he moved on to coaching. He is proud of his achievements and hard work that has seen one of his trainees bag the silver in the 2000 Olympics and one in Barcelona.
Ideal conditions
And now why has Kochi been chosen for the training? Flores believes that Kochi has the ideal conditions for sailing with its open sea and good weather. "With wind speeds of 10-12 knots at this time of the year and sufficiently strong currents, it is ideal for the initial part of training. And this is just the beginning. We have a list of championships we intend to take part in. It begins with the Asian Sailing Championship in Qatar in 2005, the Asian Games in Qatar in 2006, the Military Sailing Championship in 2007 and the 2008 Olympics."
Quality yachtsmen
The Navy has always produced quality yachtsmen and this training programme is to ensure that the stock of world-class sailors does not diminish. During training sessions Flores is seen moving around recording on video each of the sailors, scrutinising every move. "The training begins at nine in the morning. This, after work of the previous day being thoroughly analysed. I correct the trainees using various video clips after which they have just enough time for a quick lunch and for the sails to be rigged. We then sail the entire afternoon and return to shore around 5 p.m."
Flores will return in January for the next training session. "It has been a pleasure to help start a new generation of sailors in a country like this."
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Metro Plus
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