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Janashakthi sailing nationals:
Impressive sailing, augurs well
Richard DWIGHT
Dull, gloomy weather gave way to brilliant bright sunshine
accompanied by manoeuvrable strong winds - that made conditions ideal
for last week-end's sailing nationals.
It was sponsored by Janashakthi Insurance Co. Ltd. for the fifth
successive year and organised and conducted by the Yachting Association
of Sri Lanka and held at the Bolgoda, Ceylon Motor Yacht Club. Revelling
in the change of weather for the better, were the young sailors who
displayed much enthusiasm and fondness for the sport.
It was encouraging to observe them take their boats and sail single
handed onto the mid area of the lake and to the further end as well.
This does, young as they are, speak much for their courage and
determination which is commendable.
All this has come about through their guide, mentor and friend, Lalin
Jirasinha, who is responsible for training and steering them along - so
as to ensure that this sport enjoys continuity in the future too.
The young who came out on top at the nationals were the Goonewardene
brothers Dimitri and Devin. (Dimitri won the optimist class (under 15
years of age) while elder brother Devin, who was an optimist champion
earlier, has graduated to the senior level and was the winner of the GP
14 class, he is also a world youth champion.
Young Nadine De Rosayro holds much promise for the future as a
knowledgeable sailor, she won the laser under 19 event.
The others that caught the eye were Nandine Jayaratne, Joshua
Karpinski, Veren Dias, Radheeka Jirasinha and Pramukshi Kariyawasam.
Those who persisted in the preliminaries were Joshua Jayaratne,
Karpinskis, Danielle Svendsen, amongst others.
For the seniors the Navy duo W. P. K. Janaka and W. A. R. Nishantha
excelled in the enterprise class, whilst the father - son combination of
Asanka and Devin won the GP 14 class.
The sailors from Navy in R. P. I. Pushpakumara, W. P. U. S. Kumara,
T. Ghanawardene and A. P. K. Soysa made their presence felt.
Also in the thick of things to impress was sailing stalwart Joseph
Kenny and Mohan Balasuriya of rugby fame.
The winners received their trophies from Mrs. Abbigail Schaffter,
Ravi Liyanage, General manager, Sales & Marketing and Tilan Wijeyesekera,
Head of Marketing Janashakthi Insurance.
Results
Optimist Class (Under 15 years of Age)
Winner - Dimitri Goonawardene (Stafford International School)
1st runner up - Nadine Jayaratne (Colombo International School)
2nd runner up - Joshua Karpinski (Lyceum International School)
Laser 4.7 (Under 19)
Winner - Nadine De Rosayro (British School)
1st runner up - Viren Dias (Colombo International School)
2nd runner up - Radheeka Jirasinha (Ladies College)
Enterprise Class
1st Place - W. P. K. Janaka & W. A. R. Nishantha (Sri Lanka Navy)
2nd Place - R. P. I. Pushpakumara & W. P. U. S. Kumara (Sri Lanka
Navy)
3rd Place - T. Ghanawardene & A. P. K. Soysa (Sri Lanka Navy)
GP 14 Class
1st Place - Devin Goonawardene & Asanka Goonawardene
2nd Place - Mohan Balasuriya & Steen Wetlesen
3rd Place - Joseph Kenny & Pramukshi ariyawasam |
