When the Wind Failed the Sails… at Pykara Lake

Wellington chapter continues..


Another fresh morning and dressed up in layers of woollen, we walked towards the Memorial Circle in Wellington, to board the bus to the another popular tourist spot – Pykara Lake. Every year around this time, the sailing club holds the opening sailing competition and this time, apparently my husband too was a participant. During the academy days, he used to be a full blue, but for the past 15 years he hasn't even seen a sail boat, leave alone any sailing competition. Nevertheless, to him sailing was like cycling that once learned can never be forgotten.

Pykara is also the name of the village alongside which the lake flows and the lake is considered very sacred by the native tribes here called Todas; that’s a trivia I learned during my research. Located at about 38-40 km from Wellington, the village and the lake put together a picturesque setting worth making everyone envy nature’s marvel. We expected 2 hours bus drive to reach the destination, which was surprisingly covered in just about an hour or it felt so. We were dropped off at the Pykara sailing club, which is a private property; the public entrance was another couple of kilometres from there. The place has much more to offer than just the lake and boating facilities; a series of waterfalls, the Pykara Dam and if you are lucky enough, take back home some fresh village produce while savouring the steamed corn on the cob rubbed with the spicy masala (one of my all time favourites). 

It was a pleasant morning but unusually cold for the summers; thick sweaters or jackets are highly recommended as it is normally windy. Ah, windy! That reminds me about the sailing competition. Of the 20-30 teams who came prepared, only 15 could participate due to the non-availability of sailboats. As the men got busy changing into their sail rigs and discussing strategies, the ladies and the children enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast; hot tea and sandwiches were ready along with neatly arranged chairs for onlookers to enjoy the race. The podium overlooked the beautiful lake sandwiched between the mud red coloured dunes, which was further lined with thick woods – a sight I couldn't help but capture.  

The crowd had more or less settled and the competition was about to begin. Scheduled for duration of 20-30 minutes, the teams were to complete 4 legs. One by one the participants untied their boats and sailed to the starting point, and that’s when we realized we were pretty far off. We had hard time identifying the sailors from that distance and if not for the camera zoom lens, we would have cheered for the wrong team (just kidding)! When the boats sailed past the first buoy, some went by effortlessly, a few struggled and one almost withstood a possible capsize; but I think that’s all part and parcel of the game. Soon the commentary also began and when the boat numbers and participant names were being called out marking the lead, the ladies whose husband’s were out sailing got all the more excited, including me. So far so good!

By the time boats managed to reach half leg, there was an unexpected twist to the event - that was when the wind failed the sails! With no sign of even the lightest breeze, all 15 boats were stuck there for another hour. After another half an hour of patience, perseverance, fiddling and meddling, the boats finally managed to come out of the maze and so did he. He finished 7^th in the competition and has his own reasons for that. The race went on for two hours plus and became a test of patience and perseverance rather than skills. Anyhow, it was amazing to watch how the sailors fought the nature’s will. When they walked up the alley all wet with bruises and cramps, for a moment we thought “only if Gods were kind enough!”

In the meanwhile, kids who were lined up for speed boat and pedal boat rides hoping the race would get over any time, were getting almost impatient. By the time their turn came it was already noon and the climate changed dramatically just when the competition ended. I also managed to take a speed boat ride with a few of my friends while my husband chilled over a cup of cola and oh boy, who would believe when they say the participants struggled with no wind!

Update: - 

When the opening sailing competition witnessed a tragic twist when the wind failed the sails, the second one, on the other hand, experienced brutal winds  gushing at 25-30 knots across the lake; only 6 boats managed to finish when the rest either capsized or withdrawn for other reasons. 

The 3^rd Sailing Competition

With no inbuilt mechanism or steers, it was intriguing to watch how the men maneuvered the boats by adjusting the sails.  Unlike the last two races, this one did not have any game changers; from the start till the finish line, first three positions were maintained by the same boats, sometimes changing positions amongst themselves during the first 2 legs. 

3^rd and 4^th legs marked clear lead for boat number 42; the team was at one leg lead over the boat in 2^nd position and managed to continue so till the last leg. At about ½ a leg to go the wind speed suddenly dropped and it looked as if the game would favour the other team, which was soon catching up on them. This gave a nail biting finish to the otherwise normal or predictable race. Boat number 42 finished first in 41 minutes, closely followed by another boat.

Well, now what was the whole point of this update? Because, my husband’s boat stood 1^st in the race! :-)