While sailing is a distant dream or a spectator pastime for most Mumbaikars, 30 students from BMC schools are now learning to master the sport with hands-on training led by the Indian Army’s sports wing at Chowpatty. The group, comprising 15 girls and 15 boys aged 13 to 15, has completed eight weeks of ground training and four weeks of on-water sailing.

The students were selected based on health parameters such as height, weight, and vision. They come from three D ward civic schools — Mumbai Public School Balaram Street (Urdu), Mumbai Public School Gilder Lane, and Jagannath Shankar Seth English Secondary School. Every Saturday, they head to Chowpatty for sailing theory and practice, and on Thursdays, they train at Malabar Hill Club to sharpen their swimming skills while balancing school hours.