Hyderabad|India|July'2010: The Yatch Club of Hyderabad hosted ‘The Tata Photon Celebrity Race’ as part of the ongoing Tata Photon Monsoon Regatta at the Hussain Sagar Lake. The race was flagged off by Tollywood star Venkatesh.

The Celebrities who volunteered to brave the wind and waves included Daggubatti Venkatesh, Film Star; Suresh Babu, Chairman, Hyderabad 10K Run Foundation; Harsha Bhogle, India's ace cricket commentator; Vinai Thumulapally, US Ambassador to Belize; Barabara Thumulapally, the Ambassador’s wife and S Rama Krishna, Regional COO – South East, Tata Teleservices Ltd…. They had an exciting sailing experience and expressed their solidarity with the Monsoon Regatta slogan "For a Clean Hussain Sagar."

The race was sailed by India's top sailors R Mahesh, Nitin Mongia, Aashim Mongia and Ayesha Lobo, with each boat carrying one celebrity and sailing around the course. There were two sections to the racing, Fleet Race had four J24 Class boats sailing and a Match Race where the boats were divided into two sets to race each other and then the finals followed.

The celebs got a glimpse of the sport first hand, understood the conditions under which the sailors race and got an idea of the physical and intellectual nature of Sailboat Racing. The racing also gave them an idea of the raw excitement of the sport first hand, a rare opportunity for the uninitiated.

Speaking on the occasion, Venkatesh said sailing on Hussain sagar today is a real time experience, though I did sail in past for movies. Kids below 15 years sailing confidently on the lake is encouraging for other to look at sailing as a sport. We all have to do our bit to keep Hussain sagar clean, he added.

The Celebs also met the young sailors from across the country and the freshly trained budding sailors of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad.

The Tata Photon Celebrity Race was followed by a Quiz hosted by Harsha Bhogle on Hussain Sagar, the environment, Hyderabad and Sailing.

Also the Monsoon Regatta Inland Optimist Open Championships commenced today morning with a record 57 entries from Chennai, Mumbai, Cochin, Hyderabad and Bhopal.

•Kaushal Kumar and Girish win Apollo Munich Trophy

-July'' 2010