KARACHI: Veteran sailing icon Byram Dinshaw Avari is no more. His name will always stand tall in Pakistan’s yachting history for introducing the country on international sailing platform by winning the first-ever gold medal in the enterprise class at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok. Being his crew in the two-men boat, naval officer Munir Sadiq shared the honour with him.

Then the sport was in infancy and for that matter nobody even knew that any Pakistan yachting team was competing in the game. “We went there [Bangkok] at our own expenses after the Asian Games organising committee accepted our late entries,” Byram had told this reporter in a candid interview long ago.

Winning silver medal at the 1978 South Asian Yachting Regatta team event held in the Arabian Sea had boosted the morale of home sailors. Earlier, a couple of them had also got exposure when a Karachi Yacht Club (KYC) team travelled to Sri Lanka privately to compete in a three-nation regatta with India being the third team besides the hosts.

Things started to improve and Michael McNamara, a former reputed sailor globally, helped Byram by giving his boat which was flown from London to Bangkok for the Asiad.

According to Byram, one required a good boat, right tactics, mental and physical fitness and some luck to win a yachting event. Fortunately, all were there in Bangkok which yielded fruitful results.

Winning the top honour was a big surprise to many. The commendable feat heralded a new beginning for sailors in the country.

The Byram-Munir duo earned more prominence when they finished runners-up in the World Enterprise Class Regatta held at Ontario, Canada in 1981.

Continuing with his progress, Byram went on to retain the title (same category) at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. However, this time he was partnered by his wife Goshpi. Pakistan ended the Games sailing event with another gold by K.M. Akhtar in O.K. dinghy class. The regatta took place in Mumbai.

The Byram-Goshpi journey to the Asian Games was preceded by hiccups when the pair were initially dropped from the squad. However, then President Gen Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq intervened and ordered re-trial in which the duo returned with flying colours to earn participation in the continental gala.

Though Byram quit international sailing after these feats, his legacy was carried forward by Munir and Mohammad Zakaullah (former naval chief) who clinched back-to-back golds at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul and the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing.

Pakistan’s domination in enterprise class was then interrupted at the 1994 Asiad in Hiroshima where the pair of Munir and his sibling Mamoon earned silver.

Born to Dinshaw and Khorshed in an affluent Parsi family in Karachi in 1941, Byram had his schooling at the Karachi Grammar School. After completing his Cambridge, he joined St. Patrick’s College for his B.Com degree. He completed his MBA and then got a law degree from the University of Karachi after which he went abroad for training in hotel management.

Affectionately known as Baba, Byram picked up sailing at the age of 14 after one of his friends took him to KYC where he found it interesting. Later, he developed skills and craze which eventually made him taller in the sport.

Upon his return, he took over his family business of hotel management due to which he was on the move all the time.

“Travelling is a humbling experience. It makes me meet a lot of people from all backgrounds and walks of life which I enjoy quite a lot,” a soft-spoken Byram, father of three — Dinshaw, Xerxes and Zeena —summed up.

“Byram was a wonderful person and an angel for many. He was also my mentor in sailing at international level,”retired Maj Mayhar Datigara, Byram’s fellow sailor, told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2023