2nd Singapore to Besar Race, ready to roll

by AsianYachting.com on 20 Jun 2015 After a resounding success last year, the Aseania Beach Resort have once again got together with the Changi Sailing Club to present the second running of the Singapore to Palau Besar Race and Regatta. Designed to take boats away from the busy shipping lanes in Singapore and introduce skippers and crew to the peace and quiet of the Johor Islands, this is a proper blue water cruising experience.

Only 80nm away from Singapore, the archipelago of over 20 islands has been declared a marine national park, named Kepulauan Iskandar, in honour of the Sultan of Johor, in recognition of his continuing commitment to island preservation and for personally overseeing successful development procedures. All the tropical islands feature resorts that are popular with holiday makers on weekends, only two hours drive from the Singapore-Malaysia causeway. The islands now appear in all the travel guide as popular dive sites and offering other water sports activities.

As of Saturday 20th June, nine yachts have registered for the event, with a few making a return appearance from 2014.

To suit the style and number of yachts entered, there will be two classes - Cruising and Multihull - for the 100nm overnight passage race from the Changi Sailing Club to Pulau Besar. CIQ will take place at Pulau Besar upon arrival and departure. There will be a Welcome party on the Sunday evening and one day to rest and get ready for three days of passage racing in and around the neighbouring Johor Islands, before returning to Singapore the following weekend.

Lately the southwest trade wind has varied in strength, but has picked up over the last few days, after a series of monsoon troughs came through. This could produce an exciting downwind run after rounding the southern tip of Johor, all the way north to the Pulau Besar finish line. If these conditions continue into the next week, some memorable and character building, tropical sailing experiences are likely to emerge.

Edwin Low's Young 840 Dream On, will be looking to go one better than last year and win the monohull class, while Tim Hill's Corsair 725 Cicak would like to do the same in the Multihull class. Before Low's pocket sized sportsboat, Dream On, can claim the title they will have to overcome some bigger boats: Wendlin Wald's Jenneau 36 Melissa III, Derek Sharples' Jenneau 40 SDF, and Joe Lombardo's Dufour 34 Shardana in the process. Although Kevin Hynds Petersen 46 Snapdragon and Adam Chuang Cheoy Lee 35 Innisfree are heavy displacement yachts, they still have a chance in the handicap stakes, after the Performance Yardstick (PY) time allowance factor is applied.

Two very lightweight and nippy trimaran's, Tim Hill's Corsair Sprint 725 Cicak and Freddy Fam's M23 Phoenix, will be up against the Commodore of the Changi Sailing Club, Anthony Lim's fully fitted Leopard 40 Annette. If the wind stays up, they can expect some exciting rides and sailors with smiles all round, at the nightly dinner and daily prize presentation at the Aseania Beach Resort, with everyone eager to tell their sailing stories.

Keelboat (Club PY)
Wendlin Wald, Jenneau 36, Melissa III
Derek Sharples, Jenneau 40, SDF
Joe Lombardo, Dufour 34, Shardana
Kevin Hynds, Petersen 46, Snapdragon
Adam Chuang, Cheoy Lee 35, Innisfree
Edwin Low, Young 84, Dream On

Multihull
Anthony Lim, Leopard 40, Annette
Tim Hill, Corsair Sprint 725,Cicak
Freddy Fam, M23, Phoenix

www.asianyachting.com