Asia Pacific Student Cup - Variable conditions for a challenging day

by Bryan Chan on 18 Sep 2014 Day one of the Asia Pacific Student Cup 2014 was an exciting one with conditions that tested sailors’ ability to perform under a wide range of conditions. In the end, flexibility would prove to be key to a good showing on the water.

The day began with a detailed umpires’ brief which many of the new match racers were glad to have to assist their learning. And soon after, six SB20s donning brand new sails (courtesy of event sponsors Seiko and Hotel Jen) were out on the water—ready to race. The sun beat down hard on Marina Bay most of the day, and the only respite for competitors was a brief shower of rain which left them wet and uncomfortable afterwards. With it, the storm brought pressure from the backend of the course, causing the wind to die somewhat as new breeze filled in only to settle for its original heading once the storm had passed. In all, wind strength was in the pretty variable range of five to twelve knots, and gusts across the bay created patches that made sailing fast a game of ‘connect-the-puffs’. A total of ten flights of twenty-two were conducted, and all but the last match of the tenth flight was completed today.

Clear leaders emerge from the first day of racing, with Team LIMitless skippered by Collin Lim from the Singapore Management University (SMU) ahead of the pack with a lossless clean sheet (5-0). Collin defending his home ground with his experience in various local match racing events including last year’s edition of this same regatta. Team France skippered by Pauline Courtois sits on a comfortable four wins (4-0), and has the chance to match him when she finishes her fifth match tomorrow. Low Wen Chun (SMU Student) and his Team YPYP round up the leaders with a strong score dirtied only by his own match against Courtois (4-1).

Interestingly enough, the top spots today have all been secured by match racers who have already met and competed against each other at the World University Match Racing Championships recently held on Lake Ledro in Trentino, Italy, while experienced dinghy sailors Darren Choy (two time Byte World Champion) and Natasha Yokoyama (Singapore Youth Olympic Games representative) sit mid-fleet with three wins apiece—tied with Team Malaysia.

However, with just more than half the matches in the round robin yet to be completed, it is still very much anyone’s game, and we look forward to more great racing here at the Asia Pacific Student Cup 2014 organised by Singapore Management University and sanctioned by Singapore Sailing Federation.