Royal Langkawi 2012- Hooligans throw down the gauntlet

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 11 Jan 2012 The 10th edition of the Royal Langkawi International Regatta started yesterday with an entry list of 36 boats racing in seven divisions. Grey and overcast skies may not have looked very pretty, but the breeze was definitely ‘in’ for the first days’ racing in Bass Harbour, just a short run out from the marina at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club.

New kids on the block for what is surely one of Asia’s most scenic regattas were Marcus Blackmore and his band of Hooligans, racing Hannes Waimer’s TP52 Team Premier, listed as ‘Hooligan’ for the duration. Three windward-leeward races for the IRC 0 division in around 12kts of breeze saw Hooligan score three bullets, with Neil Pryde’s HiFi playing bridesmaid each time. The two brand new all-carbon DK47s belonging to the Royal Malaysian Navy, Utarid and Uranus, seemed to be joined at the hip as they conducted three private races together, with Uranus beating Utrarid on aggregate score.

In IRC 1, Vincent Chan’s Mata Hari opened the batting with two firsts in front of the Beijing Sailing Centre’s Jing Jing, and Skandia Endeavour of Whitby (Stuart Williamson) performed the same trick in IRC 2.

It was undoubtedly an auspicious start to the regatta, which was plagued last year by extremely light winds. This year the event has a new RO at the helm, the very-experienced Simon James, and the race management didn’t miss a beat. It is almost a truism to say that ROs are all heroes when the wind obliges, but James and his team nevertheless put on a sterling show. A total of 17 starts produced a couple of OCS calls, helped no doubt by the wind-over-tide conditions threatening to push boats ‘over’ at almost 3kts.

At a press conference after racing, RLYC General Manager and RLIR Race Director Ahmad Zailani (‘Zack’) Bashah was happy to welcome everyone to the event, pointing out that there are now more IRC-rated competitors in the regatta than ever before, but stressing that the regatta still welcomes all-comers, die-hard racers and laid-back cruisers alike. 'Langkawi is just a great place to sail,' he said, pointing out that the archipelago has 'so much to offer sailors. When seasonal breezes are in the west, sail on the east side of the islands – and vice versa. Langkawi really has something for everyone all the year round. This regatta is the shop window for sailing in Langkawi. Welcome, everyone.'

Short Results:
IRC 0
1 Hooligan (1,1,1)
2 Hi Fi (2,2,2)
3 Uranus (3,3,5)
IRC 1
1 Mata Hari (1,1)
2 Jing Jing (2,2)
3 Katsu (4,3)
IRC 2
1 Skandia Endeavour of Whitby (1,1)
2 Phoenix (2,2)
3 Skybird (3,3)
Sportsboats (Platus)
1 ATM (2,1)
2 SMU (1,2)
3 MYA/KFC (3,3)
Multihulls
1 Fantasia (1,1)
2 Mind the Gap (2,2)
3 Nina (4,3)
Club Class
1 Rascal (3,1)
2 Haffiman (1,3)
3 Smystery (2,4)
Ocean Rover
1 My Toy (1,1)
2 Warisan Duyong (2,2)

Full results at http://www.langkawiregatta.com/Results-2012/Results-2012.html