Sail-World.com : Duyong Heritage Sailing Team Wins Heritage Bay Cup
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Duyong Heritage Sailing Team Wins Heritage Bay Cup |
Feeling more confident after winning the Heritage Bay Cup, the Duyong Heritage Sailing Team is all geared up to participate in other events to gain exposure and experience in sailing.
The team, led by Mohd Rais Hashim and his other team mates, Hasnuddin Hashim, Mohd Nazairi Zaidi, Kamaruzaman Arifin, Amran Abd Rahman, Azman Hasni and Salim Yunus, is looking forward to participate in both local and international sailing events in the future.
“Looking at our performance during the finals of the Heritage Bay Cup, we are confident that with more practise and training, we can gain in-roads into the world of sailing races. Our goal is to compete in the Malaysian Qualifiers with the ultimate dream of being invited to race in Monsoon Cup against the teams of the World Match Racing Tour,” said a jubilant Hasnuddin after the win on Saturday.
He attributed the team’s win over the other two competitors, defending champions Team Terengganu and Ri Yaz Team, to the light and shifty conditions of the weather with a sea breeze of 3-knots. Meanwhile, his team-member cum manager Mohd Rais said the sailing clinics and practice sessions coached by David Mills, Yacht Manager of Monsoon Cup was key to the team’s first-ever victory since they began racing in 2006. They received a trophy and certificates after their win.
The win was even more meaningful for the team of childhood friends as it aptly fits the Heritage Bay Cup theme, “Untuk Juara Tempatan” or “For Local Champions”.
The Heritage Bay Cup, in its second edition, is held by the organiser of Monsoon Cup to instil the interest of sailing while honing the skills of locals to be world-class racers. With world-class facilities such as the F36 sailing yachts and the Monsoon Cup match-race course ready for use, the teams have raised the standard of local racing to a higher level,” observed Mills.
This was evident at the start of the race when the teams displayed a level of competency and were able to helm the F36 in a manner not unlike professional match racers. Team Duyung Heritage had two clear wins over Ri Yaz Heritage Resort and Spa Team, who won their qualifiers to book a spot in the Finals. But the race did not start-off well for Duyung Heritage who misjudged the wind conditions and positioning at the beginning and were caught off guard by Team Terengganu and Ri Yaz. Unfazed, Mohd Rias and team kept their focus and gained back enough to pass both, Ri Yaz and Terengganu teams midway thru the first race.
Team Ri Yaz Heritage Resort and Spa with skipper Malizan Zakaria and Team Terengganu skippered by Mohd Kahirul Shahril Zakaria came in second and third respectively.
“We had a good start in Race 1 but Duyung Heritage overtook us when the wind direction changed as we failed to capture the breeze on our main sail. For Race 2, there was not much breeze so we couldn’t over take Duyung Heritage. Their 45-second lead was good enough for a win,' said Malizan who was in high spirits despite the team’s defeat. He applauded the organisers for holding the competition and urged the Monsoon Cup organiser to make this an annual event. “This is our first attempt and we will return next year to claim the title,” he added.
Meanwhile Mills said: “The standard of racing has improved. All 3 teams in the final are equally good and they practised really hard over the past few days. We are confident that sailing will definitely pick up in Terengganu as a sport with the growing enthusiasm. This year we had a large number of new teams registering resulting in a few teams being put on waiting list for the next Heritage Bay Cup.”
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For more information on The Heritage Bay Cup, please contact Mira Navaretna at mira@tbest.com.my mobile no : 016-3385341
by RURRUM
7:34 AM Tue 23 Jun 2009 GMT
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