KFC Langkawi International Regatta Perdana - Dramatic weather change

by Icarus Sailing Media on 17 Feb 2014 On the final day of the 11th KFC Langkawi International Regatta Perdana the weather changed dramatically. After strong winds yesterday, competitors faced 5-10 knot breeze from the same direction, and it was hot.

So this was a test for the regatta leaders in the 15 divisions, with opportunities, perhaps, for lighter sailors to leap up the rankings in the three or four races scheduled for the day.

And as the sailors prepared and launched their boats from the Sailing Centre of Malaysia, there was an air of calm concentration.

The top 470 and 420 sailors stayed consistent on this last day. Azlan and Ismail were dueling throughout with Zaki and Mazelan in super close racing, but in the end Azlan and Ismail triumphed by just two points overall. In the 420 women’s Jamil and Sallahuddin simply dominated with 10 race wins out of 12 overall, a commanding performance.

Khairul Affendy was another standout performer in the Laser Standard. In the lighter wind he won the first two races of the day, making it 10 out of 10 so far, meaning he’d won overall with two races to spare.

In the Radial women Nur Hamid managed a similar scoreline, letting us know how fast she can be. Two Malaysian talents to watch for the future.

The tricky weather made life hard for the windsurfers, where racing went down to a nail biting finale in the Techno 293 class. Elfee Alias and Muhammad Rodzi swapped race wins throughout the regatta. Rodzi was one point ahead going into the day, but two bullets and a second jumped Alias to first overall by just one point.

The Laser 4.7 also provided nail biting action, with the lead swapping on almost every leg. After many battles Raynard Lee from Singapore topped the leaderboard over Zul Hasan from Malaysia, with Koh Yi Qian from Singapore third.

In the women’s, Malaysia’s Khairunhanna Affendy, who’d led overnight, finshed third overall, just two points behind Singaporeans Lim Sue Yung in second and Han Jing Bertha first, who stormed the final two races.

Asri Azman and Muhammad Latif battled for the lead in the Byte class, with Azman taking the title by just four points, or race places, overall. These two young Malaysian sailors have some good racing ahead of them.

The 2.4 class sailors also enjoyed racing today with close battles and great tactics.

The large Optimist class, with 93 competitors, was super tight at the top. Three points separated the top three by the end. Muhammad Yusof led overnight by five points, but Naquib Sharin turned in another set of consistent results, the secret of success in big fleets, to win overall. Muhammad Rozaini finished second, with Yusof third. Great racing from these young guns!

On this final the pressure was on for the race officers and staff of Kedah Sailing Association and the Malaysian Yachting Association. They did a fine job organising over 200 competitors across three courses, so next year’s key event looks good to go.

The organizers welcomed the local dignitaries and young sailors on the impressive stage for the closing ceremony at Kedah Sailing Association. After congratulating the young sailors for their sportsmanship, the awards were presented in good spirit.

The KFC Langkawi Regatta was a success allround, with great racing in both light and strong winds. See you again for the next year’s KFC regatta and the mega 2015 ISAF Youth Worlds.

For the race results click here