Singapore Straights Regatta day 1
by Icarus Sailing Media on 31 Jan 2013
19th Singapore Straights Regatta Martins Rijkuris
An annual fixture on the Asian Yachting circuit, the Singapore Straights Regatta first took place in 1995. It has since come to be famed for its blend of Singaporean and Indonesian flavor, while it’s the only Regatta that brings the yachts and sailors to clubs on both sides of the Straits. This truly unique Regatta, one offering a myriad of sailing conditions and experiences has reached its 19th edition this year. The Regatta is organized through a unique chair rotation system amongst the Singapore clubs and Riau Yacht Club/ Nongsa Point Marina.
In this year’s event, a total of 36 boats will be taking part. On this first day, they were required to sail along the coast of Singapore, starting from the west side, and the island of Sentosa, to the east side, close to the Naval base. All these boats would be crossing in front of both some of the natural beauty spots as well as the stunning city skyline that Singapore presents to athletes and spectators alike.
The weather may have been a bit tricky for the purposes of a coastal race. In fact, early in the morning the wind, coming from the north-east, had gusts of between seven and sixteen knots! But beyond this issue, the sky was clear and the day itself quite hot. The crews taking part in the Straits race were enjoying every minute of this beautiful sunny and, eventually, windy day. Soon enough, those gusts were reaching up to sixteen knots!
Before too long, the first boats were crossing the finish line and from there, they sailed towards the picturesque island of Batam, and the Nongsa Point Marina and Resort. This stunning Resort will host the athletes for the next two days. Tomorrow especially, there will be two inshore races, taking place right in front the Resort, and they are expected to include some truly fierce competition.
After the first day of races, the Singaporean boat, Windsikher leads in the IRC A class, while in the IRC B, the top spot belongs to Waka Tere. And ‘Melissa 3’ is ahead in the PY Class. In the two One Design classes competing in Singapore, SMUmad leads in the Platu 25, while in the J24 boats, the first place belongs to Angel. It will be interesting to see if they manage to hold on to these positions as the Regatta now enters its second day.
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