|
Sail-World.com : Singapore Straits Regatta 2012 - an eventful first leg in Singapore
Singapore Straits Regatta 2012 - an eventful first leg in Singapore
|
After two days of intense racing along East Coast Beach, the Singapore Leg of the 18th Singapore Straits Regatta ended off with a prize-giving at ONE°15 Marina Club. The yachts will head over to Batam on Sunday morning for the final two days of racing, and social activities at Nongsa Point Marina.
Three races have been held so far for the 18th Singapore Straits Regatta, and it has proven to be nothing but exhilarating. The North East tradewinds blew with a vengeance and it definitely served the sailors well.
First Day, Race 1
On the first day, the race started in great conditions, under a blanket of cerulean blue and gusty winds of up to 20 knots. One of the newcomers in the IRC A Class, Steven Manning's Sydney GTS 43 Wala Wala had initially dipped in form during the start but he managed to rebound with a win, in hopes of taking home a trophy on their first attempt at the Straits Regatta. Brent Morgans' Archambault 35 Men at Work proved that size isn't everything, as they may be a lot smaller in size as compared to other yachts in its class, but they still managed to 'wow' spectators with a great performance, as they maneuvered their way through to second place, only 35 seconds behind the leader. The excitement kept on going, with a tussle amongst the remaining IRC A Class yachts, all vying for the last podium position, it eventually went to Chris Furness / Guz Wilkinson's Elan 410 Rikki Tikki Tavi who came in just a mere 25 seconds after Archambault 35 Men at Work.
Another class that has carved out a reputation in keelboat racing is the J24 Class, this year; the J24 Class saw a total of four yachts on the line. On the first day of the passage race, Borstnar Vladimir's J24 Angel went against all odds to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with, and came up first, leaving defending J24 champion Christopher Lim's Shengli, with no choice but to assume second place. Calvin Lim’s Jangan Main Main, despite showing great potential and several burst of speed, was ultimately relegated to third place.
After hitting the headlines last year, with their dramatic sailing encounter, Gordon Maxted’s 84 Shoon Fung Too, was clearly determined to create hype again, but this time for a positive reason. His efforts paid off when he managed to claim first place, way ahead of the other yachts in the IRC B Class. Shortly after, Glen O'Grady's Young 88 O' Blue Eyes crossed the line to claim second place, with SMUve skippered by Alexi Lim closing in to claim the third place.
The Star of this year's Strait's Regatta was in the PY Class - Ng Ser Miang's Swan 61 Magic Dragon 2, which also carried the past and present SingaporeSailing presidents, they were at the top of their game and effortlessly claimed the daily double. Wang Yew Pang's Jeanneau 54 Haiya 1 was next in line, and although Changi Sailing Club's Commodore Anthony Lim's Leopard 40 catamaran Annette was outclassed in this company, they still ended up in third place.
The multi-hulls formed the Corsair Class, and they were certainly looking to impress with some high-speed thrills. Four Corsair Dash 750's were involved in the first race, with Scott McCook's Sirens leaping into the lead to triumph on the first race. The race favourite, Alice Lim's The Dash, who has been around the longest, was expected to come in first based on their wealth of experience plus match practice at other events, but she was relegated to the second place. Nicolas Gillier's Singaloc slotted into third place.
Second Day, Race 2
The second day of racing consisted of another passage race along the East Coast, and a windward/leeward course, The sailors were in for a treat, as the weather conditions persisted from the first day, and everyone got off to a fine, smooth start.
In the IRC A Class, Rick Pointon's J130 Jing Jing was bent on getting back into the game, they make good use of the early breeze and they managed to gallop away into the distance to claim the first position, leaving Steven Manning's Sydney GTS 43 Wala Wala in second position. The third position went to last year’s defending champion Sarab Jeet Singh's Sydney 40MOD Windsikher, who was equally determined to achieve a podium finish, and they spared no chances and battled it out till the end. Although the yachts in the IRC A Class sail in close company around the course and finish within minutes of each other, when the handicaps are applied to their elapsed time a different story appears in the final results.
Once again, Borstnar Vladimir's J24 Angel sailed their best for the second passage race to clinch the first place, which means Christopher Lim's Shengli, had to yet again, play second fiddle. Coming right up in third place was none other than Calvin Lim’s Jangan Main Main.
Unlike the other classes where the first, second and third positions were fairly predictable, a twist of event occurred in the IRC B Class. Glen O’Grady’s O’Blu Eyes, was elated to be able to overtake hot favourite, Gordon Maxted’s 84 Shoon Fung Too and emerged in first place, leaving the latter in second place. Alexi Lim’s SMUve successfully ousted Gregory Ho’s SMUMAD and managed to retain its third place.
Another faultless performance by Ng Ser Miang's Swan 61 Magic Dragon 2 allowed them to maintain their position by leading way ahead of the other yachts in the PY Class. Anthony Lim's Leopard 40 catamaran sailed consistently well, allowing them to climb up one spot to assume second position, leaving Wang Yew Pang's Jeanneau 54 Haiya 1 with the third position.
The Cosair class marked full attendance on the second day and continued to provide action-packed sailing. Scott McCook's Sirens added another win by coming in first. Nicolas Gillier’s Singaloc displayed great enthusiasm and tried overtaking Alice Lim’s The Dash on several instances, his efforts paid off and he was awarded the second place, leaving Alice Lim’s The Dash in third place.
Second Day, Race 3
Down to the final Windward/Leeward race showdown.For the third race, a twist of events occurred in the IRC A Class, Brent Morgans' Archambault 35 Men at Work superseded with an almighty performance to secure first place. Sarab Jeet Singh's Sydney 40MOD Windsikher was determined to get back into the game and in the end, it was a daring port tack start that gave them a great start and they were awarded second place. Although Kenn Eyears / Rick Overton's Farr 30 Rock 'N' came in third place, they deserve some credit for sailing exceptionally well in the third race, making sleek and smart tacks. Steven Manning’s Sydney GTS 43 Wala Wala was relegated down to fifth place after a start line incident, which caused them a hefty penalty.
Racing could not get any closer in the J24 Class, and everyone had to stay on top of the game if they wanted to ensure podium finishes. In the end, it was veteran sailor Borstnar Vladimir and his crews, who showed exceptional and superior sailing technique on their J24 Angel, to win the third race in a row. Christopher Lim’s Shengli never gave up and tried chasing closely behind Borstnar Vladimir’s Angel, but his efforts proved futile, and he was handed the second place, again, although they were just mere seconds behind. Calvin Lim’s Jangan Main Main sailed a good course and came in third, two minutes behind Christopher Lim’s Shengli.
Racing was close in the IRC B Class with tons of pressure, as none of them could afford to trip up in the third race. Gordon Maxted’s Young 84 Shoon Fung Too was determined to change his fate from the second race, and after putting up a tough fight; he managed to claim back the first position title from Glen O’Grady’s O’Blu Eyes. Alexi Lim’s SMUve on the other hand, was not going to accept third place again, he spared no chances and proved himself worthy of the second position. Glen O’Grady’s O’Blu Eyes, on the other hand, encounter a series of unfortunate events and was relegated to third position.
Stringing together three wins out of the three races, Ng Ser Miang's Swan 61 Magic Dragon 2 is a hot favourite to clinch the PY Class trophy, as they appear to be unstoppable during this regatta. Wang Yew Pang's Jeanneau 54 Haiya 1 plays bridesmaid yet again with second place. After battling it out with the remaining yachts in the PY Class, Leslie Fung’s Todak 2 slotted in happily into the third place.
In the Cosair Class, the five Cosair Dash 750’s came out in full force to give their all for the final race held in Singapore. The third race left the crowd feeling anxious, and in beads of sweat with extremely close racing. A blunder from Scott McCook’s Sirens caused him to lose the first place. He misread the course and had to retire gracefully from Race 3, this left the open for Nicolas Gillier's Singaloc a great opportunity to claim victory, and by doing so take over top position on the leaderboard. Alice Lim’s The Dash despite performing consistently well, she was unable to overtake Nicolas and was handed second place.
On the shore side, to the delight of the sailors, ONE°15 Marina Club hosted $5 beers all weekend at the boaters’ bar. The prize-giving ceremony together with a gala party will also be held there on Saturday night. The sailors are sure to enjoy a well-deserved night of drinking on the dock, partying and sharing of their experiences out at sea.
The Singapore Leg of the 18th Singapore Straits Regatta concluded in dramatic style with the completion of the scheduled programme for all classes. The yachts are scheduled to leave for Nongsa Point Marina & Resort tomorrow morning, Sunday, 29th January, at 10am. Racing will thereafter resume on Monday, 30th January.
by Singapore Sailing Federation
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=93412
4:22 PM Mon 30 Jan 2012 GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
|
|
|
Our Advertisers are committed to our sport, please support them!
This site and its contents are © Copyright TetraMedia Pty. Ltd and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved.
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact Sail-World.com as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Only if the photographer named on the image is Sail-world.com, Powerboat-world.com or Marinebusiness-world.com
Contact us
.
or complete our
feedback form
Contact us
.
View our Privacy Policy.
[ Go Home]
[ Banner Advertising Specification]
[Bot Archive ]
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our Sail-World news feed on their website.
Look_here_to_see_examples
|
| | |
