Up and running... RLIR 2006

by AsianYachting.com on 14 Feb 2006 Bright sunshine and a 10 to 12 knot north easterly greeted the sailors on day one of racing. The classes have been further sub-divided into seven groupings and a total of 33 yachts from eleven nations have entered the 4th edition of the RLIR. Race Officer Mark Pryke elected to race inside Bass Harbour for the afternoon start, and courses 14,15 and 16 were selected and the wonderful surrounding islands formed a picturesque backdrop for the racing.

Thomas Blixt's V60 Ericsson got the best of the racing class start by bursting out to windward with speed and overhauling the smaller yachts to take a commanding lead by the first mark. Ray Roberts on Ulumulu - Quantum Racing stayed on the pace and kept the bigger boat within striking distance.

As the afternoon wore on the breeze faded and dramatic changes started to appear with each gust. Some boats struggled to finish. In the end it was Ericsson taking line honours by twenty four minutes but with a massive handicap of 1.4360 it left the door open for Ulumulu - Quantum Racing to sneak in by a mere twenty six seconds to secure handicap honours. Mahligai claimed third spot over the bigger Royal Malaysian Navy Farr 5200 Zuhrah who got caught on the wrong side of a few shifts coming up to the finish.

Premier Cruising
David Lindahl's Swan 40 La Samudra got the better of Keith Garry's Beaux Esprits on both line and handicap honours. RSYC Commodore Aziz Kadir did not manage a finish on Juita in the three boat class.

Sportsboats
Mohd Masyuri Rahmat fared better than his Royal Malaysian Navy counterparts by scoring a win on his first outing in the Sportsboat Class. Japan's Kenichi Takahashi on Motomet notched up a second place followed by Matthew Rickard skippering the Sail in Asia UK Team entry. All competitors are sailing on Farr Platu 25's.

IRC
Kevin Gillow's Minx snatched victory over Stuart Crow's Cinders by a mere fifty six seconds. Looi Sing Hoe skippering the Selangor Youth Teams entry on Gapurna Mas Ayu II finished up third in a now depleted three boat class.

The Multihull class have opted to run two handicap systems to check their results. Which ever way you look at it is Roger Kingdon's Moto Inzi leading the way with some stunning bursts of speed in the early stages to get clear ahead of Kazuo Kobayashi's Chameleon who finished up a distant second. Larry Pollock's Running Cloud from the USA missed out by 44 seconds from overhauling Chameleon and had to settle for third place.

Club Cruising
E A Y Heuvel's big Swan 58 Bolero got off to a good start in the brisk conditions despite a big tear in the genoa and was never headed to take out the daily double of line and handicap honours. Grenville Fordham's Image Asia Jemini Jo claimed second spot and Philip Giles Nom de Plume in third a further three minutes back.

Ocean Rover
Kevin Perrins Rusalka also scored the daily double in the dying stages to be two minutes in front of Des Kearn's Harlander 45 Isobar with Eric Kading's Fat Cat in third and trying desperately to make up for lost time.

RLIR 06 results can be found at: http://www.langkawiregatta.com/