Royal Langkawi International Regatta- Breeze all the way to the finish

by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia on 18 Jan 2015 We all know that the last day of a regatta makes or breaks the event. It’s the day that everyone remembers, and a blowy finish to a ‘quiet’ few days makes all the difference. RLIR this year didn’t actually need to wind up with a flourish, but it did anyway, following on seamlessly from last year’s regatta with five days of uninterrupted sailing breeze that gave competitors anything between 10 and 20 knots on average, with today’s finale sailed in 12s and 14s.

Racing today was back inside Bass Harbour, with RO Simon James sending all classes on variations of the up-to-the-top-and down-to-the-bottom thinly disguised windward-leeward. It’s a race course that works perfectly in Langkawi, with the leg to windward of the Committee Boat at a subtly different angle to the section to leeward, and which takes into account the local geography and the fact that the wind naturally bends from the northeast end of the harbour to the southwest.

Peter Ahern’s Oi! took no prisoners, steaming off the line and tearing up and down to record two more wins for a perfect score of ten wins from ten races. Maybe the local headline, pre-regatta, 'Malaysian Armed Forces out to dethrone Oi!' was a little optimistic. The IRC 1 division always promised to be a little more salty, with Foxy Lady VI, LeRo 3, Fujin and Island Fling all game for a tilt at the title, but in the end it was Foxy Lady, thoroughly recovered from a defeat at the Phuket King’s Cup, who prevailed with eight first places and a mere third for a discard. Mick Tilden’s Fujin had to settle for second place a full 16 points back, with Island Fling – stacked to the gunnels with top quality talent - in third place.

Also batting off an almost clean sheet was the winner of IRC 2, Vincent Chan’s Mata Hari – again, eight wins from ten races.

On board Andaman Cabriolet Nina, Gren Fordham must have forgotten that both hulls must go round a windward mark, and got the buoy stuck firmly underneath the catamaran. Jeremy Camps’ Old Pulteney Cabaret 6 suffered a headfoil failure, and Island Fling executed a spectacular spinnaker drop that pulled out two stanchion and part of the pulpit and dropped off a swimmer at the same time, making for a disappointing DNF to end the regatta.

Sailing consistently and well, Sophia (Phil Auger and Astrid Graham) cleaned up the Club division with ease, closely followed by Gavin Welman’s trusty Rascal, a veteran of many regattas on the west coast of Malaysia.

It was, however, a shame to see some remarkably poor performances from a number of competitors in the lower classes. Poorly trimmed sails, late starts, inability to follow course instructions from the Race Officer or read the Sailing Instructions, and all-round scruffiness does not make for a good performance in any regatta. One boat threw away a division win on the last day of racing – had they started on time they would have won both races.

The original Ocean Rover class of seven boats was even split into two sub-classes at the request of some skippers who felt that not enough people were going to win something - anything. Sorry for being blunt, but that’s gold-plated nonsense. If you want to win, sail your boat better than your competitors. One of the criteria for the regatta’s Tunku Abdullah Sportsmanship Award reads, 'Following the proper spirit of the sport by competing without the sole intent of winning'. Presumably those who wanted to split the Ocean Rover class won’t be getting any nominations. It’s not something that does anything for the reputation of what is otherwise a quality event.

For everyone else it has been a successful and enjoyable regatta. Langkawi is a great place to go sailing, offering a combination of breeze, sunshine and scenery that is practically unbeatable. The Race Officer, Simon James, will be the first to acknowledge that good wind makes for easier race management, but still he and his team turned in a sterling performance that contributed enormously to the quality of the event. The rest came from Mother Nature, ably backed up by the welcome afforded to one and all by the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club.

Short Results
(Full results at www.langkawiregatta.com)

Racing
1. Oi! 1*,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 (9)
2. Utarid 3*,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2 (18)
3. Zuhrah 2,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,4*,3 (26)

IRC 1
1. Foxy Lady VI 1,2,1,1,1,1,3*,1,1,1 (10)
2. Fujin 3,4,3,2,6*,2,2,2,3,2 (23)
3. Island Fling 2,1,2,3,4,4,1,3,5,DNF* (25)

IRC 2
1. Mata Hari 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,2*,2 (10)
2. Endeavour of Whitby 3,2,3,2,2,4*,2,2,3,1 (20)
3. Phoenix 2,3*,2,3,3,3,3,3,1,3 (23)

Sportsboats (Platu)
1. RSYC Setia West 2,3,1,2,1,1,1,1,4*,2 (14)
2. SMU 6*,2,5,1,2,2,2,2,1,3 (23)
3. Siput 4,4,DNS*,3,4,5,3,2,2,1 (28)

Multihull
1. Andaman Cabriolet Nina 1,3,1,1,3,1,2,DNF*,1,1 (14)
2. Gale Force 3*,2,3,2,1,2,3,1,2,2 (18)
3. 2Fast4You 2,1,2,3,2,3,1,2,3,OCS* (19)

Club
1. Sophia 3*,1,1,2,1,1,1,1 (8)
2. Rascal 1, DNF*,2,1,2,2,2,2 (12)
3. Alakaluff 4,DNF,3,3,3,3,3,3 (22)

Ocean Rover A
1. My Toy 1,2,1,2,3*,1,1,2 (10)
2. Invictas Reward 2,DNF*,3,3,1,2,2,1 (14)
3. Eveline DNS*,1,2,1,2,3,3,3 (15)

Ocean Rover B
1. Chantique 4*,1,1,2,3,2,3,3 (15)
2. VG Offshore 3,3,3,3,1,1,2,4* (16)
3. Free ‘n Easy 2,DNS*,2,1,2,3,4,2 (16)