SEA Games starting at Pattaya, Thailand

by Dave Moxey, RSYC on 2 Dec 2007 All four nations, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines, competing in the Keelboat division of this year’s South East Asia Games have now arrived at the regatta venue, Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Pattaya, Thailand.

The host nation has provided the boats for the class, Farr Platu 25s, from the fleet of local boats, from which the teams chose their boat for the competition. New racing sails for the regatta have been supplied by Quantum Sails.

The Malaysian keelboat contingent, sponsored as always by the generous support of the Gapurna Group, and the National Sports Council and the Ministry for Youth and Sports travelled to Thailand at the beginning of the week to join the dinghy contingent who had already arrived and begun their training programme on the waters of the Gulf of Siam.

The team spent the first day at the venue working to prepare the boats for competition and now spend the days on the water training

28 sailors comprise the full Malaysian team, with their coaches giving technical and moral support. The nation’s sailors will compete in the Optimist, 420, 470, Super Mod and Platu sailing classes based out of Ocean Marina YC, with the windsurfers sailing out of Royal Varuna YC further down the coast.

New friends are already being made, with the different nations working together to improve performance and helping each other both on and off the water.

The suggested local wind pattern of northerly breeze at this time of year has still to arrive. A mix of light to moderate breeze from the shore in the morning and a sea breeze in the afternoon is still the most prominent, with relatively flat seas giving good training conditions on the waters of the Gulf of Siam.