Finals day at Sentosa (Singapore) Optimist Open

by Sean Lee and Daniella Ng, SingaporeSailing on 15 Jun 2009 On the final day of racing, the sailors have been divided into Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets. A good breeze filled the sea in the early afternoon which allowed the sailors to complete two races on a short course. Though a short course, it tested the ability of the sailors to have a good start, maintain their positions after the start and to be conservative as each boat counts.

The results varied among the top few sailors where some did extremely well while others had a bad day. Although two races were sailed today, the last race was taken off the scoreboard due to a redress which involves the issue of raising the wrong flag.

In the top two positions of the Sentosa Optimist Open Championship are Malaysian sailors, Mohamad Faizal B Norisah and Ahmad Latif Khan B Ali Sahri Khan. An elated team manager of the Malaysian team, Mr Mohd Afendy, said “These sailors have done well because of the long term planning we have put in. They are currently preparing for the IODA Optimist World Championship in August and also for next year’s Asian Games.” When asked how Malaysian team was able to pull off such good results in these unpredictable conditions, he said, “The sailors trained hard in Langkawi, which has similar conditions as those experienced in the past few days”.

Also taking a podium finish is Noppakao Poonpat (THA) who will be representing her country at the upcoming IODA World Championship. Her target this year is to be crowned “Queen of the Optimists”, the title that former Optimist sailor Griselda Khng brought back from the IODA World Championship 2006.

The final results after a fun and interesting regatta:

Open division (Gold Fleet)

Champion – Mohamad Faizal B Norisah (MAS)

1st Runner Up – Ahmad Latif Khan B Ali Sahri Khan (MAS)

2nd Runner Up – Kavas Alexander (GRE)

Open division (Silver Fleet)

Champion – Mildred Phang (SIN)

1st Runner Up – Aqylla Binte Jumali (SIN)

2nd Runner Up – Jongkok Channart (THA)

Open division (Bronze Fleet)

Champion – Akiyoshi Komiya (JPN)

1st Runner Up – Chua Jiayi (SIN)

2nd Runner Up – Ava Mannering (NZL)

We truly have seen some excellent racing here in this regatta. Many thanks to Sentosa for their continuous support to this event, not forgetting all sailors, coaches, staff, parents and volunteers for a successful regatta! We hope to see you here again next year!