AY Race Report - Day Four

by AsianYachting.com on 4 Dec 2009 Strong winds to finish the year...

After an unusually relaxed layday playing golf, going on Island tours or partaking in some spicy Thai food and quenching beverages the sailors returned to find the wind has increased to 20 knots and there will be no let up on the final two days of racing. The extra stress caused some dismasting's, split mainsails, stretched rigging, shredded sails, a broken rudder and 10 protests lodged in the interim. It was also the time to consolidate the scores or go for broke in a last ditch effort to climb onto the podium.

Frank Pong's 75ft Jelik II made a feast of the 28nm islands course to take out the daily double of line and handicap honours in 2 1/2 hours. Neil Pryde still has the boot down on his custom Welbourne 52 Hi Fi to take second place and after sorting a few broken mainsail battens Ray Roberts slotted his TP52 Evolution Racing far enough in front of the other 50 footers to capture third place. Depending on how many races are held tomorrow, it seems inevitable that Neil Pryde and Hi Fi are likely to be crowned the 2009 champions. After Chris Meads Corby 43 Full Metal Jacket suffered some sail damage they had to settle on 6th place today which dramatically narrows in the score and left the door open for Frank Pong and Jelik to tie the score and share second overall going into tomorrows final rounds.

Robert Tanner has managed to keep Shahtoosh on the pace to score first place again in the Premier Cruiser class. A sting of second places for Anthony Hastings Beneteau 53 Baby Tonga-Hideaways Club has them slipping a bit but still holding onto first overall by one point from Shahtoosh as they close in. Jon Wardill's Cassidy 55 Australian Maid has consistently finished in third place and likely to secure third overall as there is a little breathing space to the next contender.

Matt Allen's Beneteau First 44.7 Ichi Ban is proving unstoppable and seven wins in a row firmly clinches the IRC 1 title for a second year in a row. Brent Morgans smaller Beneteau First 40.7 L'autre Femme relished the stronger conditions to slot into second place today, but comes a little late in proceedings. The Japanese chartered Farr 43 Switchblade skippered by Yasuo Namamori has been pressing for podium placing's all regatta and third place today moves them into third overall, relegating Ben Copley's Club Swan 42 Katsu to fourth overall. Although Peter Wintle's Kerr 11.3 Koull Baby could only mange fifth place today they still hold onto second overall.

Wiwat Poonpat and the crew on the Farr MRX Royal Thai Navy 1 are clawing their way back into contention in IRC 2 with another first place after a slow start to the event. At least they had more fun than their navy counterpart Pomprom Sakultem that broke the mast on Royal Thai Navy 2 and will take no further part in the regatta. Second place for Peter Dyer's modified Humphrys ¾ Toner Team Bentley keeps them on the top of the pointscore by a mere one point and will have to stem the flow of Navy 1 tomorrow to beat he defending champion. Ken Eyears Nelson 10m Waka Tere made an appearance in third place today but 5th place for Stuart Williamson's Beneteau 34.7 Endeavour of Whitby has them loosely holding onto third overall and puts them out of contention for the title.

Terry McLaughlin's Sunsail Odyssey 35 Princess Sharda again came to the fore in the Bareboat Charter Class and by adding another win to their tally are sitting pretty on the top of the pointscore. Having up and down results, John Ford's Baveria 34 Little Eva broke through to take second place and close in on the leaders. Despite being the smallest boat in the 25 strong fleet Keisuke Nagamatsu Jeanneau Sunlight 30 Fidgi might have had a bumpy ride in the tough conditions but scored third place to be in line for a podium position. After loosing the overall lead mid regatta Mike Crisp's Hanse 400e Venture scored fourth place to redeem themselves after yesterdays silly mistake and stay in contention.

Nick Band's S&S 48 Ketch Emerald Blue managed to break Peter Wood's Commanche 42 Windstar run of four wins in a row in the Modern Classic Class. Third place for Simon Jupe's Hardin 45 Waconda brings them back into podium contention as two boats in front of them had to retire with damage.

Although Bob Ashman's Dehler 39 Simba was recalled for being over the start line but they managed to get their time back and score first place in the Cruising Class. As the drop race comes into play Ashman's Simba stays one point ahead of Rod Heikell's Warwick Cardinal 46 Skylax that are going blow for blow for the title. Richard Macfarlane Aida came in third and if Simon Piff's Lavranos 34 Rainbow Dream have another bad day, they could be in line for third spot on the podium.

The heavily depleted Firefly 850 Sports class saw only three finishers today. Brent Gribble's Twin Sharks continued on their winning ways and have established a three point lead in the overall stakes. Second place for Damian Ford's SEA Property has them closing in on Hans Rahman's Voodoo Child and the fight is on between them for the podium places.

There is no stopping Henry Kaye and Fergus Wilmer's Seacart 39 Thor who have scored seven bullets in a row and the next challenge is to see if they can finish with a clean score sheet. David Liddell's Corsair 37 Miss Saigon has consistently scored four second places in a row to hold onto second overall. Khun Redab had to retire his Farrier 9A Seamico Cedar Swan from the race with a broken rudder, which made way for Neil Ayre's Corsair 28R Shanghai Baby to slip into third place today but Seamico Cedar Swan still holds onto third overall.

In the two boat Multihull Cruising Class, Timothy Robins Lagoon 500 Nipper added another win to their tally, to lead Yoshiaki Fujitani's Prout Event 34 Sunfish III that has not managed to finish a race yet.

Unfortunately there were no finishers in the Classic Class race as the fresh conditions saw them all sailing smartly from the start line. The overall results for the division are Rene Tiemessen's Phillip Rhodes designed Alondra in first, Christopher Edwards Baltic Fishing boat Schwalbe in second and Simon Morris' Aussie classic Sirius 1935 in third.

Tomorrow is the King's birthday and a sail-past will be conducted in the morning before the final day of racing takes place.

Courtesy AsianYachting.com.