BMW Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005
AY Race Report 4 & Summary

Go to the AY Photo Library to view a selection of BMW - RLIR 05 images at: http://asianyachting.com/photos/photo.htm?RLIR05

Down goes the checkered flag...
Despite many of the class winners already being decided yesterday all the competitors were back out on the water for the final days racing. The breeze did not disappoint them either and by start time a good 15 to 18 knot North East tradewind had set in which provided competitors with excellent sailing conditions. Today also is the day of reckoning for the scorer when the combined results are tabulated and the Prime Minister's Challenge Trophy and Commodore's Cup are presented to the overall winners. Some say it's a case of Howard's creative accounting system going to work!

Go See what went on YO! Team's Valencia TOUR they won from BMW

Prime Ministers Challenge Trophy - Racing, Premier Cruising and IRC 1 classes
Peter Ahern's Malaysian Airlines sponsored YO! raced away with the trophy for the 3rd time in succession. DK Yachts are always keen to compete at local regatta's with whatever yacht they have around at the time. Armin Schmid's new Farr 36 SonnenKoenig helmed by Hannes Waimer the CEO of DK Yachts finished up in 2nd place. Despite winning all the Premier Cruising Class races David Lindahl's La Samudra is relegated to 3rd overall in the race for the PM's Trophy. As the IRC 1 class is also included in these overall calculations and having finished some what down the order it would seem unfair to try and classify Formula One racers with smaller cruiser/racers at the end of the event.

Commodores Challenge Cup - Club, Liveaboard and Classic classes.
Similar to the PM's Trophy the Commodores Challenge Cup is awarded to the combined winner of the Club, Liveaboard and Classic classes. David Kimpton's Lady M the biggest yacht at the regatta took the overall prize from the Classic Class after 2 remarkable wins over the last 2 days. Her combined waterline length and momentum allowed her to surge past the smaller competitors in the windy conditions. After re-establishing themselves as leaders in the Liveaboard Class Jay Jarvis's twin wishbone rigged Blue Jay ended up 2nd overall after finishing with a disappointing 7th place in the last race. Race 4's startline accident forced the early leaders to retire so Jelle De Vries Sunshine Forever came to the fore and managed to claim 3rd place overall. Jim Ellis's Remington finished up 4th and is the closest any Club Class yacht came to winning the trophy.

Langkawi Sports Trophy
Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Securicor Somtam Express ended up tied on points with the Royal Malaysian Navy's Platu 25 KDP I!. Initially the tie was broken in favour of KDP I! as they won the last race and Securicor Somtam Express awarded second place. After further interpretation of the rules the series tie was broken by who had the worst discard which resulted in a win for Scott Duncanson's Somtam Express over the Royal Malaysian Navy's KDP11 not the other way round as initially reported in the press. The other RMN Platu 25 KDP I ended up third.

Malaysian Multihull Challenge Cup
Bob Mott's well sailed Chameleon finished with almost a clean sweep of firsts except in race 4 were they had a 2nd place to become this years overall multihull champion. Tim Milner's Charro a previous winner here had to settle on 2nd place and Brent Mc Innes No Fixed Address came in third.

Multihull Cruising
Christopher Sieber's Kilo ended up the overall winner and Joan Foo Mahony's Sedna progressively improved through the series by winning today's final race to secure 2nd place overall. Bill Eby's Lighten Up had a mixed bag of results including a win in race 2 but their inconsistency led them to 3rd place at the end of the day.

Summary
After a slow start the racing picked up a notch or two with the arrival on the north easterly tradewind. Some critics have commented on the decrease in entries over past years but my personal opinion during this post tsunami period, that its a magnificent effort all round by competitors and organisors alike especially in light of the upheaval recently experienced.

Class winners have expressed their disapproval of being lumbered in together with other classes to make a overall winner at the end of the day. It's like trying to compare the BMW Series 7 performance with that of a Volkswagen. As race management is a ongoing work in progress and the formula is being tweaked each year the organisers have asked all competitors to submit any grievances that will be reviewed for future events.

BMW and the supporting sponsors must be thanked for continuing to support the regatta and the global sport of sailing in general. It has always been a Malaysian government initiative to develop Langkawi as a marine tourism destination and provide an alternative playground for the rich and famous when they tire of places like the Mediterranean of Caribbean. With Phuket only 100 nm to the north and an abundance of tropical islands to visit on the way, that offer warm hospitality, the whole South East Asian regions marine industry will only go from strength to strength.

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

BMW Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005
AY Race Report 3

Crash, bang and bruised egos...
Much to everyone's delight a fresh 18 to 20 knot North Easterly returned overnight that livened up the sailing activities somewhat after a slow start to the regatta although many crews had difficulties dealing with the situation. A resounding start line crash between Regolarita 2 entered by Seadrift Ltd and William Crump's Fistral, who are vying for overall honours in the Liveaboard Class resulted in both retiring and serious enough that neither will be taking part in the rest of the regatta. Several crews were also seasick and taken off the yachts between races. Perhaps their bodies are unaccustomed to all the exquisite food being served up at the sponsored 5 star functions after each race day.

Racing Class
Peter Ahern's Malaysian Airlines sponsored YO! added 2 more wins to keep a clean score sheet and clinch the overall title for the 3rd time in succession with one race to go. The placing's have remained the same throughout the series with Armin Schmid's DK built Farr 36 SonnenKoenig helmed by Hannes Waimer the CEO of DK Yachts in 2nd place and Troy Yaw's all Malaysian crew on Ulumulu ending up 3rd on their first outing together.

Premier Cruising Class
Two more wins for David Lindahl's La Samudra sees them seal a overall class victory although Nick Band's Emerald Blue and E.A.J. Van Den Heuvel's Bolero traded 2nd and 3rd placing's over the 2 races today to keep them in respective podium spots.

IRC 1
Two wins for Greg Coops Abraxas sees them regain the overall lead from Kevin Gillow's Minx and as only one point separates them the final result could hinge on tomorrows last race. Kazuo Kuramochi's Japanese team on Princess Isabella claimed 3rd and another day like today could see them taking the final podium place.

Sportsboat Class
The stronger breeze favoured Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 crew on Securicor Somtam Express and may have been the answer to their earlier prayers. Two wins catapults them to the lead over the Royal Malaysian Navy's Platu 25's KDP I! and KDP I after being tied coming into today's races.

Racing Multihulls
Tim Milner's Charro came to the fore today and broke Bob Mott's stranglehold on the series who has scored 3 wins to date
on Chameleon. This also lifts Charro to 2nd overall and Tunku Nazim's F31 trimaran maintaining 3rd spot.

Cruising Multihulls
Christopher Sieber's Kilo scored another win to head the leaderboard as Joan Foo Mahony's Sedna progressively climbs up the placing's to score another 2nd place, this time only missing out by 32 seconds to be tied with Bill Eby's Lighten Up for 2nd overall with the final race decider to come tomorrow.

Club Class
Ayahudin Abd Rahman's Oyster 55 Chantique made easy work of the course in the stronger breeze to break Jim Ellis's winning streak on Remington who ended up 4th today but still remains at the top of the leaderboard. Paul Scholten's Beneteau 27.7 Pinocchio got the better of Commodore Aziz Kadir's sistership Juita from the RSYC on their first outing.

Liveaboard Class
Jelle De Vries Sunshine Forever emerged as the winner after a startline accident forced the leaders to retire. Walter Lehnert's Sea Fever II claimed 2nd place and Jay Jarvis's twin rigged Blue Jay despite ending up 3rd today advanced to the top of the leaderboard. William Crump's Fistral got redress from the International jury and scored 3 points which is their average score taken from the earlier races. As the yachts involved in the incident will play no further role in the regatta this may leave the way open for Jay Jarvis's Blue Jay to have successive class wins at his event.

Classic Class
The biggest yacht in the event being David Kimpton's Lady M excelled in the strong breeze and close reaching course to comfortably romp home in front of Des Kearms heavily reefed Isobar and take a small 1 point lead going into tomorrows final race. Dato' Richard Curtis's 100 year old Eveline also enjoyed the conditions to lay claim on 3rd place today after a slow start to the series.

Race Officer Mark Pryke stated at the press conference that the final day of racing tomorrow may be held in picturesque Bass Harbour if the NE tradewind continues to blow. This will be a huge relief to the large media team assembled here as most were completely drenched before they got to the start line and had to leave the outer course well before the race was finished to protect their valuable camera equipment. Mark also thought that today's wind was the strongest ever experienced over the 3 years he has been officiating at the event.

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

BMW Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005
AY Race Report 2

A time for consolidating...
At most top class events the early winners are usually the most prepared and aim to build on their success. Or as they say in the classics "The rich get richer". This is no different and as Mark Pryke the Race Officer got the fleet started in a light 5 knot breeze which increased to 10 knots during the race it was evident that yesterdays winners had quickly taken a leading role again.

Racing Class
Defending champion Peter Ahern's YO! made it 3 out of 3 to take a commanding lead over Armin Schmid's DK built Farr 36 SonnenKoenig and Troy Yaw's all Malaysian crew are making a name for themselves on Ulumulu. With 3 races left a major catastrophe will have to happen to stop YO! from winning the Prime ministers Cup for a third time.

Premier Cruising Class
David Lindahl's La Samudra added a further win to their score and give them a comfortable advantage over Nick Band's consistently 2nd placed Emerald Blue and E.A.J. Van Den Heuvel's Bolero slipped in third place.

IRC 1
The closest result today came between Kevin Gillow's Minx and Greg Coops Abraxas which were separated by a mere minute after almost 3 hours of racing with Keith Garry's Beaux Esprits taking 3rd spot. This result gives Kevin Gillow's Minx a slight advantage with 2 wins but the close competitive nature of this class will probably see the results oscillating between them and go down to last race.

Sportsboat Class
Despite Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Securicor Somtam Express finishing 27 minutes in front after 3 hours of racing, the handicap system is such that the Royal Malaysian Navy's ageing Platu 25 KDP I! can still get up and win by nearly 4 minutes at the end of the day. Scott has posed the question "What have I got to do?" on numerous occasions after completing a horizon job on the rest fleet. We will see what happens at the end of the regatta.

Racing Multihulls
Bob Mott's Chameleon added a further win to their tally to take a commanding lead in this class. Brent Mc Innes's No Fixed Address claimed 2nd place and has progressively climbed the leaderboard to fill 2nd spot for the time being. Tunku Nazim's F31 trimaran ended up in third place today to see himself in 3rd overall.

Cruising Multihulls
Christopher Sieber's Kilo rebounded today after a 3rd place in race 2 to top the leader board for the time being. Joan Foo Mahony's Sedna claimed 2nd today and Bill Eby's Lighten Up ended up 3rd but has a slight advantage with a win in race 2 to lie in 2nd place overall.

Club Class
Jim Ellis's well sailed Remington added another win to make it 3 out of 3 to stand firmly at the top the leader board. Paul Scholten's Pinocchio has progressively got better after each race to make a claim on second spot in front of Ayahudin Abd Rahman's Oyster 55 Chantique.

Liveaboard Class
Regolarita 2 entered by Seadrift Ltd. added a second win to top the class at this stage. Philip Giles Nom de Plume managed a 2nd today to lift him up the rankings after a slow start but William Crump's Fistral 3rd placing keeps them in 3rd overall and although Jay Jarvis's Blue Jay finished 4th today maintains a slight edge to stay in 2nd overall. Having the most entries and juggling the places could be a big determining factor on the overall placing's at the end of the series.

Classic Class
Local yacht surveyor Des Kearms immaculate Isobar took the honours in race 3 by a little over a minute to David Kimpton's Lady M and the Royal Malaysian Navy's Musytari. This result lifts Lady M to 1st overall and Isobar to 2nd with Musytari a close 3rd and all will hinge on the results of the final 2 races.

Day 3 is a scheduled layday and racing resumes on Friday and finishes on Saturday with 3 more races for the racing classes and 2 more for the cruising classes. Although a number of classes have what appears to be run away winners, anything can happen in yacht racing and several teams are expected to use the layday to iron out a few crew drills and be back on the pace when racing resumes.

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

BMW Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005
AY Race Report 1

Full steam ahead...
A total of 47 yachts have entered in 8 classes that have been grouped together to contest the Prime Ministers Challenge trophy, the Commodores Cup, Sportsboat and Multihull trophies. Defending champion Peter Ahern's YO! has returned to do battle with Troy Yaw's Ulumulu, a DK Farr 36 SonnenKoenig owned by Armin Schmid and Mike Downard's Switchblade. Peter Ahern's YO! continued on their winning ways by taking 2 firsts in the 2 opening races on day 1 from Armin Schmid's SonnenKoenig and Troy Yaw's all Malaysian crew on Ulumulu.

Similarly in the Premier Cruising Class David Lindahl's La Samudra scored two wins over Nick Band's Emerald Blue and Reinhard Haiber's well traveledPytheas Aura all down from Phuket on this occasion.

In IRC 1 the wins were shared between Kevin Gillow's Minx and Greg Coops Abraxas from Singapore with Keith Garry's Beaux Esprits and Kazuo Kuramochi's Japanese team on Princess Isabella taking the other podium places.

The Sportsboat Class sees Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Securicor Somtam Express taking on two Royal Malaysian Navy teams on Platu 25's, KDP I and KDP II. In race 1 KDP II got the better of Scott Duncanson who retaliated by turning the tables on them in race 2.

The Racing Multihulls saw Bob Mott's Chameleon pick up two wins from Tunku Nazim's fast finishing F31 As the breeze died off in the second race Frank Cusack's Chakra 3, Brent Mc Innes's No Fixed Address and Tim Milner's Charro all had a share of the podium places.

In the Cruising Multihulls Christopher Sieber's Kilo won the first race from Bill Eby's Lighten Up who made amends scoring first in the second race with Joan Foo Mahony's Sedna scoring a 3rd and a 2nd to keep in touch with the leaders.

In Club Class Jim Ellis's well sailed Remington scored 2 wins from Ayahudin Abd Rahman's Chantique and Paul Scholten's Pinocchio exchanging 2nd and 3rd places in race 2.

With 12 boats entered the Liveaboard Class has the most boats competing. Regolarita 2 entered by Seadrift Ltd. and a former winner here Jay Jarvis's Blue Jay shared the winnings on day 1 and William Crump's Fistral finished a consistent third.

The Classic Class saw David Kimpton's Lady M and the Royal Malaysian Navy entry Musytari share the winnings on day 1 with Des Kearms well prepared Isobar scoring a second and third to keep the leaders honest.

As two races were completed today the series is on in earnest and many of the crews were seen tweaking the rig and conducting tuning up exercises at the marina during the afternoon in preparation for tomorrows racing.

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

BMW Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005 - Raring to go

Malaysia's premiere sailing event all set for third edition
Kuala Lumpur, 7 February 2004: The Royal Langkawi Yacht Club (RLYC) and BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd today announced the forthcoming BMW Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005 (BMW RLIR 2005), to be held from 27 February to 5 March 2005.

This third edition of Malaysia's premier sailing event promises to be even bigger than the previous years with more than 30 yachts already registered. A total of 55 yachts are expected to compete in this year's regatta.

BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd Managing Director, Wolfgang Schlimme said the company was pleased to once again partner the RYLC in organising this prestigious event, raising the profile of Malaysia as a major sailing destination.

"The BMW Group is strongly associated with yachting globally, particularly in our involvement with the premier Oracle BMW Racing Team and also other events across the globe. Similarly, we are also committed to the sport here in Malaysia and we hope our global experience with yachting events will help increase interest in and the prestige of the local scene," he said.

The Royal Langkawi International Regatta is the brainchild of Y.A.M. Tunku Tan Sri Abdullah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the Commodore and principal founder member of the RYLC. Inaugurated in 2003, the BMW RLIR 2005 is a part of the Asian Regatta Calendar drawing regular boats as well as new participants who actively race in regional yacht circuits.

The BMW RLIR consists of two main trophies - the Prime Minister's Challenge Trophy and the Commodore's Challenge Cup. The former is open to internationally registered yachts while club-registered cruisers compete in the latter category. Two other trophies - the Langkawi Sports Trophy and the Malaysian Multihull Challenge Cup will be presented to winners of the sports boat and multihull categories.

In last years event, the Peter Ahern-skippered Yo! emerged triumphant to claim the Prime Minister's Challenge Trophy while Guardian, under the guidance of Joao Sombra, won the Commodores Challenge Cup.

Y.A.M Tunku Tan Sri Abdullah Tuanku Abdul Rahman said: Now into its third year, the BMW RLIR 2005 is already carving its niche within this region's sailing circuit. As the competition heats up in this years event, we will strive to achieve our objective of raising the Malaysian profile within the Asian Regatta Calendar and give home grown talents a suitable platform to establish themselves.

The BMW RLIR 2005 is title-sponsored by BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd and supported by the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, Lembaga Pembangunan Langkawi (LADA) and the State of Kedah. Other partners for the BMW RLIR 2005 are Malaysian Airlines, Petronas and American Express.

For more information on the BMW Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005, kindly visit their website at www.langkawiregatta.com

About BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a joint venture between Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG, the world manufacturer of BMW vehicles based in Munich, Germany and Sime Darby Berhad. The establishment of this subsidiary in August 2003 reflects the BMW Groups confidence in the long-term future of Malaysia and its commitment to maintain and extend BMWs leading position in the premium market segment.

BMW Malaysia activities cover the wholesale of BMW cars, spare parts and accessories, as well as the overall planning of sales, marketing, after-sales, and other related activities in Malaysia.  Its dealership network covers 13 showrooms and workshops in various cities in Malaysia.

Issued by:
BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Vijayaratnam Tharumartnam, Corporate Affairs Manager, Malaysia
Telephone: (+603) 8887 3822, Fax: (+603) 8887 3801
E-mail: vijayaratnam.tharumartnam@bmw.com.my