7th Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2009
AY Race Report 1

There off with speed and determination
Fifteen knots of wind, gusting to twenty sent the fleet on there way to easily complete two races in picturesque Bass Harbour on the first day of racing. This was a welcome sight for the organisers and sailors as earlier predictions had much lighter breezes at the beginning of the week. Although it was not without its problems as several boats had breakages which forced them to retire from racing and make urgent repairs to enable them to get back out tomorrow.

Racing is tight at the top. Although Frank Pong's R/P 75 Jelik streaked away at the front of the fleet, it was Ray Roberts DK46 Quantum Racing that hung on in to take Race 1 handicap honours by a mere two seconds from Neil Pryde's Welbourne 52 Hi-Fi. This left Jelik only thirty seconds adrift in third place. Peter Ahern's Farr 40 YO!2 took the honours in race 2 and once again a mere 17 seconds separated first and second places with Quantum Racing filling the gap. Just a good sneeze away Hi-Fi claimed third place, only twenty four seconds off the leaders pace. These results gives Quantum Racing a slight edge in the overall score with YO!2 and Hi-Fi tied for second place but it is early days and with the tight timings the pendulum can swing either way as the regatta progresses.

The same can be said about the Premier Cruising class. Anthony Hastings Beneteau 53 Baby Tonga 99 Degrees East being the biggest yacht in the class galloped away at the front of the fleet but after handicaps were applied Stuart Williamson's Beneteau 34.7 Skandia Endeavour of Whitby came out the winner of Race 1. Niels Degenkolw IOR 3/4 Ton Phoenix slotted into second place, relegating Baby Tonga to third place. The tables were turned on Race 2 with Baby Tonga 99 Degrees East holding on to take out the daily double with Skandia Endeavour of Whitby in second place. Phoenix slotted into third place which leaves Skandia Endeavour of Whitby in the lead on the Overall stakes with Baby Tonga close behind in second and Phoenix in third overall.

In the IRC 1 class Mike Van Zyl's 24ft Jandi skippered by James Hardie started the day well, winning Race 1 but had to retire from Race 2 which dropped them down the order. Alan Rimington's 32ft Atlantis Star from the Penang Swimming Club scored two second places to level out in second overall. Jan Matthews Sunsail 35 took over from were Jandi left off, with a first in Race 2 which takes them to the top of the overall pointscore.

The combined Sportsboat class sees Gaetan Verhegee's Longtze 2 - Exocet launch themselves to the top of the pointscore with two well timed first places. Thomas Annica Longtze 3 - Chrisargo took second place in Race 1 but retired along with Thierry Barot Longtze 1 Yellow Dragon with a broken rudder to have a disappointing day. The Royal Malaysian Navy Platu 25 Navy 1 skippered by Mohd Masyuri Rahmat did the best of the rest with third and second places to claim second overall. Zijie Lim's Singapore Management University SMU Team third place in Race 2 helped slot them into third overall by the end of the day. The same order applies to the individual Longtze and Platu class results.

Keith Garry's 41ft BeauX Esprits ably skippered by Mia Gillow in his absence won both races to go immediately to the top of the Club Cruising Class overall pointscore. Christopher Kingsley-Smith 41ft Amandla Star and Des Kearns 46ft Bad Habit traded second and third places in the two races held today to be tied on points for second overall. Several boats incurred damage forcing them to retire from the races.

A high rate of attrition in the Multihull class saw Bob Brindley's Whiteheavan 11.8 Xcatriot win both races today. Bill Webb's 41ft Out of the Bag was the first one on the radio to retire before they got to the top mark because the hydraulic steering broke. Tim Milner's 33ft Seekronghuk halyards broke during the first race but some quick mouse work and rerunning had them back out on the course in time to score second place in Race 2.

The race program has been set with racing to either take place in Bass Harbour or outside in the open sea to the east of the main island. A round the southern islands race has been scheduled for Thursday which is the first time such an attempt has been tried and should prove to be an interesting experiment.

Sailing Chick of the Regatta competition
Yes we are up and running again. The all Malaysian girl crew on Thierry Barot's Longtze 1 Yellow Dragon may not of had much luck on the race course today after breaking the rudder in the first race but seeing as they make a pretty picture going about there work they are entered the Sailor Chick of the regatta competition. The prize for the overall winner is a free pair of AY Gloves which will be announced after the event when the Photo Gallery is posted.

More RLIR 2009 news and results can be found at: http://www.langkawiregatta.com

Goto RLIR09 Photo Gallery Here...

Online RLIR 09 - AY Race Reports with photos can be accessed from:
Race Report 5 & Summary: http://asianyachting.com/news/RLIR09/5.htm
Race Report 4: http://asianyachting.com/news/RLIR09/4.htm
Race Report 3: http://asianyachting.com/news/RLIR09/3.htm
Race Report 2: http://asianyachting.com/news/RLIR09/2.htm
Pre-Race Report: http://asianyachting.com/news/RLIR09/0.htm

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