Another 'Round the Islands' success story...

13:01:2010 The "Round the Islands" race has yet again proved to be a great addition to the regatta program. Frank Pong has often said "That we should make good use of these spectacular tropical island settings by having passage races around them while we are here". Judging by the photos taken over the last two years he is absolutely right. Twelve to fifteen knots of North Easterly breeze saw the boats quickly away on a downwind leg to the bottom on the islands and reaching across the southern outcrops. The leeward side caused a few problems for tacticians to pick a favourable path through the gusts. The smaller boats had to deal with the lulls in the Dayang Bunting Straight and the ones that managed to cut a fine line through have generally gone on to win their class.

As Frank Pong's 75ft Jelik III is the biggest boat here, they have a speed advantage and normally lead the fleet around the course. A raging battle between Neil Pryde's Welbourne 52 Hi Fi and Ray Roberts TP52 Evolution Racing began off the startline and continued around the course. The similar sized yachts went gybe for gybe downwind with Hi Fi having a slight advantage until they reached the leeward side of the islands. Tactician Steve McConaghy found a passing lane for Evolution Racing and managed to close in on Jelik that took the slower inshore route. The remaining leg was all upwind to the finish and once again it was tack for tack with Evolution Racing holding a slight edge. Frank Pong's Jelik III took line honours but did not have enough time to secure the handicap honours. Evolution Racing crossed the finish line just in front of Hi Fi but did not have her time on Hi Fi, who went on to score first place in front of Evolution Racing by 39 seconds, leaving Jelik in third place. Ishak Jab's Royal Malaysian Navy Farr 520 Zuhal trailed throughout and ended in fourth place. Yesterdays protest was resolved by awarding Hi Fi and Evolution Racing equal first place. This decision has resulted in Hi Fi leading the Overall standings by one point from Evolution Racing with three races to run.

Peter Wintle's Kerr 11.3 Koull Baby got the early jump in the Premier Cruising Class and went on to secure their first win of the series. Ben Copley's Club Swan 42 Katsu slowly wore them down and eventually overtook them but a little to late in proceedings and had to settle on second place. Vincent Chan's Titan 36 Mata Hari held their own but could not make an impression on the leaders to finish in third place. Katsu holds onto the overall lead from Mata Hari and Koull Baby.

In the IRC 1 Class, Niels Degenkolw's IOR 3/4 Ton Xyacht Phoenix led from start to finish and take out the daily double with ease. Jeremy Camps Cabaret 6 from the RSYC made a big return to form yesterday and obviously enjoys a breeze as they claimed second place again today. Simon Piff's Lavranos 34 Rainbow Dream improved to score third place and relegate Mike Van Zyl's defending champion Jandi skippered by James Hardie down to fourth and maybe out of contention for this years title. Phoenix takes a commanding lead in the Overall stakes from Cabaret 6 and Jandi.

After a slow start to the regatta Christopher Lim's SMU team added another win to their tally and move into second overall in the Sports Boat Class. Curtis Skinner's Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron stayed on the pace to score second place and secure top spot on the Overall pointscore. Mohd Razali's performance on Royal Malaysian Navy 1 has dipped since the beginning but has consistently scored third place since to hold onto third overall.

Also in the Under 25 Class, Christopher Lim's SMU team scored first place to close within one point of Curtis Skinner's Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron that leads overall and scored second place today. Shahril Abdul Razak from the Malaysian Yachting Association has consistently scored third place.

Grenville Fordham's Andaman Cabriolet Da Vinci Niña has made a huge impression since they arrived and made relatively quick work of the light Dayang Bunting Straight. They overtook the catamarans that started before them and notched up their third Multihull Class win in a row. Robert Prolux's Vertical Time may have been relegated to the second row but still holds a healthy five point lead in the overall stakes. Third place for John Danks Blue Moon let Da Vinci Niña overtake them in the pointscore but if they manage to wedge in between the leaders in any of the remaining races could yet hold the key for the eventual winners.

In the Club Cruising Class Jeff Harris Elan 40 Rapscapllion rebounded after yesterdays collision to take out the daily double today and hold firmly onto the overall lead. Second place for the Royal Malaysian Navy Marikh skippered by Norhafisam secures second place in the pointscore. Morten Ringvold's Haffiman came away with the most damage from the crash with Rapscapllion but consistently scoring third place has them in third overall in the three boat class.

Gavin Welman's Hallberg Rassy 53 Rascal was the first Ocean Rover to exit the Dayang Bunting Straight but Jeremy Paul's Astra was not far behind and the Swann pedigree came to the fore on the upwind leg to overtake them by the finish. This gives Jeremy Paul's Astra four wins in a row and possibly unbeatable for this years title. Henning Lenz's 33ft My Toy got the better of Christian Doering's Ilya on this occasion for third and fourth places in the race and overall pointscore.

Racing continues tomorrow for all classes on the outside courses.

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