Fighting back to stay in the running
By AsianYachting MultiMedia
11:01:2012 Langkawi, Malaysia: Yesterday there were run away leaders in several classes. To keep in the running, today was the day to make a move and stay in contention or face the dire consequences of finishing in the middle order. Sailors were greeted with 10 to 12 knots of wind and windward / leeward courses set for the racing classes and a lengthy passage race for the cruisers to seaward of the Langkawi island group. PRO Simon James fired off two races before the wind faded and as the cruisers struggled to complete their course, the race was shortened for some classes.

In the fresh morning breeze Aussie Marcus Blackmore's TP52 Hooligan remained on fire to secure their third win in a row. Not known to give up without a fight, Neil Pryde's Welbourn 52 Hi Fi has chased Hooligan around the course and as the breeze faded they pounced at the opportunity with the light weather optimised Hi Fi to win Race 5. This time the Malaysian Armed Forces DK47 Utarid skippered by Ishak Jab and Frank Pong's 75ft Reichel Pugh Jelik II shared third places. The juggling of places down the order has left Uranus, Jelik 11 and Utarid all tied on 20 points and vying for the third podium position.

Also in the IRC 1 class Ben Copley's Club Swan 42 Katsu and Rick Pointon's J130 Jing Jing have crossed tacks and gybes throughout the races and this time Pointon's lower rated Jing Jing came out on top with two wins and take the overall lead. Third and second places for Vincent Chan's Titan 36 Mata Hari drops them to second overall and the match racing crew are ready to fight back at every turn.

On the only IRC 2 race today, defending champion Niels Degenkolw's IOR 3/4 Ton Xyacht Phoenix fought back to claim first place and is tied with Stuart Williamson's Beneteau 34.7 Skandia Endeavour Of Whitby for the overall lead. After a disappointing start to the regatta Jeff Harris J 92 S Nijinsky managed to sandwich themselves between Phoenix and Skandia Endeavour Of Whitby for second place and lift their spirits as well as their overall ranking.

The Singapore / Malaysian battle continues in the hotly contested Sports Boat Class. A cat and mouse chase between Mohd. Masyuri B Rahmat's Malaysian Armed Forces and Christopher Lim's Singapore Management University (SMU), ended with Masyuri rolling over Lim in the last 100 meters in Race 3. However not to be outdone Singapore's Lim hit the startline with speed and was never headed to convincingly claim Race 4 . This leaves them tied on six points for the overall lead. Khairul Nizam Mohd Afendy Malaysian Yachting Association / KFC has consistently scored third places to hold third overall.

Taking advantage of the morning breeze Andrew Stransky's Fantasia blitzed the Multihull fleet and by adding another win to their tally takes a commanding lead in the overall stakes. Defending champion Grenville Fordham's 11.6m Andaman Cabriolet Niña slipped into second place and breaks the tie with Sea Level to take third overall in his own right. Third place for James Wilding Dufour - Nautitech 475 Mind The Gap keeps them in second overall but widens the points gap with the leader.

In the Club Cruiser Class Nicholas Smith's Ericson 38 Free Wind scored the daily double and is now tied with Gavin Welman's Hallberg-Rassy 53 Rascal at the top of the leaderboard. Second place went to Jim Wallace's Beneteau Cyclades 39 Kamala which is the first race in the regatta for them. Third place for Charles Hay's Jeanneau 45 Smystery lifts the defending champion into third overall and within striking distance of the leaders.

After a marathon four hour effort, Henning Lenz on My Toy is on a roll with three wins in the Ocean Rover Class and sitting pretty on the top of the leaderboard. A further hour behind Thomas C Gerard's Warisan Duyong slotted into second place overall.

Tomorrow the Round the Island Race will be run again. The Club Cruiser and Ocean Rover Classes are starting at 7:30am followed by the rest of the fleet at 9:30am.

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