AsianYachting
Race Report 4 & Summary
11th Singapore
Straits Regatta 2005
What
starts well, ends well...
Although most of the winners were decided before the last race, a 12 to
15 knot North East tradewind provided an exciting blast reach on the final
leg into Changi and the leading yachts possibly set new record times between
Batam and Singapore.
Nick
Burns Mandrake was able to stretch their legs and get one back
from Neil Pryde's Hi-Fidelity, although a little to late as Neil
and his professional crew had already raped up the series. Andrew Crombie's
modified Magic 25 Vertigo with wings flew down the back straight
to finally take 3rd place for the race but Robert Knight's DK 46 Drumstick
filled the final podium position in front of them.
Class
B saw some new faces take the placing's on the final race. Addis Dickon's
JS9000 Roo, although seeming to sail on their ear most the time,
showed his off the wind speed to capture first place from Kent Goeking's
X-99 Solarmax and Mark Jewel's The Dogs 2 who is carrying
a OCS. Despite finishing 5th today Jovin Tan's Sailability team
on Sonar carried a big lead into the final which was enough for
them to claim top spot on the podium. Well done and watch out for the
rush to buy Sonars in the future. Bob Howison's Platu 25 Teko
narrowly held onto 2nd overall by one point from Jeremy Muller's Sydney
32 Scallywag.
In
the J24 class Tan Sek Tim's Juno made it 6 wins out of 7 races
to record a run away victory but failed to keep a clean sheet by scoring
a OCS in race 2. Lee Sea Yean's Jangan Main Main has scored a
string of second places to secure 2nd on the podium in front of Simon
Davidson's Jock that has consistently scored 3rd.
Going into the final race the 3 yachts in Cruising Class C were tied on 9 points and the only class were this race would determine the overall winner. Christopher Nunns Velera Linda came to the fore again and Lau Che Gin Jerome's formerly unpronounceable Wysiwyg (What Ya See Is What Ya Get) sailed into 2nd spot with single handed Howe Kok Khiong Nepenthe sailing comfortably into 3rd place on the podium.
Summary
Just like earlier regattas a closely fought battle developed between Neil
Pryde's Hi-Fidelity and Fred Kinmonth/Nick Burns Mandrake
from Hong Kong flowed over into the Straits Regatta. Mandrake
seems better suited to the longer passage races were they can stretch
their legs and get enough time up while Hi-Fidelity's crew seem
to make less mistakes and excel in the shorter windward/leeward courses.
They were running neck and neck through out the regatta till Neil drove
home his advantage on race 5 and 6 to win all 3 major events this year,
including the Sir Thomas Lipton trophy and skyrocket them up the rankings.
Although rumor has it that Hi-Fidelity is on the verge of being
sold their present 6 point advantage could be enough to carry them through
the remaining 4 events and take home the coveted 2004/05
AY Skipper and Yacht Awards.
Take a peek at this seasons progressive point score
or see how your favorite racing team is shaping up on the
AY
Rankings
at: http://asianyachting.com/news/Rankings0405.htm
The
big news is the resounding success of Jovin Tan's Sailability team on
Sonar from a mixed fleet of racer/cruisers. As sailing is only
just being introduced to handicapped persons in Singapore this win will
go down as the most memorable. The chairman of SailabilitySingapore Frankie
Sinniah outlined some big expansion plans into neighboring countries and
they will need to be watched as they become a force to be reckoned with.
As
the Tsunami affected areas are recovering from the recent catastrophe
there is an expressed willingness in getting on with life in the region.
By continuing on with the annual racing program is an example to the rest
of the world that things are getting back to normal and South East Asia
is definitely open for business and roaring to go. So come and join us
- Check out the remaining events on the 2004/05
AY Calendar at:
http://asianyachting.com/asiancalendar.htm
Full results and Shu Fen's photos can be found at http://www.straitsregatta.com
Fortunately
after waiting for a hour the North Easterly reappeared and the 2 scheduled
windward/leeward races could be completed. Similar to the floating casino
anchored just offshore the racers saw their fortunes either increase or
go down the drain.
The
extremely close racing between Nick Burns Mandrake and Neil Pryde's
Hi-Fidelity continued which is quite a sight to behold as they
thread their way between the smaller boats.
Bob
Howison's Platu 25 Teko slipped into 2nd spot and Jeremy Muller's
Sydney 32 Scallywag maintained 3rd place overall. The biggest
losers were Gordon Maxted's Young 88 Shoon Fung Too which held
2nd overall and Mark Jewel's The Dogs 2 for two early starts.
In
the Cruising Class C, Christopher Nunns Velera Linda bounced
back scoring 2 wins after yesterdays disappointment and Lau Che Gin Jerome's
Wysiwyg (What Ya See Is What Ya Get) and Howe Kok Khiong sailing
Nepenthe single handed shared the placing's so that all 3 boats
are now tied on 9 points going into the final.
In
Racing A, Neil Pryde's crew on Hi-Fidelity who are more suited
to shorter courses scored 2 wins and a 2nd from Nick Burns Mandrake
to share the overall lead with 2 wins and two seconds each. At the start
of race 2 the 3 big Hong Kong yachts were so keen to get going that they
were all over the line and had to be recalled. Despite withdrawing from
race 3, Robert Knight's DK46 Drumstick holds a slim advantage
over the rest to keep 3rd spot.
Tan
Sek Tim's Juno was also recalled at the start of the J24 class
but as they failed to return will have to carry 9 points till the drop
race is introduced. They quickly made up for this error by winning the
next 2 races in a row to hold a slim lead over Lee Sea Yean's Jangan
Main Main that picked up the race were Juno was disqualified
and added a further 2 second places to their score. The juggling of places
for the remaining 6 yachts sees Simon Davidson's Jock filling
3rd spot for the time being.
In
Class C, Howe Kok Khiong's Nepenthe turned the tables on the
other two competitors by scoring 2 wins and a second place to be tied
on points with Lau Che Gin Jerome's Wysiwyg that picked up one
win and two seconds. Race one winner Christopher Nunns Velera Linda
had to settle on 3x3rd's and relegated themselves down to 3rd spot overall.
Wind
glorious wind...
After
reshuffling the entries into compatible classes Gordon Maxted's Young
88 Shoon Fung Too also picked up the daily double in Class B
from a fast finishing Robert Howison's Platu 25 Teko. Kent Goeking's
X-99 Solarmax scored 3rd place and less than a minute separated
four yachts in a hungry chasing pack. Close racing is expected to come
over the next few days from a very diverse range of yachts in this class.
The
11th SSR 05 is on...
The
racing class reads like a who's who on the Hong Kong racing scene rather
than Singapore, with the big three being Neil Pryde's Welbourne 46 Hi-Fidelity,
Robert Knight's DK46 Drumstick and Nick Burns/Fred Kinmonth Mills
51 Mandrake coming up against Singapore's best - Jonathan Mahony's
Mumm 30 Happy Endings, Jeffrey Leow's Sydney 41 Jenny 3
and Andrew Crombie's converted Magic 25 Vertigo.
Racing
B sees, eight local J 24's taking on Jeremy Muller's highly fancied
Sydney 32 Scallywag and previous winner Gordon Maxted's Shoon
Fung Too plus keeping a close eye on Kent Goeking's well raced X-99
Solarmax and Mark Jewell's sneaky Team Bengal Tiger Line
(Formerly Dogs 2) that already has a cupboard full of trophies.
A
interesting three some is forming in Class C with Elaine Chua's Mini Zero
6.5 Feng being pitted against Dickon Addis's extremely quick
and wet JS9000 Roo and Robert Howison's race winning Platu 25
Teko. 
This
leaves defending champion Peter Ahern and YO!
(Not competing here) trailing on 5 points with Nick Burns
pacesetter MANDRAKE further back on 3
points and aiming at improving here. With only 4 events to go, take
a peek at this seasons progressive point score or see how your favorite
racing team is shaping up on the 2004/05
AY Rankings
at: