9th Singapore Straits Regatta 2003

9th Singapore Straits Regatta 2003

Press Releases and Race Reports

The next big event this month kicks off on Jan the 15^thwith the 9th Singapore Straits Regatta. Held under the authority of the Singapore Sailing Federation and the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club with Changi Sailing Club, Riau Yacht Club and Raffles Marina all playing host to a series of Keelboat triangle and passage races in the straits between Singapore and Indonesia.

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VOLVO SINGAPORE Straits Regatta 2003
BY CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Pre Race Report
Twenty seven yachts representing 9 countries will be contesting this years Volvo Singapore Straits Regatta. If the present strong North Easterly weather forecast holds true, competitors may for the first time in many years have some fresh breezes to get them around the tricky courses. At the skippers briefing safety officer Mark Ray outlined the precautions to be followed when crossing the busy shipping lanes plus pointed out many dangerous outcrops of reef to be carefully navigated and advised skippers to give the extensive land reclamation areas around Singapore a wide berth.

Close and exciting racing is expected from the nine quality yachts fronting up in Racing Class A. Last years Asean Regatta winner and King's Cup champion Peter Ahern's Yo! must start favorite but will be pushed to the limit by Neil Pryde's reconfigured Hi-Fidelity and Warwick Downes Sydney 38 Stella who convincingly won the Raja Muda Regatta in Malaysia back in November. After missing the earlier regattas Ray Odevesa's Karakoa has arrived from the Philippines and expected to do well if the wind keeps up.

Racing Class B sees four J24's and three X99's take on a mixture of designs amongst which Gordon Maxted's Young 840 Shoon Fung Too is a previous winner at this event and Philip Hermans Xen@ has won most of the races in Singapore at one time or another.

Hans Hvide's Swan 68 Irvmiren is the biggest yacht taking part and expected to dominate the PY Class who will joined by a further 2 Indonesian entries when the yachts reach Batam mid way through the regatta.

The organising committee have packed the racing program with 4 windward / leeward courses and 2 passage races over 5 days plus a remarkable job of fitting in courses within the crowded and ever decreasing waterways that surround Singapore.
Ends

Full results will be posted at: http://www.sailing.org.sg/straitsregatta/9ssr/results.htm
More of RSYC's Shu Fen and Kim Lee's photos courtesy of Raffles Marina at: http://www.sailing.org.sg/straitsregatta/9ssr/photos.htm

VOLVO SINGAPORE Straits Regatta 2003
BY CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Race Report 1 - 15 January
The forecasted 15 to 20 knot North Easterly arrived as expected which saw some yacht crews experience handling difficulties and other well oiled racing teams revel in the fresh conditions. The big boats were quick to hit their straps and made a wonderful sight as they blitzed the course. Some yachts had difficulties finding the right sail combination and firstly had to dig deep to find, then brush the cobwebs off the rarely used number 3 or 4 headsails.

In the racing class Stella skippered by Warwick Downes was first out of the starting box and held a commanding position up the first windward beat until they hooked the mooring line on the keel as they rounded the top mark with a near perfect spinnaker hoist. Neil Pryde's Hi-Fidelity was well placed until the spinnaker dropped into the water and the crew struggled to retrieve it over the open transom like fishermen pulling up a net.

Eventually after 5 rounds it was Ray Ordoveza's Karakoa helmed by designer Alan Andrews which put in a near faultless display to take both Line and Handicap honours despite not having raced in this company for over a year. Peter Ahern's Yo! looked in good shape as they closely paced Karakoa around the course to claim second place from Schle Woodthanan's well sailed Thai Farr 40 Pasaya taking third spot.

In Racing B Xen@ skippered by Philip Hermans also took out the daily double of Line and Handicap honours from Choo Tze Wei's Platu 25 and Gordon Maxted's Shoon Fung Too. The 5 J24's finished at the lower end of the order and could benefit from learning to flatten their sails and twisting open the top sections of the mainsail in heavy weather.

Joe Lombardo's classic Cutty Hank 38 Dondang Sayan made a pleasant sight as they rounded the course and beat Hans Hvide's Swan 68 Irvmiren the biggest yacht in the fleet who was forced to sail the entire course using only a headsail and spinnaker as the mainsail halyard had broken only a few minutes into the race.

Race 2 takes us across the Straits to Batam in Indonesia for 2 days and as internet connections are a little difficult over there further compiled reports may only be available upon our return to Singapore. We welcome the CNN Inside Sailing team who are joining us for the remainder of the regatta and will feature the Singapore Straits in next months edition.

Browse past:
2001 Sing Straits Race Reports at: http://asianyachting.com/news/SSR.htm
2002 Sing Straits Race Reports: http://asianyachting.com/news/SSR2002.htm

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VOLVO SINGAPORE Straits Regatta 2003
BY CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Race Report 2 - 16 January
Once again the North Easterly trade winds did not disappoint the sailors today, allowing them to make quick work out of the 25 mile passage race from the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club, across the main straits to the Riau Yacht Club at Nongsa Point Marina in Batam, Indonesia. A easterly setting current up to 2 knots at times also assisted the yachts on the long windward leg which caused a steep short sea to form in the tidal overflow areas.

The downwind start had competitors crowding the pin end and miraculously there was no incidents as spinnakers were hoisted and they quickly surged forwards along the first leg. The big boats love this weather and despite Peter Ahern's Yo! having a handy lead on Karakoa to take line honours the order was reversed after handicaps were applied to give Ray Ordoveza's crew their second victory in as many days. Warwick Downes on Stella recovered from his first race mishap to grab 3rd spot from Bill Bremner's consistently forth placed Foxy Lady.

In Racing class B the J24s rebounded with Lee Sea Yean's Jangan Main Main taking the handicap honours from Choo Tze Wei's Platu and Philip Hermans Xen@. Greg Parkhurst's Pilar narrowly took Line Honours by a minute from Xena but ended up down in 10 spot on handicap.

Hans Hvide's Swan 68 Irvmiren reveled in these conditions and managed to pass the entire fleet except the 3 front runners despite starting 5 minutes after them. Although they beat Joe Lombardo's Dondang Sayan the only other competitor in the PY class by a whopping 1hr and 30 min over the line is was not enough to clinch victory on handicap and continues to play second fiddle for the time being.

Race Report 3 - 17 January

If the NE tradewinds persist the 9th Singapore Straits Regatta in my mind could go down as the windiest regatta ever to be held in the Asian region. For once the expected winds have coincided with the scheduled regatta dates and provided a consistent 15 to 20 kts of wind intermingled with the odd passing rain squall up to 30kts. Although this windfall does not come without repercussions as many yachts have ripped sails and suffered breakages to the running / standing rigging and severely bruised the crews egos on several occasions.

The 2 windward/leewards held of Nongsa Marina saw Warwick Downes Sydney 38 Stella bounce back into overall contention with 2 first places. Peter Ahern's ever consistent Yo! scored another 2nd place in the first race to temporarily take the overall lead but had to retire in the second race due to broken halyards and shredded spinnakers after experiencing some exhilarating downwind rides. After 2 forth places so far Bill Bremner's Foxy Lady climbed up a spot to finish 3rd and 2nd respectively to become the best performing small boat to date. The early leader Karakoa was relegated to 6th place in the first race and 3rd in the second race to end up sharing the lead on points with Stella after four races.

In Racing Class B Gordon Maxted on Shoon Fung Too rejoined the fight with a 1st and 2nd to turn it into a 3 way battle at the top of the leaderboard. Philip Hermans Xen@ 3rd and 1st places has kept her one point in front of Shoon Fung Too and Choo Tze Wei's Platu which has been consistantly second and although carrying a 4th race disqualification will be able to discard this as the series goes into the 5th race and remain in overall contention.

Hans Hvide's Swan 68 Irvmiren reversed the previous races order by smartly sailing around the course to convincingly beat Joe Lombardo's Dondang Sayan and tie on points at the top of the class leaderboard. They were joined in Batam by Mike Wiluan on North and Indra on Merdeka who placed 3rd and 4th respectively.

VOLVO SINGAPORE Straits Regatta 2003
BY CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Race Report 4 - 18 January

Thank God, Miracles do happen!
Lynette Chng Xi Lin and the crew on RSYC Satu can thank their lucky stars and praise the quick response given by the SSR 2003 safety boats and the local Search and Rescue co-ordination center that they are alive and well today. At around 2:30pm on a storm swept and windy Race 5 from Batam, Indonesia to Changi in Singapore Lyn became entangled in the lines and flung into the water (Fortunately with a life jacket on) as the yacht pitched and rolled in the confused and choppy 1 to 2 meter seas that were being whipped up.

The crew promptly radioed the safety boat for assistance when their engine failed to start and they lost sight of Lyn in the water. The SSAR dispatched 2 Coastguard and MPA vessels to co-ordinate a search in the Eastern ship anchorage area which was hampered by a strong 2 knot outgoing current sweeping the across area.

Further complications arose as a Oslo registered super tanker bore down on the stricken yacht in the channel, which the remaining crew chose to abandon only seconds before to avoid any possible impact and where quickly plucked out of the tankers wake by the SSR safety vessel after being swept down the entire starboard side and past the propellers of the enormous ship. The yacht was latter towed back to Changi.

After 2 to 3 hours of searching with intermittent tropical storms lashing the area and darkness fast approaching hope of finding Lyn began to fade when suddenly a dispatched Navy helicopter spotted her in the water and directed rescue craft to pick her up. As news of finding her safely came in, a enormous sigh of relief came from the regatta secretariat and all competing crews waiting anxiously at the Changi Sailing Club.

With the recent Singapore navy's tragic Courageous incident still fresh in everybody's mind many emotional tears were shed as Lyn suffering from minor bruising walked from the ambulance into the arms of waiting family members and friends at the Changi hospital.

Race 5

A 10 nm windward bash into a 18 to 20 knot headwind, then a auxhilating 2 sail reach turning into a spinnaker run to the finish suited the bigger yachts in the fleet. Ray Ordoveza's Karakoa helmed by designer Alan Andrews once again took both Line and Handicap honours and their third bullet for this 9th regatta to top the leaderboard by two points. Close on their heels was Neil Pryde's Hi-Fidelity and Peter Ahern's Yo! who recorded boat speeds up to 15 knots as they spinnaker reached through the CSC mooring area to the traditional finish line in front of the club.

Going into the 6th and final race Peter Ahern's Yo! retains second place overall despite damaging the entire heavy weather sail wardrobe during the regatta and Stella's forth place finish today firmly places Warwick Downes crew in third spot overall, but things could change!

Philip Hermans Xen@. crew firmly placed themselves on the top of the Racing Class B leaderboard with a first and fastest on the long haul from Nongsa Point. Steve Walkers Next Page managed to finish only 11 seconds in front of Gordon Maxted's Shoon Fung Too who is lying in 2nd spot overall by 2 points going in to tomorrows final and deciding race 6.

Hans Hvide's Swan 68 Irvmiren have added a 3rd straight victory over Joe Lombardo's Dondang Sayan to their tally and take over the leadership in the PY Class by one point.

Browse:
Full results will be posted at: http://www.sailing.org.sg/straitsregatta/9ssr/results.htm
More of RSYC's Shu Fen and Kim Lee's photos courtesy of Raffles Marina at: http://www.sailing.org.sg/straitsregatta/9ssr/photos.htm
or past years at:
2001 Sing Straits Race Reports at: http://asianyachting.com/news/SSR.htm
2002 Sing Straits Race Reports: http://asianyachting.com/news/SSR2002.htm

VOLVO SINGAPORE Straits Regatta 2003
BY CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Race Report 5 and Summary - 19 January

Down came the rain & blew the wind away
After 4 glorious days of wind it had to happen, the heavens above opened the sluice gates and continued to pour down rain for the past 24 hours. The racers faced a dismal gray and wet day with little or no wind and big tidal currents to contend with as they motored out to the start line for the final and deciding 6th race of the 2003 SSR.

Some sailors where glad to be back to the light weather wardrobe as their heavy weather sails have ripped or blown out over the last few days. No one really liked the bleak wet conditions and as a light NE breeze filled in Principal Race Officer Anthony Lockett from the UK directed his team to lay a 1nm windward leeward course in the mouth of the Johor River and got on with the days proceedings.

For the first round the tide was manageable but as the wind died the local know how of placing the boat on the correct side of the course at the right time played a dominating role. Nevertheless, the light weather certainly suited some boats that have found the strong winds unfavorable and previously placed mid field.

Racing Class A
Keith Moores lightly configured Pla Loma came to the fore this time and take first place over Neil Pryde's Hi Fidelity who can now record his first line honours victory over Yo! and Karakoa since she was rebuilt last year. A battle that is bound to continue into future Asian Yachting Regatta's.

Today's placings means that the overnight positions on the overall leaderboard remain unchanged. The 2003 SSR Racing Class A champion is Ray Ordoveza's Karakoa by one point from Peter Ahern's Yo! with Warwick Downes on Stella in third place. Six points behind and equal fourth is Bill Bremner's Foxy Lady and Neil Pryde's Hi Fidelity.

Stella also won the Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup presented by Guest-of-Honour RAdm (NS) Teo Chee Hean President of the Singapore Olympic Council and Minister for Education for scoring the most accumulative points during the Raja Muda Int Regatta in Malaysia, the Kings Cup in Thailand and here at the Volvo SSR 2003 to become the overall winner of the 2002/03 Perpetual Cup Series.

Racing Class B
Competitors had to make good use of their anchors when the calm finally arrived to kedge against the tide on the final beat. Kent Goeking's Solarmax did well to choose the right side of the course and take line honours from Choo Tse Wei's Platu but the positions were reversed after handicaps are applied. They were a full 30 minutes ahead of the next finisher Philip Hermans Xen@ and there after the fleet crossed the line in quick succession. Lee Sea Yean's Jangan Main Main took out third place.

The first two places on the overall leaderboard remain unchanged from yesterday and the SSR 2003 Racing B champion is Philip Hermans crew on Xen@ with 9 points followed by Gordon Maxted's Shoon Fung Too on 13 (down down) and Choo Tse Wei's Platu third on 15 points with Steve Walker's Next Page 4th on 24 points.

PY Class
Hans Hvide's Swan 68 Irvmiren thoroughbred sleek lines and big sails eventually showed its class to win the overall class title and beat Joe Lombardo's Dondang Sayang who decided to call it a day as conditions remained unfavorable.

Summary
This years SSR will go down as one of the windiest regattas ever to be raced in SE Asian waters. It has taken nine years to coincide the regatta dates with the unpredictable NE Monsoon winds that can amazingly transform this event into hard slogs to windward, fast 2 sail reaches and wild planning downwind slides.

All the scheduled races were completed and competitors survived to race another day after experiencing almost every situation in the seamanship and yacht racing handbooks being thrown at them. The regatta organizers and race management teams can well be pleased with their flawless efforts of managing an event in the difficult conditions and often trying circumstances.

Sailors have been reminded of the dangers they all face when going to sea and use the proper safety equipment carried onboard especially in rough conditions. Remember that prevention is better than the cure. Also to become familiar with and adhere to the local safety measures the organizers have taken or have available during the regatta.

Jeffery Leow the incoming SSR 2004 chairman and Changi Sailing Club Vice Commodore invited everybody including sponsors to come back next year when he promises to better this years regatta. Sounds like a tall order to me!

More Photos below

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