9th
Western Circuit Sailing Regatta
AY
Race Report 3 & Summary
Alls
well that ends well...
The talk over the breakfast table was all about how to finish up the order
in the races held today and eventually be standing proud on the podium
at tonight's prize giving. As it stands after two weekends of racing,
barely a few points separated the top racers in each class, so today's
results would determine the overall Western Circuit 2006 class champions
and the all important podium placing's for bragging rights throughout
the season.
Despite
being led around the first lap of race four and fouling up a port start
attempt in race five, Bill Bremner's bigger and more powerful Sydney 40
Team F5 / Foxy Lady managed to claw back the lost time in IRC
A and win both races by 43 and 26 seconds respectively, to keep a clean
score sheet of five wins. Jonathan Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy Endings
had been trailing well down the scoreboard until putting in a blinding
performance today to finish up with second place overall and nearly toppling
the leader on both occasions to claim a psychological victory. Although
Jeremy Muller's Sydney 32 Scallywag could only manage a fifth
and fourth place today they had done enough in the earlier races to hold
onto third place overall from Tom Bonehill's fast finishing converted
Magic 25 Loaded.
In
IRC B Bob Howison's Platu 25 Teko MDBS sailed two almost flawless
races to add two wins onto their one point lead and defend the title they
desperately worked hard for two years in succession. The battle royal
between the two X372's of Greg Coops Abraxas and Peter Forbes
Next Page that led the regatta in the early races was eventually
settled with Next Page getting the better of Abraxas
and finishing second and third overall respectively. Kent Goeking's Solarmax
lifted their game over the last few races with third placing's to finish
up fourth overall and Wildon Goh's Platu Team made up of students from
the Singapore Management University came to the fore with a well earned
second place in race five.
Richard
Ahl's domination of the One Design J24 class continues with Juno
taking a one, two today and the overall title for a second year in succession.
Vladimir Borstnar's Angel managed to put an end to Juno's
winning streak and despite two third places today held onto second place
overall. Lea Sea Yean broke Jangan Main Main's third placing
jinx by scoring a second place in race four and a resounding victory in
race five but returned to their old ways to finish up third overall.
The
eleven boat PY class slogged it out over three weekends which saw a wide
variety of boats produce a mixed bag of results and several competitors
capable of taking the regatta coming into the final races. Eventually
it was Bob Comstock's Tactical Antics scoring a first in race
four and fourth in race five plus being able to drop the race three disqualification
that came out on top of the leaderboard. Although Simon Piff's defending
champion Rainbow Dream did their best with a second and first
today it was not enough as the earlier races let them down and had to
be content with second overall. Trond Seljeseth appears to have an unconventional
way of steering his Scandinavian timber sloop Rosmarus but stringing
together two fourths, two third places and discarding a eighth is enough
to claim third place overall.
Louis
Lim and Stenley Tan sailing the Taipan 4.9 SZ17688B gracefully
scorched around the course to score two wins and claim the overall title
with style. The fluctuating numbers turning up over the three weekends
saw early leaders tumble down the board after a no show. The F16 class
has the oldest and youngest sailor in the fleet. At seventy five years
old Michael Chia and his much younger crew Christopher White's Taipan
4.9 Xng Kao Song never got better than third place but were consistently
pegging away at the leaders over the five races to secure second overall.
Koh Joo Kim and Deborah Baker not only won race three but went on to take
third place overall. Nine year old Sam Andrews crewing for his farther
Mark on Catastrophic Catastrophy ended up fourth and the first
of the Nacra 5.0 competing here for the first time. With the F16 World
titles to be held in Singapore early next year, their inclusion at these
events not only provides some spectacular sailing but also gives them
the opportunity to improve their sailing skills as the big event looms
on the horizon.
Summary
Bill Bremner skipper/owner of Team F5 / Foxy Lady summed up his
thoughts on the regatta "There is definitely a renewed sense of momentum
and optimism in the keelboat fleet this year. With almost 40 boats on
the start line the Western Circuit 06 actually is the biggest regatta
in Singapore right now... and it feels like it! The docks are a flurry
of activity and the parties afterwards have been loads of fun!" Bill
adds "Conditions have been optimal for our yacht so far - 15 to 20
knots and little chop. My crew are racing like they're possessed - great
tacking and gybing and using the many shifts to our advantage. After seven
attempts at winning this event we are very pleased indeed to finally achieve
our target - such a great venue and perfect conditions too."
Racing
comes to a climax on final day...
Jeremy
Muller's Sydney 32 Scallywag came in second with Tom Bonehill's
converted Magic 25 Loaded in third, making it a triumph for Sydney
Yachts. Although Foxy Lady has a convincing lead going into tomorrows
final races the rest of the IRC A boats are separated by only a few points
so the remaining podium places are still up for grabs.
Bob
Howison's Platu 25 and defending champion Teko MDBS has
consistently scored second places in the early races and added a win on
the passage race to take a slender one point lead going into tomorrows
final races. The battle royal between the two X372's of Greg Coops Abraxas
and Peter Forbes Next Page continues with Next Page
getting the better of Abraxas in the passage race and Kent Goeking's
Solarmax slipping in between them to claim third spot and easing
the points congestion at the top of the leaderboard.
A
complete change in form took place in the PY class with Pauline Blasky's
Sari Timur coming to the fore in the passage race. Leslie Fung's
Todak is normally placed mid fleet but managed a second place
and Trond Seljeseth's timber sloop Rosmarus claimed third place.
Overall leader is David Ross's Swann 53 Frangipani Girl that
had to settle on seventh place and the change in positions brings the
pointscore closer together and opened the door for others to have a chance.
Only
five Formula
16 catamarans braved it out on the passage race. Koh Joo Kim's Taipan
4.9 took the win to advance up the leaderboard. Louis Lim's Taipan 4.9
has scored three consecutive second places to be well positioned coming
into the final races. Michael Chia also on a Taipan 4.9 scored third place
to complete the Taipan domination. Jeff Davison has two wins from the
early races and if the drop race comes into play he could well be standing
proud on the top of the podium.
A good fifteen knot South Westerly greeted the sailors on the first day
of racing which allowed Race Officer Kit Lock's new team to set the course
directly in front of Raffles Marina and spectators the opportunity to
watch the entire days racing from the comfort of the breakwater. Luckily
the Western Johore Strait runs roughly from South West to North East so
the windward / leeward courses fit nicely up and down the strait. With
the occasional gust increasing to eighteen knots some boats under asymmetrical
spinnakers proved to be a hand full but provided the organisers a chance
to set up the traditional down downs at the prize giving party. 
Bill
Bremner's Sydney 40 Foxy Lady reveled in the fresh conditions
to score two first and fastest's despite a bad start to race one. Jonathan
Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy Endings is the defending champion but
had to settle on second and third places today and is hoping for lighter
conditions in the remaining races. Keith Dunn's Lunchcutter 2
scored third place in race one and Jeremy Muller's Sydney 32 Scallywag
a second place in race two to mix up the order and stay in the running.
A
mixed bag of results in IRC B saw the two X372's of Greg Coops Abraxas
take race one and Peter Forbes Next Page in race two. Bob Howison's
Platu 25 and defending champion Teko MDBS settled on two second
places to put him on familiar ground sharing the top of the leaderboard
at the end of day one. Peter Forbes third place in race one keeps Next
Page on even points at the top and by squeezing into third place
in race two Richard Kiillip's Laser SB3 Hamster Hammock provides
a little bit of breathing space at the top from a hungry chasing pack.
This one will definitely go down to the wire.
If
any thing the six J24 One Designs can be complimented for their consistency
with all boats finishing in the same order on the two races held today.
Richard Ahl's Juno
two first and fastest's puts them in a good position to defend the title.
Vladimir Borstnar's Angel was not far of the pace with two second
places and Lea Sea Yean's Jangan Main Main finished third last
year and looks set to retain this position.
Jovin
Tan's disabled crew on the 23ft Sonar Victory lived up to their
name sake with a PY class win on race one but fell back to fifth in race
two. Bob Comstock's Tactical Antics scored second in race one
and first in race two to take a handy lead at the top of the score sheet.
David Ross's Swann 53 Frangipani Girl missed out on first place
by one second in race two but put on an almighty show of power in the
fresh conditions to claim line honours in both races by the proverbial
mile. Blake Deberry's No Alibi held onto third in race one and
Simon Piff's third place in race two sees the defending champion Rainbow
Dream finally onto the podium after a couple of slow starts.
The
Formula 16 catamarans streaked around the course to make the monohull
fleet almost look like they were standing still. Jeff Davison's Taipan
reigned supreme scoring two wins with Lois Lim's Taipan hot on their heels
to secure two second places. Mark Andrews Nacra claimed third place in
race one to prevent a clean sweep by the Taipans but Michael Chia's third
in race two saw the Taipans reclaim their dominance for the time being.
Let
the fun and games begin...
With
favourable SW monsoon winds blowing down the straits the stage is now
set to become Singapore's largest sailing regatta in 2006. The boats have
been divided into four separate divisions: IRC A, IRC B (International
Racing Certificate); One Design (J-24 keelboats); PY (Cruising Boats)
and F-16 (Formula 16 multihulls). The usual suspects Bill Bremner's Sydney
40 Foxy Lady, defending champions Jonathan Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy
Endings (IRC A), Bob Howison's Platu 25 Teko MDBS (IRC B),
John Robertson's Rainbow Dream (PY), and Richard Ahl's J-24 Juno
(OD) have all picked up the silverware over the years and figure prominently
on this years entry list.
Returning
to the frey will be Jovin Tan's disabled crew on Victory, a 23
foot Sonar keel boat specially designed for disabled sailors. Victory
took 1st place overall in the 
Of
the nine Formula 16 catamarans joining in this year six are Taipan 4.9,
two Nacra 5.0 and one of the new Blade cats that are proving very popular
for sheer speed on the Australian and European racing scene. This ever
expanding class are renown for their fierce but friendly competition on
and off the water.