4th Asean Regatta 2003
AY Race Report 3 and Summary
by CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Frustrating light winds and strong tidal currents once again played havoc with the race officials and competitors alike. After racing yesterday was postponed everybody was eager to get some races in so the series could be completed. A earlier start time was scheduled and as the breeze filtered in, the race officials quickly laid the course and got the starting sequence underway. Despite the 3 to 4 knot current a close tacking duel took place on the first windward leg but as they approached the first mark the breeze deserted them. As only 2 yachts managed to scrape around on the last zephyrs of hope Chris Kelly had no alternative other than to abandon this attempt. A couple hours of patiently waiting saw a southerly breeze materialize and build sufficiently to get another start underway. Fortunately this time around 6 of the 8 yachts managed to complete 2 laps so a result could be made and overall places determined.

Peter Ahern's Yo! added another win to his race 2 victory and despite scoring the same points as Keith Moores Pla Loma these 2 wins broke the drawn score in his favour. Ray Roberts - Hollywood Boulevard showed some incredible bursts of speed but never recovered the lost time from earlier errors to end up third overall. Neil Pryde's - Hi Fidelity crew spent allot of the time assessing all the modifications that have taken place and are confident that they will go on to take podium places at the next regattas.

Stuart Harrison's Mumm 30 Panic showed that they are in a class above the rest to convincingly win Division B from Graham Linds Sumatra and John Busch's Joan Marie from Singapore followed up in third place. Martin Axe's Serang showed they can still hold their own in mixed racer cruiser company despite her age.

Summary

The Asean Regatta is the first grand prix event from which a performance based ranking system for Skippers and competing Racing Yachts is derived. Points are awarded to the overall racing class winners at nine selected major racing regattas over the eight month AsianYachting Season. Last season Peter Ahern and Yo! where crowned the champions and their win here gets them off to another good start this season.

See how this years 2003/04 AsianYachting Skipper and Yacht Rankings is going...

As more events are being introduced each year some co-ordination is needed so there are no clashes which allows participants sufficient time to travel between them. Mother natures provision of wind cannot always be predicted but in areas affected by strong tides the organizers must first look at dates that coincide with neap tides. It is the first time I have seen the windward mark hydro-planing along like being towed behind a powerboat.

Pos
Boat Name
Class
Sail Number
Skipper
IRC
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Pts
1
Yo!
Division A
MAL 128
Peter Ahern
1.237
3
1
1
5
1
Pla Loma
Division A
MAS 4300
Keith Moore
1.181
1
2
2
5
3
Hollywood Boulevard
Division A
AUS 8889
Ray Roberts
1.315
4
3
3
10
4
Hi Fidelity
Division A
HKG 1888
Neil Pryde
1.241
2
5
4
11
5
Panic
Division B
MAS 31
Stuat Harrison
1.092
5
6
5
16
6
Sumatra
Division B
SIN 789
Graham Lind
0.961
6
4
DNF
19
7
Joan Marie
Division B
1231
John Busch
1.084
7
8
6
21
8
Serang
Division B
MAL 6480
Martin Axe
0.986
8
7
DNF
24

4th Asean Regatta 2003
AY Race Report 1 & 2
by CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Race Report 2 - Unfortunately as the wind gods have not co-operated today no races could be started and the entire days racing had to be postponed. Better luck tomorrow, we hope!

Race 1

An early morning tropical thunderstorm left overcast skies and glassy sea conditions forcing Chris Kelly the principle race officer to postpone the morning start till almost 2:00 in the afternoon. When proceedings did get underway the competitors where eager to get on with racing and it was Aussie Ray Roberts on Hollywood Boulevard clearly over the line that was recalled. The light sea breeze continued to steadily build through the afternoon producing good sailing conditions for a second race to be completed.

Keith Moores lightly configured Pla Loma suited the conditions to take the first race from Neil Pryde's extremely modified Hi Fidelity. With a strong 2 knot current sweeping the course some racers saw their tactics either gain or lose allot of ground in a instant especially at the lines taken at mark rounding's. Peter Ahern's Yo! experienced one such incident when he came of worse from a crowded 3 boat approach loosing valuable time and eventually had to settle on third place. After loosing over 8 minutes at the start the crew on Hollywood Boulevard worked hard and staged a remarkable comeback around the course just missing line honours by 11 seconds.

Stuart Harrison's Mumm 30 Panic did the best in the smaller Division B piping Graham Linds Sumatra by about a minute with John Busch's Joan Marie following up in third place.

Race 2

The building afternoon seabreeze saw the yachts make quick work of the course with Hollywood Boulevard taking line honours in only 43 minutes and 53 seconds. Peter Ahern's Yo! stepped up this time to take the handicap honours by a mere 31 seconds from Keith Moores - Pla Loma and Ray Roberts - Hollywood Boulevard close on their heels only another 18 seconds behind making it a very close racing, indeed.

In Division B Graham Linds Sumatra leapfrogged Hi Fidelity to fill 4th spot overall and take the class B honours. Stuart Harrison's Panic claimed second place and John Busch's Joan Marie reversed the tables with Martin Axe's Serang. As only 3 1/2 minutes of corrected time separated the first boat from the last this indicates how close the racing is and the overall champion will be decided by the crew who make the least mistakes.
Ends

4th Asean Regatta 2003
AY Pre - Regatta Report
by CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

An exceptionally competitive fleet of eight top racing boats in the region have entered the 4th Asean Regatta to be held at Admiral Marina, Port Dickson over this Deepavali long weekend. The top four IRC Racing Class 1 boats, Ray Roberts - Hollywood Boulevard, Neil Pryde's - Hi Fidelity, Peter Ahern's - Yo! and Keith Moore's - Pla Loma represent some of the fastest racing boats in Asia today, who are expected to go on and dominate the proceedings at all the up and coming racing regattas over the 2003-04 AsianYachting Season...

The IRC Racing Class 2 has also attracted 4 top entrants pitting Stuart Harrison's Malaysian based Mumm 30 Panic against John Busch's new Beneteau First 11.99 Joan Marie and Graham Linds Oyster 35 Sumatra from Singapore together with Martin Axe's X3/4 tonner Serang who is a regular place getter on the Royal Selangor Yacht Club annual racing program. Regatta Chairman Peter Ahern said "He is pleased to have them all on the water together for the first Racing Regatta of the season which creates a great amount interest and excitement in Port Dickson plus ensures that the Racing Yacht Club committee in conjunction with the Negri Sembilan Tourism Department and Admiral Marina are committed to organise and producing the highest standard of yacht racing possible in the region'.

Take a study of the AY Form Guide for IRC Division A.

1. Amongst the favourites is Ray Roberts Aussie entry Hollywood Boulevard, a Farr 52 originally built by DK Yachts in Malacca. This boat became one of the top ocean racing boats competing in Sydney and has competed on some of the most prestigious regattas in Australia including taking a division win last year on the famous Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. This dynamic owner/skipper will be looking for a top result here to add to his convincing first up win in Asia at the wind strewn Koh Samui Regatta in May earlier this year.

 

2. Hi Fidelity, a Hugh Welbourne 46 is sailed by one of Asia's leading skippers Neil Pryde, originally from NZ is representing Hong Kong and his crew have always been very serious contenders over the years having won most of the major regattas at some time or other. The boat has undergone some major changes in the past few months and now has a taller carbon mast from Australia and new set of sails with a extremely high roached mainsail that is expected to improve their performance and no doubt propel them back to a familiar position at the front of the fleet.

 

3. Peter Ahern's - Yo! a Murray, Burns, Dovell 50 is the current champion skipper and racing yacht in Asia (see 2003-04 AsianYachting Rankings) plus last year Asean Regatta Champion. Know doubt Peter Ahern and crew will be working hard to defend last years title and use the regatta as a tune up for the rest of racing season ahead.

 

4. Pla Loma a DK 43 is the fastest boat in Singapore will have an all star crew of professionals including Bruce Anson from Quantum sails. Keith Moore the owner and skipper will be chasing another victory as he won the inaugural event back in 1999. His boat is a light wind flyer and if the conditions suite they will be very hard to beat.

 

Check out the AsianYachting Race Reports for previous Asean Regattas 2000 2001 2002
Press Release
IV ASEAN REGATTA 2003

ADMIRAL MARINA, PORT DICKSON, MALAYSIA
22 to 26th October, 2003

The Racing Yacht Club is pleased to announce that the 4th Asean Regatta will take place at Admiral Marina, Port Dickson from the 22nd to 26th October 2003. The aim is to hold a high profile 4-day event that meets the demands of top-level keelboats and serious racing sailors in the South East Asian region each year.

This regatta has quickly attracted a very competitive fleet by focusing on providing international standard yacht racing. Many of the top racing yachts have already confirmed or expressed keen interest in competing this year. They include a Farr 36 and Mills 46, two new designs from the highly regarded race boat builders DK Yachts, Pla Loma a modified Reichel Pugh, Pasaya and Jativa both Farr 40 One Designs, Yo! a Murray Burns Dovell 50', Luna Nuova a Murray Burns Dovell 46, Mandrake a Mills 50 Design, Hi Fidelity a Hugh Welbourne 46, Stella a Sydney 38, Panic, Gotcha, Hocux Pocux, Piccolo and Foxy Lady. This year for the first time there will be a Sportsboat Class that is expected to compliment the racing class. There will be more up dates on this new class in future press releases.

Courses will be back-to-back windward/leewards and a 20 to 30 mile day race in the Straits of Malacca. The race area is approximately 4 miles directly west of Admiral Marina. As experienced in previous years this is an excellent area with good 12 to 18 knot winds, uninterrupted by headlands, hills or other obstacles with the current being even throughout the race area.

Race management in past years has earned this regatta a reputation of being run at a very high standard and for the forth year Mr Chris Kelly a professional in international race management and coaching from Australia will again be the Race Officer.

The regatta is also scheduled to attract visiting boats on their way to the other well known events like the Raja Muda and Kings Cup. Being first up on the annual Asian Yachting Regatta calendar each year the Asean Regatta is an excellent opportunity to see how the regions most competitive boats line up against each other and for crews to hone their skills before continuing onto other events. For boats wishing to compete in the Raja Muda there is a 2-week gap between events.

Admiral Marina will provide free berthing to all competitors for the duration of the event. This five star marina and resort features individual pontoons, water, electricity, storage, bars, restaurant, swimming pool, tennis courts and many other amenities which will make life a breeze for participants and friends during the regatta.

Port Dickson is located 1 1/2 hours drive from the capital Kuala Lumpur and 40 minutes drive from the KL International Airport (KLIA). There is an abundance of all standards of accommodation available and regatta organizers will shortly post a list of special rates for competitors. It is a great holiday location and we welcome friends and family to participate during the many social activities we have planned.

Below are copies of the Preliminary Notice of Race and Entry form. Any enquiries can be directed to Peter Ahern. Tel: 60 3 8739 3908 Fax: 60 3 8739 3917 Email: peteahern@compuserve.com

Check out the AsianYachting Race Reports for previous Asean Regattas 2000 2001 2002

More information can be found on the Asean Regatta website at: http://www.aseanregatta.com

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