ASEAN REGATTA 2001
Race Report 3 & Summary

by CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com 

Bright sunlight, clear blue skies and a freshening north westerly greeted the racers on the final day of competition at the Asean Regatta 2001. A sailors delight. The eight top South East Asian keelboat racing teams assembled here where keen to get going although some were still recovering from last nights superb cocktail party hosted by WaveMaster Langkawi Yacht Centre onboard their newest acquisition Natel.
 
After 2 days of racing the crews have fine tuned their manoeuvres which is reflected in the results with only seconds separating some of the top places. Peter Ahern's Yo! took out the daily double of line and handicap honours in race 5 to bump them up to second overall on the leaderboard. Hannes Waimer's DK 42 finished second to maintain a 3 point advantage over Yo! in the points tally. Close on their heels was Keith Moore's new Farr 40 Pla Loma and the results in the remaining races would determine the winner from these three top racing campaigns.
 
Hannes Waimer's well prepared DK 42 showed some slick crew work to take the honours in race 6 and steal a series victory with a 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 score sheet. A fast finishing Pla Loma took 2nd and line honours Yo! displaced to 3rd for race 6 with the order being reversed in the overall tally. The early race 1 & 2 winner The Dogs II could only manage to string three 4th places together since and Impiana won the battle of the Beneteau yachts mid field and last years winner a Sydney 36 now re-christened Hai Min by her new owner Ken Kerr suffered some serious sail damage to finish down the order.
 
Unfortunately due to mechanical problems on the mark laying boats race officer Chris Kelly had no option other than to cancel race 7 and call an end to the days proceedings. A little disappointing as the breeze had freshened to 15 knots and the crews where looking forward to measure their performance in the stronger breeze.
 
Hannes Waimer's popular win of the Asean Regatta II on the DK 42 signifies a new era for his factory racing team from Malacca who have been responsible for setting the pace around here lately and fired a loud warning shot at the other racing class yachts expected to compete on the Asian Yachting Circuit 2001/02 beginning with Malaysia's own Raja Muda International Regatta in two weeks time.
Ends

AsianYachting is a yacht racing and sail training group that promotes regional sailing events and its boating activities globally at http://AsianYachting.com

ASEAN REGATTA 2001
Race Report 2

by CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

To make up for the postponed races on day 1 the Race Committee decided to hold 3 windward/leeward races instead of the passage race scheduled on day 2. The racing got underway at 11:35 after a short delay as the ominous black thunder clouds passed to the north leaving the competitors with a light north westerly to start with. The leaders suffered a similar fate as day 1 when the breeze faded in the middle of the course allowing the fleet to bunch up again on the first downwind leg.
 
Mark Jewell's Reflex 28 The Dogs having the lowest handicap in the fleet made it two wins in a row. After a short becalmed period a freshening 12 to 15 knot  easterly breeze surprisingly sprung up which lasted for the whole afternoon. The sailors showed great delight as the yachts speed increased and they could sail the remaining 2 races based on their true performance.
 
Hannes Waimer's DK42 a Reichel Pugh IRC/IRM 42 has found some more speed to win races 3 and 4 from Keith Moore's fast finishing new Farr 40 One Design Pla Loma  which was built in Hannes DK factory down the coast in Malacca, less than a hours drive away. Peter Ahern's Yo!, a Murray Burns Dovell 50 has taken most of the line honours awards and holds 4th spot amongst the close scoring leaders.
 
A battle is being played out further down the fleet between the two Beneteau yachts. Andrew Findlay's 45.5S Impiana has clearly had the better of Martin Axe's bigger 52 footer Yendys. The strong outgoing tide up to 3 knots across the start line had many competitors on the course side or over the line early and the eager DK Mumm 30 crew where caught twice but failed to return. The mainsail on Ken Kerr's Sydney 36 Hai Min which won the inaugural regatta last year completely blew out forcing them to retire and dashed their chances of repeating the boats success.
 
The final day of racing Chris Kelly the sturdy looking race officer hopes to complete a further 3 windward/leeward races which will eventually decide the outcome of this years Asean Regatta 2001.
Ends

ASEAN REGATTA 2001
Race Report 1

by CaptMarty@AsianYachting.com

Although the vicious early morning thunder storm registered wind gusts in excess of 30 knots by the time the yachts competing on the 2nd Asean Regatta faced the scheduled 10:30 am starting sequence mother nature had all but run out of breath.
 

Under the remaining dark cloudy skies various patches of breeze up to 5 - 7 knots could be detected around the Malacca Strait course area offshore from the Admiral Marina in Port Dickson, Malaysia.  Chris Kelly the west Aussie race officer returning for his 2nd tour of duty was eager to get the yacht racing underway.

Yo!, a Murray Burns Dovell 50ft and the DK 42, a Reichel Pugh IRC/IRM 42 footer where quick out of the start box with Pla Loma a new Farr 40 One Design and the Champaign Mumm 30 hot on their heels

After painstakingly reaching the windward mark the leaders set their spinnakers as the notoriously famous Malacca Straits current kicked in at 2 knots and the small patches of wind where becoming increasingly scarce. Over an hour of racing and the yachts had not completed the first windward/leeward legs so a shortened course was rightfully called for. As the leaders parked in the middle of the course the back markers managed to close the gap and urged their yachts forward with every remaining puff.

Eventually what seemed like the last patch of wind for the day crossed the course and the line honours lottery was claimed by organising chairman Peter Ahern's YO!. Mark Jewell's 28 footer The Dog's from Singapore was best placed to take most advantage and the handicap honours for Race 1 followed by Yo and Hannes Waimer's DK42.

As the Asean Regatta II focuses on providing international standard yacht racing to meet the demands of top keelboat racing sailors in South East Asia the windless conditions caused the race officer to postpone racing for the rest of the day and watch the sailors hopes of continuing get washed out with the outgoing tide.
Ends 

Asean Regatta 2001 Race 1 Results

1st The Dogs - Mark Jewell
2nd Yo - Peter Ahern
3rd Dk42 Hannes Waimer
4th DK Mumm 30 - J Lightfoot
5th Impiana - Andrew Findlay
6th Pla Loma - Keith Moore
7th Hai Min -
8th Yendys - Martin Axe
DNS Gotcha Lagi

Return to AsianYachting Homepage
Return to Asian Sailing Calendar

ASEAN REGATTA
Press Release

ADMIRAL MARINA, PORT DICKSON, MALAYSIA 1st to 4th November, 2001

We are pleased to announce the 2nd Asean Regatta at Admiral Marina, Port Dickson from 1st to 4th November 2001. The aim of the regatta is to hold a 4 day event which will meet the demands of top keel boat racing sailors in South East Asia.

This regatta places special focus on providing international standard yacht racing, attracting a very competitive fleet. Many of the top racing yachts in the region have already confirmed, or expressed keen interest in competing. These yachts include a new Farr 40 One Design, DK42, a Reichel Pugh IRM 42', Yo! a Murray Burns Dovell 50', Luna Nova a Murray Burns Dovell 46, Gotcha, Impiana, Graffiti and Hocux Pocux.

There will be two classes of racing if sufficient entries are received, Racing Class and Cruising Class. If there are not sufficient entries there will be one class only, which will be Racing Class. To enter, all boats must hold a current IRC 2001 certificate.

Courses will be back-to-back windward/leewards and a 20 to 30 mile day race in the Straits of Malacca. The racing area will be approximately 4 miles directly west of Admiral Marina, an excellent area with expected good winds of between 12 and 18 knots, uninterrupted by headlands, hills and other obstacles, with an even current throughout the race area.

The regatta is scheduled to attract visiting boats on their way to the other well known challenges, Raja Muda and the Kings Cup. It will be an excellent opportunity to see how the regions' most competitive boats line up against each other before continuing on to these regattas. For boats wishing to compete in the Raja Muda there is a 2 week gap between events.

Admiral Marina Port Dickson, host to the 2001 SEA Games and the Malaysian International Boat Show will be providing free berthing to all Asean Regatta 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 one hours drive from the capital Kuala Lumpur and 20 minutes drive from KL's International Airport. There is an abundance of varying standards of accommodation available, the regatta organizers will shortly post a list of special rates for competitors. It is a great holiday location and we are pleased to welcome friends and family to join with the competitors in the many social activities we plan.

Attached is the Preliminary Notice of Race and Entry form. Any enquiries can be directed to myself. Tel 60 3 8739 3908 Fax 60 3 8739 3917 Email peteahern@compuserve.com

Return to AsianYachting Homepage
Return to Asian Sailing Calendar