Neil Pryde finally comes up trumps in Langkawi...
By AsianYachting MultiMedia
12:01:2013 Langkawi, Malaysia: After ten attempts, Neil Pryde has finally broken the drought by winning the Prime Minister's Challenge Trophy. Having put together an insurmountable lead, they went out today knowing what they had to do and executed the plan to perfection by winning the first race. They did not have to compete in the final race as the trophy was already in the bag. This is the only major regatta that has eluded them all these years on the Asian circuit and the haunting ghost can finally be put to rest. Not to shabby after six months recovering from hip replacement surgery and being the first regatta for the team is a great way to open their account in this seasons AYGP Championship.

The rest of the racing class were fighting over the minor podium placing's. Steve Manning's Sydney GTS 43 Walawala 2 had a chance of overtaking Frank Pong's Jelik for second place but both scored second and fourth places today to negate any advances and settled on second and third places respectively. The Malaysian Armed Forces DK 47 Uranus skippered by Mohd Razali Mansur became the big mover and shaker by winning the last race to leap frog their Navy counterparts Utarid (Ishak bin Jab) into fourth place in the process.

Two more wins for Niels Degenkolw's IOR 3/4 Ton Xyacht Phoenix, paved the way for them to complete a clean sweep in the IRC 1 class and take home the LADA-IRC Challenge Trophy for the third year in a row. Despite John Kara's Dehler 10.6m Skybird scoring two second places today, Jeff Harris J92S Nijinsky hangs onto second overall by the skin of their teeth leaving Skybird in third place.

Calvin Lim's Singapore Management University (SMU) won the lengthy final race today but could not improve on third overall. Second place for Mohd Masyuri's ATM sealed the deal in the Sportsboat Class and retains the Langkawi Sports Trophy for the second year in succession. Mohd. Faizal MYA/KFC never finished worse than third place but failed to get the better of Masyuri's ATM on most occasions and eventually had to settle on second overall.

As a consolation prize, Mohd. Faizal MYA/KFC wins the Under 25 class, followed by Calvin Lim's Singapore Management University (SMU) and Alister Rankin's Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in third.

A good tactical decision by Grenville Fordham's 11.6m Andaman Cabriolet Niña allowed them to win the first race today but comes a little late in proceedings to make a difference. Then Peter Wilcox's Schionning Gforce 1500 Mojo slammed home their fifth win of the regatta to run away with the Malaysian Multihull Challenge Cup on their first attempt. With a 2, 3 scoreline Andrew Stransky's defending champion Fantasia holds onto second overall but reluctantly hands over the title to Mojo. David Liddell's Corsair C37RS Miss Saigon has been up and down the order to finish up in third overall with Grenville Fordham's 11.6m Andaman Cabriolet Niña settling in fourth.

Five wins for Malcolm Hone's Prima Donna gives them the Multihull Premier class by a healthy margin. George Kettering's Vertical Time and Greg McMaster's Ivory Street juggled the places to end up second and third respectively.

Six wins in a row for Rob Azzopardi's Beneteau Oceanis 423 Dreamtime makes it a clean sweep in the Bareboat Class. Wayne Bateman's Marakot followed suite with all second places and Clive Manning's Sunsail Rattana rounded out the order with all third places.

Despite the first race disqualification, Japan's Yasuto Fuda Dehler 38 Fortissimo 8went out today and won the race to cement their place in the Club Cruiser class and for the first time etch their name on the RLYC Commodore's Cup. A running battle developed at the top of the order with the podium places being juggled each day. Second place for Kevin Gillow's S&S 30 Poco secures third overall after leading the pack for the first few days. Although Henning Lenz 10.36m My Toy finished a little under one hour after the first boat, they scored third place today, which is enough to rebound back into second overall.

The battle grounds were drawn early and all bets placed before the final race started in the Ocean Rover class. Simon Morris' Staysail Schooner Sirius nailed the start line and as Datuk Richard Curtis' 100 year old Bristol Pilot Cutter Eveline started five minutes late, everyone thought they were dead and buried. Things got further complicated when Eveline's spinnaker sock got stuck half way up and dropped them even further behind. By taking the leeward shore Sirus fell into a hole and miraculously Eveline closed in and gained on the last upwind to finish only eleven minutes behind. After handicaps were applied, in one foul sweep Curtis' Eveline wins the race and reigns triumphant in the Ocean Rover class. Tropical Charters/TC Gerrard's Warisan Duyong were determined to finish and struggled on in the face of adversity to claim third overall.

Apart from the hiccup in Race 5, Adale's Oyster 55 Chantique skippered by Hakim A. Klunker were victorious in the remaining five races to win the new White Sails class title on their first attempt. Graham Tuckey's Optoloi has to settle on the bridesmaid position on this auspicious occasion.

This year the Tunku Abdullah Sportsmanship Award was won by Jeremy Camps and his Pele Peterson 10.7 Cabaret 6 for their sportsmanship qualities and determination shown throughout the regatta. The winner was picked by nominations submitted by the participating skippers and crew each day throughout the regatta. While there were a standard criteria and list of qualities to be looked out for by all participants the winning team was picked on pure sportsmanship qualities and not race results or management.

Summary
Once again the wind conditions played a big part in determining the success of the regatta. As this is out of the organisers jurisdiction the regatta cannot be judged by this alone. The race management took it within their stride to make the best of the situation and somehow completed the full schedule of races. Judging by the late night partying, crews have thoroughly been entertained on and off the water and what a wonderful way to welcome in the New Year. In his closing speech Y.M. Tunku Dato' Ya'Acob (RLYC Commodore) said "There are moves afoot to make this regatta one of the best in the ASEAN region". So mark January 13th-18th down in the calendar of "Must Do Events" and see you next year. Till then Happy Sailing...

The RLIR 2013 results, news and photos are available at: http://www.langkawiregatta.com

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