19th Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta 2008
AY Race Report 3

Racing out of sync with the weather
As the sailors made their way to the course area they were greeted with a glassy sea and squatted under mainsail covers to protect themselves from the sun became the order of the day. Patchy streaks of breeze appeared and disappeared just as quickly, keeping PRO Gerry Rollin busy at the guessing game. By 1:30 the breeze had settled enough to attempt to get Race 3 underway. One hour and fifteen minutes is all it took for Jelik to do three laps of the course and finish. Thoughts of conducting a second race were squashed when the dark clouds that were building over the mainland descended on the waiting boats with a vengeance. Wisely the committee postponed the race and sent everyone back to the marina to fight another day.

After improving the light weather performance and downwind speed Neil Pryde's Welbourne 52 Hi-Fi is on fire this week scoring three handicap wins in a row to take a convincing overall lead as we approach the midway stage of the regatta. Defending champion Ray Roberts DK46 Quantum Racing had a close battle with Fred Kinmonth / Nick Burns Mandrake around the course which was sorted by the finish in favour of Quantum Racing with Frank Pong's Reichel-Pugh 75 Jelik squeezing in to claim third place and relegating Mandrake down to fourth.

The Premier Cruisers only had one race scheduled which took them across the harbour into the teeth of the building storm. Hans Rahman Judel/Vrolijk 70 Yasooda was first to reappear scorching along with full spinnaker flying and over 30 knots blasting them along. Despite all Yasooda's efforts it was Anthony Hastings Beneteau 53 Baby Tonga that claimed the handicap honours after completely shredding the spinnaker in one almighty gust. Royal Selangor Yacht Club Commodore Dato’ Alex Nah's Hunter 49 Virgo scored third place and Dr Ian Nicolson's Dubois 80 Intrigue did not compete as they were repairing damage from Race 2.

After two convincing wins the Royal Malaysian Navy Farr 520 Zuhrah seemed unbeatable but today saw there undoing. Ben Copley's Club Swan 42 Katsu sailed superbly to take out the daily double of Line and Handicap honours. Difficult times during Race 2 for Peter Jones Bashford Howison 41 Moya Hin saw them rebound with second place and keep them in the overall running. Dr Jon Wardill's Cassidy 55 Australian Maid struggles in the light wind against the modern 40ft yachts but held on to secure third place.

Jonathan Mahony's Mumm 30 Happy Endings was hot off the start line to lead the IRC 4 fleet around the entire course. As in the previous two races they just could not convert it into a handicap win and have consistently scored second place to take a three point lead in the overall stakes. Today was Graham Lind's Hustler SJ35 Sumatra day to pick up a win by a mere 23 seconds. Niels Dgenkolf's Danish crew on the X 3/4 tonner Phoenix are slowly creeping up the order after a slow start and third place has lifted there spirits. The mixed placing's so far has dramatically shuffled the order and having 10 boats in the class means a bad race can ruin the chances of getting a podium place at the end of the regatta. A protest was lodged by Stuart Williamson's Beneteau 34.7 Skandia Endeavour of Whitby against Vincent Chan's Titan 36 Mata Hari that was dismissed by the jury and does not effect the results.

Gavin Welman's Hallberg Rassy 53 Rascal rode out the storm in style to claim the daily double in the Non IRC Cruising Class. Simon Morris Thistlewaite Topsail Schooner Sirius 1935 held on with reduced sail to clamber into second spot. Provisionally John Clayton's Millenium is third and Malcolm Elliott's Petersen 46 Coup de Soleil is fourth but a protest has been lodged and will not be herd till tomorrow. Yesterday Dato’ Richard Curtis Shanghai Gaff Rigged Cutter Eveline was provisionally awarded first place in Race 2 but when they lodged there nine hours of motoring they were soon relegated to fifth place. Today the strong wind overwhelmed them and had to run for cover as they cannot reef the main gaff sail and promptly retired.

The action continues on the third overnight passage race from Penang to Langkawi on Thursday.

Full Results and more RMSIR 08 details at: http://www.rmsir.com

Online AY Race Reports with photos can be accessed from:
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Race Report 5 & Summary: http://asianyachting.com/news/RMSIR08e.htm
Race Report 4: http://asianyachting.com/news/RMSIR08d.htm
Race Report 2: http://asianyachting.com/news/RMSIR08b.htm
Race Report 1: http://asianyachting.com/news/RMSIR08a.htm
Pre-Race Report: http://asianyachting.com/news/RMSIR08.htm

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