This regatta takes place over three weekends: Sun 14th, Sun 21st and Sat 27th August being the last day of racing to encourage a better party after the prize giving. A beneficiary race will be held on Sunday 28th, which will not count towards the WCSR results. This event is open to self righting keelboats having a valid 2005 IRC certificate, or PY Class belonging to members of Singapore Sailing affiliated clubs and invited sailors of other yacht clubs. All yachts will get free berthing at Raffles Marina from 7th Aug to 11th Sept. The NOR is at: http://www.rafflesmarina.com.sg or for more info Tel:(+65)6869-1822 Fax:(+65)6862-2280
When
it's all said and done...
The final two races to determine the overall class winners started in
6 to 8 knots of breeze which increased slightly during the afternoon and
had the sailors back in the bar, ready to celebrate by 4:00pm. With the
help of Aussie Skip Lissiman, former sailing master on Alan Bond's America's
Cup team, Jonathan Mahony's crew on Happy Endings showed they
could walk the walk, to win both races by the proverbial mile and claim
the overall IRC trophy. Surprisingly in a act of fate
they also won the lucky draw for the fantastic Baume & Mercier watch
at the presentation party.
Keith
Dunn's Mount Gay 30 Lunchcutter 2 scored two seconds and climbed
up into 2nd place with Peter Forbes Next Page out performing
the others on the day to jump up into 3rd spot overall despite their new
pink outfits earning them a traditional down down drink.
Although
Richard Ahl's J24 Juno had secured victory with 5 wins in the
One-Design Class they did not have it all their own way
when Wildon Goh's SMUve managed to pip them on the line by a
few seconds in race 5. Despite Lea Sea Yean's Jangan Main Main
keeping the pressure on the leaders through out the event they had to
eventually settle for 3rd place overall.
The light weather once again favoured the smaller yachts in the PY
Class with Simon Piff's Rainbow Dream regaining his
winning ways with two wins to secure the overall class trophy. Despite
Richard Anderson's Tune Inn scoring a 5, 3 to end up tied on
12 points with Nathan Richardson's Lady Galadriel who scored
two third places today, Tune Inn's crew had done enough in the
earlier races to hold onto 2nd place overall from Lady Galadriel.
The yachts headed out into a heavy downpour to start race five which unfortunately
left behind a big lull in proceedings and the yachts floundering around
waiting for the wind to return. As they inched their way forward, wind
lines could be seen forming and then bam! The yachts that managed to claw
their way to the front got it first and were away. The trailing yachts
had to wait their turn and play catchup for the rest of the passage race.
The
hotly contested Sportsboat class saw Bob
Howison's Teko MDBS score another win and Mark Jewell's Bengal
Tiger Lines - The Dogs 2 leapfrogging Choo Tze Wei Platu 25
to end up 2nd and 3rd and within 3 and 2 points respectively of the leader
Teko MDBS.
The
grand old ladies of the PY Class showed the smaller boats
just what they can do on the longer reaching legs of the passage race.
Pauline Blasky's Sari Timur reveled in the conditions to edge
out Simon Morris's Sirius that was built in 1935 in Sydney and
has a tremendous history as a workboat in the Pacific and known for several
circumnavigations of the globe. Richard Anderson's Jenneau 42 Tune
Inn filled 3rd spot and now trails the overall class leader Simon
Piff's Rainbow Dream by only one point.
A
mixed bag of results on day 1...
All
three races were completed and as the breeze varied in strength through
out the afternoon the individual podium places were shared amongst the
front runners to end up relatively even on points after handicaps have
been applied.
The
hotly contested Sportsboat class saw the Platu 25's of
Choo Tze Wei (1, 3, 2) and Bob Howison's Teko MDBS (2, 1, 3)
come to the fore and tied for the lead with 6 points each.
It
was a different story in the One Design class were Richard
Ahl's J24 Juno scored 3 wins over Wildon Goh's SMUve
who ended up with three second places. Lea Sea Yean's Jangan Main
Main did the best of the remaining 4 entries with a 4, 3, 3 score
to fill third spot.
The
mixture of Classic and Cruiser racers in the PY Class sees Simon Piff's
Rainbow Dream shoot to the lead with a 1, 2, 1 over Richard Anderson's
Jenneau 42 Tune Inn with a 2, 1, 3 finish. Nathan
Richardson's Lady Galadriel was the next fastest of the diverse
range of yachts with a 3, 3, 2 to hold onto 3rd spot and only a couple
points adrift of the leaders.
Twenty
seven yachts will be lining up on Sunday 14th in four classes to contest
this years 8th Western Circuit Sailing Regatta conducted by Raffles Marina
in Singapore.
The
Sportsboat class will be interesting as 5 different designs are competing.
Drew Gardeniers Reflex 28, Mark Jewell's Laser SB3, Dickson Addis's JS9000,
Gordon Maxted's Young 840 and the 2 Platu 25's of Choo Tze Wei and Bob
Howison's Teko MDBS which comes fresh of a victory at the RSYC
Regatta. The crew which can consistently produce the best boat speed in
changing conditions and keep out of trouble over the next 3 weekends is
likely to be crowned champion this year.
Six
J24's are competing in the One Design class and a battle royal is looming
between the Changi Yacht Club and Raffles Marina entries. Richard Ahl's
Juno raced away with the 
The
diverse nature of these floating homes will undoubtedly be won by the
yacht which has the most fun while emptying the well stocked fridge.