|
BMW
Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2005
Asian
Yachting Race Report 4 & Summary - 5th March
Down
goes the checkered flag...
Despite
many of the class winners already being decided yesterday all the
competitors were back out on the water for the final days racing.
The breeze did not disappoint them either and by start time a good
15 to 18 knot North East tradewind had set in which provided competitors
with excellent sailing conditions. Today also is the day of reckoning
for the scorer when the combined results are tabulated and the Prime
Minister's Challenge Trophy and Commodore's Cup are presented to
the overall winners. Some say it's a case of Howard's creative accounting
system going to work!
Prime
Ministers Challenge Trophy - Racing, Premier Cruising and IRC 1
classes
Peter Ahern's Malaysian Airlines sponsored YO! raced away
with the trophy for the 3rd time in succession. DK Yachts are always
keen to compete at local regatta's with whatever yacht they have
around at the time. Armin Schmid's new Farr 36 SonnenKoenig
helmed by Hannes Waimer the CEO of DK Yachts finished up in 2nd
place. Despite winning all the Premier Cruising Class races David
Lindahl's La Samudra is relegated to 3rd overall in the
race for the PM's Trophy. As the IRC 1 class is also included in
these overall calculations and having finished some what down the
order it would seem unfair to try and classify Formula One racers
with smaller cruiser/racers at the end of the event.
Commodores
Challenge Cup - Club, Liveaboard and Classic classes.
Similar to the PM's Trophy the Commodores Challenge Cup is awarded
to the combined winner of the Club, Liveaboard and Classic classes.
David Kimpton's Lady M the biggest yacht at the regatta
took the overall prize from the Classic Class after 2 remarkable
wins over the last 2 days. Her combined waterline length and momentum
allowed her to surge past the smaller competitors in the windy conditions.
After re-establishing themselves as leaders in the Liveaboard Class
Jay Jarvis's twin wishbone rigged Blue Jay ended up 2nd
overall after finishing with a disappointing 7th place in the last
race. Race 4's startline accident forced the early leaders to retire
so Jelle De Vries Sunshine Forever came to the fore and
managed to claim 3rd place overall. Jim Ellis's Remington
finished up 4th and is the closest any Club Class yacht came to
winning the trophy.
Langkawi
Sports Trophy
Scott Duncanson's Phuket 8 Securicor Somtam Express ended
up tied on points with the Royal Malaysian Navy's Platu 25 KDP
I!. On count back the tie was broken in favour of KDP I!
as they won today's last race and Securicor Somtam Express
came in a close second. The other RMN Platu 25 KDP I ended
up third.
Malaysian
Multihull Challenge Cup
Bob Mott's well sailed Chameleon finished with almost a
clean sweep of firsts except in race 4 were they had a 2nd place
to become this years overall multihull champion. Tim Milner's Charro
a previous winner here had to settle on 2nd place and Brent Mc Innes
No Fixed Address came in third.
Multihull
Cruising
Christopher Sieber's Kilo ended up the overall winner and
Joan Foo Mahony's Sedna progressively improved through
the series by winning today's final race to secure 2nd place overall.
Bill Eby's Lighten Up had a mixed bag of results including
a win in race 2 but their inconsistency led them to 3rd place at
the end of the day.
Summary
After a slow start the racing picked up a notch or two with the
arrival on the north easterly tradewind. Some critics have commented
on the decrease in entries over past years but my personal opinion
during this post tsunami period, that its a magnificent effort all
round by competitors and organisors alike especially in light of
the upheaval recently experienced.
Class winners
have expressed their disapproval of being lumbered in together with
other classes to make a overall winner at the end of the day. It's
like trying to compare the BMW Series 7 performance with that of
a Volkswagen. As race management is a ongoing work in progress and
the formula is being tweaked each year the organisers have asked
all competitors to submit any grievances that will be reviewed for
future events.
BMW and the
supporting sponsors must be thanked for continuing to support the
regatta and the global sport of sailing in general. It has always
been a Malaysian government initiative to develop Langkawi as a
marine tourism destination and provide an alternative playground
for the rich and famous when they tire of places like the Mediterranean
of Caribbean. With Phuket only 100 nm to the north and an abundance
of tropical islands to visit on the way, that offer warm hospitality,
the whole South East Asian regions marine industry will only go
from strength to strength.
To
view the web edition with photos click on: http://asianyachting.com/news/RLIR05.htm.
Full
results can be found at: http://www.langkawiregatta.com/.
|
