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11th Singapore Straits Regatta 2005
AsianYachting Race Report 4 & Summary
Date: 23 January 2005

What starts well, ends well...
Although most of the winners were decided before the last race, a 12 to 15 knot North East tradewind provided an exciting blast reach on the final leg into Changi and the leading yachts possibly set new record times between Batam and Singapore.

Nick Burns Mandrake was able to stretch their legs and get one back from Neil Pryde's Hi-Fidelity, although a little to late as Neil and his professional crew had already raped up the series. Andrew Crombie's modified Magic 25 Vertigo with wings flew down the back straight to finally take 3rd place for the race but Robert Knight's DK 46 Drumstick filled the final podium position in front of them.

Class B saw some new faces take the placing's on the final race. Addis Dickon's JS9000 Roo, although seeming to sail on their ear most the time, showed his off the wind speed to capture first place from Kent Goeking's X-99 Solarmax and Mark Jewel's The Dogs 2 who is carrying a OCS. Despite finishing 5th today Jovin Tan's Sailability team on Sonar carried a big lead into the final which was enough for them to claim top spot on the podium. Well done and watch out for the rush to buy Sonars in the future. Bob Howison's Platu 25 Teko narrowly held onto 2nd overall by one point from Jeremy Muller's Sydney 32 Scallywag.

In the J24 class Tan Sek Tim's Juno made it 6 wins out of 7 races to record a run away victory but failed to keep a clean sheet by scoring a OCS in race 2. Lee Sea Yean's Jangan Main Main has scored a string of second places to secure 2nd on the podium in front of Simon Davidson's Jock that has consistently scored 3rd.

Going into the final race the 3 yachts in Cruising Class C were tied on 9 points and the only class were this race would determine the overall winner. Christopher Nunns Velera Linda came to the fore again and Lau Che Gin Jerome's formerly unpronounceable Wysiwyg (What Ya See Is What Ya Get) sailed into 2nd spot with single handed Howe Kok Khiong Nepenthe sailing comfortably into 3rd place on the podium.

Summary
Just like earlier regattas a closely fought battle developed between Neil Pryde's Hi-Fidelity and Fred Kinmonth/Nick Burns Mandrake from Hong Kong flowed over into the Straits Regatta. Mandrake seems better suited to the longer passage races were they can stretch their legs and get enough time up while Hi-Fidelity's crew seem to make less mistakes and excel in the shorter windward/leeward courses. They were running neck and neck through out the regatta till Neil drove home his advantage on race 5 and 6 to win all 3 major events this year, including the Sir Thomas Lipton trophy and skyrocket them up the rankings. Although rumor has it that Hi-Fidelity is on the verge of being sold their present 6 point advantage could be enough to carry them through the remaining 4 events and take home the coveted 2004/05 AY Skipper and Yacht Awards. Take a peek at this seasons progressive point score or see how your favorite racing team is shaping up on the AY Rankings at: http://asianyachting.com/news/Rankings0405.htm.

The big news is the resounding success of Jovin Tan's Sailability team on Sonar from a mixed fleet of racer/cruisers. As sailing is only just being introduced to handicapped persons in Singapore this win will go down as the most memorable. The chairman of SailabilitySingapore Frankie Sinniah outlined some big expansion plans into neighboring countries and they will need to be watched as they become a force to be reckoned with.

As the Tsunami affected areas are recovering from the recent catastrophe there is an expressed willingness in getting on with life in the region. By continuing on with the annual racing program is an example to the rest of the world that things are getting back to normal and South East Asia is definitely open for business and roaring to go. So come and join us - Check out the remaining events on the 2004/05 AY Calendar at: http://asianyachting.com/asiancalendar.htm.

Full results and Shu Fen's photos can be found at http://www.straitsregatta.com. SSR 05 Race Reports with photos can be found at: http://asianyachting.com/news/SSR05.htm.