East Johor Straits Race 2019

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The East Johor Straits Race returns with more boats this year, but conditions left sailors thinking if the NE Monsoon is finally over. with the winds not going past 10 knots this edition, and a mixed bag of wind directions and currents for them to contend with, the racing conditions were nothing short of challenging.

2018 IRC winners Waka Tere were looking to defend their title, but faced stiff challenge in the form of new entrants Shardana and fierce rivals Jong Dee & Red Rum. With a full crew of ex and current SMU Sailing members, they defended their title superbly by sailing well to the shifts and currents – claiming victory by more than 11 minutes on handicap! 2nd place went to the Italian Stallion, Shardana. Skipper Joe Lombardo does not intend to give up just yet, and will have a renewed fire to dethrone Waka Tere at the SailFest Regatta Finale next week. Despite crossing the line last, Jong Dee pipped Red Rum on corrected time to steal a podium position, rounding off the IRC winners. Red Rum‘s only consolation was line honours, as they struggled to extend their lead on the chasing pack.

In the PY Class, a close battle between Sangaree and Temptress of Down resulted in the former claiming line honours, but settling for 6th on handicap. The fleet suffered 2 retirements, first being Ikaroa, as Michael Kaus struggled to handle his boat solo, and made little gains on the first leg, forcing his decision to retire. Emmanuel II suffered the horrible fate of a dismasting, dramatically ending her sailfest campaign for 2019. 3rd place was claimed by Minx, whose performance puts her in pole position to win the overall SailFest Challenge Trophy in the PY Class. Not to be outdone, fierce rivals Arbudhen scored a 2nd place finish on corrected time, redeeming herself from a sub-par result at last week’s Commodore’s Cup. The honour of first place went to the returning Southern Light, absent from the club for the past month due to boat maintenance. Her victory churns the overall SailFest Standings quite abit, and we can’t wait to see the outcome of the final results next week!

Congratulations to all the winners, we look forward to running the SailFest Finale with everyone next week! Hopefully with a final blast from the NE Monsoon to carry the sailors through the weekend 🙂

Results
EJSR IRC 2019
EJSR PY 2019

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