SailFest Regatta Day 2

Back with sore and aching muscles after a full day of racing on Day 1, some sailors looked visibly tired making their way down the jetty to prepare their boats on Sunday Morning. The winds delivered on time yet again, but possibly a tad lighter in strength compared to Day 1.

Needing to win races to reclaim her position at the top after an early retirement on Day 1, Doug Fimmell’s Madfish II did exactly that to score 3 victories in the remaining races to win the SailFest Regatta 2019 in the Beach Catamaran Class. Day 1’s leader Bad Influence slipped to 2nd place after struggling to find her place at the top, consistently placing 3rd in races 5 to 7. He also only just barely managed to, beating 3rd placed Nacra 15 on tie-breaker. Being the only Weta on the course, The Blue Bug did well to keep up with the fleet, but struggled to gain any momentum in the largely windward-leeward courses.

The Cruising Multihulls sees tit-for-tat results amongst the top 3, as they took turns to lead throughout the races. Kaze eventually emerged on top, just 1 point ahead of Jaza Two in 2nd and 2 points away from Dash Two in 3rd. Baloo’s returned to racing was shortlived, as they got grounded at Changi Creek right after the start of Race 6. that coupled with a broken tiller meant an early retirement for the duo (David & Chris).

In the PY Class, it was a close fight for 2nd to 4th placings, with Balqis scoring a bullet in Race 5 to secure 2nd 1 point ahead of Brio in 3rd. Minx struggled to gain podium placing in day 2, her best placing being a 3rd in the first race of the day. She settles for 4th, just outside of podium in the overall results. Southern Light claimed the SailFest Regatta 2019 title by a comfortable margin, completing her victory with a bullet in the 6th and final race for the regatta.

Red Rum continued to claim all line honours in the remaining 3 races for the IRC Class, but could not stay ahead of the chasing pack on handicap, as Waka Tere scored 2 wins on corrected time to overtake the Archambault 40 as the IRC winner. Invictus‘s podium finishes (3-1-2) for Races 5 to 7 placed them 3rd overall on 14 points, 1 behind Red Rum. Critical Crew changes made all the difference to Born in Fire‘s performance on Day 2, but it was too little too late as they settled for 4th overall.

2019 CSC Sailing Festival Overall Leaderboard

The SailFest Regatta 2019 concludes 3 months worth of intense racing at CSC in the North-East Monsoon, with a total of 51 boats participating over 4 classes. This does not include the 4 Wetas introduced midway in the season, which brings it to a grand total of 55 boats!

In the Beach Catamaran Class, a consistent effort to participate in all 5 Regattas resulted in a clear victory for Madfish II, skippered by Doug Fimmell. His crew, Erica, also bagged the prince (or princess) of darkness award, given to the most angsty and naughty sailor on water. A hat-trick of wins in the Catamaran Nationals, Commodore’s Cup and SailFest Regatta helped form an insurmountable lead of 6 points over 2nd placed Stray Catz. A 4th and 2nd in the remaining 2 Regattas placed Bad Influence as the best of the rest, finishing this season in 3rd on 21 points.

Consistency really is key for the Cruising Multihulls, as the top 2 boats not only raced in at least 4 out of 5 regattas, but did not win any of them! 1st place went to Eeepai, whose best finish of 2nd in the Signature Sundays and 2-Island Race made it possible for her to become the Sailing Festival 2019 Cruising Multihull Champions on 11 points. Witblits raced in every regatta available to place 3 points adrift. Contrastingly, poor attendance left Cicak in 3rd, despite victories in the 2-Island Race and Commodore’s Cup respectively.

Same could be said for the PY Class, as the top 5 boats participated in at least 4 of the 5 regattas. Lack of crew for the East Johor Race and SailFest Regatta resulted in an initially strong campaign by Ikaroa fizzling out and ending in 5th overall. Arbudhen‘s damage and early retirement in the SailFest Regatta diminished all hope of a podium finish, as she took 4th 3 points behind close rivals, New Blue Eyes. Last year’s PY Champions had to settle for 3rd, struggling throughout the season to find consistent and experienced crew to compete. Newcomers Brio had many things to be thankful for – from a completely refurbished boat to having Paralympian sailor Jovin Tan racing on board for certain regattas, it was definitely a well-deserved 2nd place finish for the young outfit. Missing out on victory by a slim margin on their first campaign in 2018 made victory so much sweeter for newly crowned 2019 CSC Sailing Festival Overall PY Champions Minx. Despite not winning any of the regattas, consistently placing in the top 4 for all regattas gave them a comfortable 3 point lead over Brio.

It was utter dominance by Waka Tere in the IRC Class this season, as they sweeped all regattas sans 2-Island Race. A strong crew consisting of ex and current SMU Sailors made their conquest a lot smoother, while other teams struggled with inconsistent crew rosters. Nearest rivals Jong Dee came closest to dethroning them, but a series of unfortunate events led to an early retirement in the SailFest Regatta. Shardana, Red Rum and Born in Fire all tied on 14 points after 1 discard, but the Italian Stallion emerged on top after the tie-breaker, scoring more podium finishes – thus completing the top 3 in IRC Class.

We’re really glad the NE Monsoon did not disappoint over the past 2 months, one of the key factors to the success of this annual CSC NE Monsoon Sailing Festival. The Club Racing Scene continues to grow, and it is encouraging to see the number of boats participating slowly increasing since its inception in 2017. Congratulations to all the winners, and a big thank you to all 55 boats which sailed with us!

SailFest Regatta Results
Beach Catamaran
CruisingMultihull
Keelboat PY
Keelboat IRC

CSC NE Monsoon Sailing Festival Overall Leaderboard
Beach Catamaran SF_Overall
Cruising Multihull SF_Overall
Keelboat PY SF_Overall
Keelboat IRC SF_Overall