Sunday Series II (Race 1)

After a month-long hiatus, sailors were raring to return to racing! A gentle south-westerly breeze took sailors up to Tekong Buoy and back, but not without challenges. Offshore winds and airplane downdrafts meant that winds were shifty and unpredictable in the vicinity of CAAS2, resulting in a shuffle of positions across all classes.

In the IRC Class, Red Rum found it hard to shake off Jong Dee throughout the course, with the latter nearly besting the Archambault 40 across the finish line. Jong Dee went on to take victory after corrected time, and Red Rum surrendered 2nd place by 8 secs to visitors and newly crowned 2019 Besar Series Champions Rainbow Dream on handicap – leaving them in 3rd.

Despite the modest numbers in the PY Class, it was great to see the fleet closely packed together, as leaders Southern Light and Minx struggled to lengthen their lead on the chasing boats. 1st & 2nd place went to Olmeto and Ikaroa respectively, with both boats sailing a superb race to keep the front-runners in sight, and taking full advantage of their spinnakers to close the gap on the downwind. Scoring line honours just ahead of Minx was not the only reason for Southern Light‘s joy, as their efforts also rewarded them with a 3rd on corrected time – completing the podium.

Shaun Norris’s Witblits looks re-energized on the course today, sailing with Series I Beach Cat Champions Persian Cat sailors Chris and Neda onboard. Witblits did well from start to finish to score a bullet in the Cruising Multihull Class. Jaza Too’s Skipper Graham Horn survived a minor scare on the boat, injuring his thumb through a sailing manouevre. The accident did not stop Jaza Too from cruising to 2nd place – a commendable effort from the Horn family! Some wasted time tacking near the finish line did not dent Eeepai’s pursuit for a podium position, eventually crossing the line and scoring 3rd on corrected time. Despite what seemed like a decent lead over Cicak, Baloo did not do enough to widen her lead, missing out on 4th place by just over a minute after corrected time.

Madfish II started their Sunday Series II campaign with a victory over Stray Catz in the Beach Catamaran Class, but not without the latter putting up a fight. The final leg saw the 2019 Catamaran Nationals Champions overtake the veterans to score both the line honours and win on corrected time. In the Weta Class, Itchy-Go was joined by Tantrum and Ex Igne VI for a 3-way battle. Unfortunately Tantrum & Ex Igne VI found the course too long and physically draining, both eventually handing the win to Itchy-Go by deciding against sailing to Squance for the final leg and returning to shore.

Great start to Sunday Series II – Thank you all for participating, see you next week for Race 1 of the Twilight Series II!

Results

IRC Keelboat
PY Keelboat
Cruising Multihull
Beach Catamaran
Weta