With the prize presentation and closing ceremony taking place at 4pm, the starting signal for the first race was scheduled an hour earlier, at 11am. The 6th race of the series commenced on time, accompanied by a fresh NE wind blowing through the course.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for SMUve this regatta, but they managed to sail an excellent race to secure a second bullet in Race 6. finishing just 5 seconds behind Waka Tere, they won comfortably on handicap. Careless mistakes and little errors continue to haunt SMUmad, as they struggle to find the form they had on day 1. With no bullets and a best result of 2nd on the final day, she ties points with SMUve and surrenders the overall 2nd position due to the lack of firsts. Waka Tere‘s performance throughout this regatta was good, but was well tested by the SMU Sailing Teams, resulting in some very close racing. She scored 5 bullets out of 7 races to successfully defend her title in the IRC Division.

A similar story played out in the PY Division, as Minx and Shengli took the battle for 2nd place down to the final race. A good start from Shengli paved the way for a good performance all round in the final race, keeping close to both Quarterdeck and Minx throughout the course – eventually finishing just under 45 seconds behind them! With Minx‘s and Quarterdeck‘s handicaps brought down significantly from their good performances over the first 2 days, Shengli managed to steal her first bullet in Race 7. The victory gave her the win over Minx for 2nd place overall. Despite scoring 4th for the final race, Quarterdeck had done enough to claim the PY title for 2020 with 9 points. Although they were not in the running for podium, it was heartening to see Olmeto push their boat hard to earn a well-deserved 2nd-place finish in the final race – a sweet end to the regatta and the weekend!

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you Sailors for participating in the 5th Nongsa Regatta! Special thanks to the Riau Island Governor and Riau Island Tourism Office for gracing the prize giving and closing ceremony. In addition, big thank you to the Jury Panel chaired by Mr Leonard Chin (MAS) for keeping the sailors disciplined both on water and on land.

The phenomenal conditions at Nongsa, Batam during the NE Monsoon, paired alongside the great hospitality and facilities from Nongsa Point Marina & Resort resulted in a fantastic regatta enjoyed by all, and we hope to return in 2021 with an even bigger fleet from Singapore!

Result

PY_R6
PY_R7
PY_Overall

IRC_R6
IRC_R7
IRC_Overall

The Nongsa Regatta is an annual event which sees participants from various classes racing and enjoying the prevailing NE breeze off the coast of Nongsa Point Marina, Batam. Now into its 5th Edition, the Keelboat Class comprises of 9 keelboats – of which 4 are in IRC and 5 in PY. It was great to see 3 boats from Changi Sailing Club participating for the first time in this regatta (Olmeto, Minx & Sangaree). The new entrants are all strong contenders for the 2020 PY title, with Olmeto winning many of the CSC Club races, Minx returning 2nd in her class in the 2019 Raja Muda International Regatta as well as Sangaree, the 2019 Western Circuit Regatta champion. The event also boasts returning boats with strong racing pedigree, as they were joined by fellow CSC boat and reigning IRC champion Waka Tere together with 2019 Raja Muda International Regatta Class 3 winners, Rainbow Dream. Despite some hiccups with the port clearance in Singapore, SMU Sailing once again fields 4 boats for this event – (SMUmad, SMUve, Quarterdeck and Shengli). The university teams bring with them a vast experience competing in one-design championships both locally and abroad.

Day 1 of racing was held in some interesting conditions, with the first race taking place in a fresh 10-12 knot NE winds, together with strong westbound tides. Defending IRC Champions Waka Tere scored 2 bullets to draw first blood, but the score did not reflect how competitive the margin of win over SMUmad was. Finishing just 30 seconds and 24 seconds ahead of the Platu in Race 1 & 2, the gap was reduced to 9 seconds and 2 seconds respectively when the handicaps were applied. Skipper Joel Tay from SMUmad will be looking to make amends in the coming races. SMUve now sits in 3rd, 2 points away from their sister boat. The team suffered a scare in race 1, with Skipper Bernice Foo having to execute a quick MOB drill when one of their crew fell overboard near the windward mark. Rainbow Dream did not have a good start to the regatta, missing Race 1 due to crew immigration woes and playing catch-up in Race 2 after a late start.

In the PY division, the J24s had an outstanding day, capitalizing on the mistakes of the bigger boats. The ease at which they performed their spinnaker hoist & drops during the mark roundings is testament to the amount of hours they have put into training. Quarterdeck now sits pretty on top with 2 bullets from both races. Shengli is not far in 2nd place, scoring a 3rd & 2nd for a total of 5 points. Olmeto, Sangaree and Minx struggled with various issues on water, and will have to return with no room for error, should they wish to stage a roaring comeback over the remaining 2 days.

Good luck to all participants, we look forward to more exciting racing this weekend.

Results

IRC_R1

IRC_R2

IRC_Day1

PY_R1

PY_R2

PY_Day1