3rd East Johor Straits Race
After experiencing some unpredictable weather conditions and an at times unsteady North-East Monsoon breeze during the Commodore’s Cup, participants of the 3rd East Johor Straits Race were cautious and doubtful of the wind condition on Sunday Morning. To everyone’s surprise/delight, the wind gods delivered early in the morning, sending a steady north-easterly wind to greet sailors on the start line.
A 15 nM course which boasts unique scenery of the East Johor Straits coast line, this passage race is open to all Keelboats & Multihulls.
In the IRC Class, defending champions Waka Tere were beaten on the start line by challengers Invictus, who pulled away early in the race to try and increase their lead on the 2019 winners. Despite their best efforts, Skipper Justin and team could only muster an 11 minute lead, well short of what was required to defeat Waka Tere.
With 2019 winners Southern Light out of action, it was time for a new contestant to secure the PY Class Challenge Trophy for 2020. CSC warmly welcomes Zoo Too from Marina at Keppel Bay to compete in this event. In 2019, she competed in our Commodore’s Cup – this year she return to participate in the East Johor Straits Race, a race format more suited for the Dufour 35. Without a doubt, Passage race favourites Sapphire Star and Ikaroa quickly took the lead, with their massive spinnakers and excellent downwind boat speed. The former eventually took line honours, but could not put enough distance between her and Ikaroa, surrendering the win and challenge trophy to the husband and wife power combination. The surprise podium winner was Zoo Too, who displayed good boat speed throughout the course, matching Minx all the way to the finish line. Her efforts awarded her with a well-deserved 2nd place after corrected time, sneaking in between Ikaroa and Sapphire Star.
The Multihull did not participate in last year’s event, as the race clashed with the CSC Trimaran Championships in 2019. With the return of the Multihulls this year, we see Kaze, Buay Kaola and Witblits contesting for the top spot in this edition. The 3 boats started and finished in the same positions, and remained unchanged after corrected time. With Sailing Festival leaders Ding Hao not in attendance for this race, we look forward to some close racing in the finale at the SailFest Regatta next week!
Thank you everyone for participating in the 3rd East Johor Straits Race – we could not have asked for better wind conditions! With that, we wrap up the penultimate event of the Sailing Festival, and prepare for the Final Showdown on 21st and 22nd March (SailFest Regatta).
Results
- Sunday Series I 2023 (Race 5) - 5th June 2023
- Twilight Series I 2023 (Race 5) - 4th June 2023
- CSC IRC, PY & One-Design Keelboat Championships 2023 (Day 2) - 29th May 2023
