Twilight Series II - Race 3 | Changi Sailing Club

We’ve all experienced this before – racing in little to no winds, across glassy waters with a strong tide against you and waiting for the slightest breeze to carry your boat to the next mark of the course. These were the exact conditions faced by sailors during the 3rd race of the Twilight Series II. It was not easy conditions to be sailing your first race in, as experienced by Jen’s Jaunt and Clytie, both newcomers in our Twilight Series PY Keelboat Class. The latter made the wise choice of retiring early and spending a leisurely overnighter at Ketam, while the former did commendably to complete the race within the time limit.

As the wind died, it was great to see all sailors picking a side of the channel on the way to Squance, staying out of the deep water/stronger currents. First to round the mark and commence the drift-sail back to the finish line was none other than Jaza Too. Despite being given a time penalty for switching on their engine to avoid an outgoing ship, they managed to stay well ahead to become the first boat to cross the finish line and secure a comfortable win in the Multihull Class. Finishing a mere 48 seconds after Cicak, AbraCaDeborah did just enough to sneak into 2nd place on handicap.

A solo sail by Nigel on Stray Catz worked in his favour, building a size-able lead and triumphing against the 2 other beach catamarans on the course. The strong tide got the better of Persian Cat, who eventually threw in the towel and retired from the race. Balqis II was rewarded for her patience/resilience, as a puff on the return leg gave them some respite – powering her to the finish line and subsequently placing as runner-ups in the Beach Catamaran Class.

In an 11-strong fleet, it was little Marut who once again beat the odds to claim victory, bouncing back from a poor post-start sail to recover strongly approaching Squance and back towards the finish line. Her strategy to hug the coast of Pulau Ubin paid off, keeping clear of the strong tide and getting sufficient breeze both ways. A similar strategy was applied by Olmeto, as they were part of the fleet that went across the channel early to sail close to Ubin and the accompanying fish farms. When the numbers were crunched, she placed a well deserved 3rd in the standings. Minx had a differing plan, but no less effective. Sticking close to mainland and hooking up to approach Squance proved a successful choice, claiming her position in first runner-up on corrected time. Special mention goes to Jonty J, as the J70 sailed one of her best races to date, taking line honours and just missing out on podium after handicap.

It was indeed a day for the smaller boats, with Adona executing a David vs Goliath story in the IRC Keelboat Class. The J24 managed to keep it really close to leaders Red Rum, and displayed some good decision-making and boat speed to position herself ahead of Jong Dee and Waka Tere rounding Squance. On corrected time she secures her win by a minute and 20 seconds – impressive! Jong Dee won the fight for the final spot on the podium, claiming 3rd both across the line and on handicap.

Thank you all for taking part in the 3rd race of the Twilight Series II! Here’s a link to an article on light-wind sailing, pretty useful for future reference 🙂