October 2020 | Changi Sailing Club

Monthly Dinghy Race October 2020

26th October 2020/in Competitive Racing, Monthly Dinghy Race, Regattas, Sailing/by CSC

Our Monthly Dinghy Race for October has slowly grown in popularity, with the most recent one for October seeing a total of 23 boats participating! With winds blowing a consistent 14-16 knots, we were proud to note that none of the Optimist fleet participants capsized – a clear indication that everyone on the course were competent even in the heavier airs.

After 4 races, gold fleet sailors and fierce rivals Ikuto and Cheryl shared victories, with the latter taking the first bullet and Ikuto completing a hat-trick of wins in races 2 to 4. Despite the windy conditions, it was impressive to see the smaller sailors holding their own and completing the races without breaking a sweat. Newcomer Tiago, an experienced and passionate sailor who hails from Hong Kong is slowly closing in on the top few sailors, his aggressive nature a welcome trait on the start line – keeping everyone on their toes. He finished a very credible 5th. We look forward to seeing these bright sailors returning to compete in the final monthly dinghy race for 2020 in November.

In the open division, former national sailor Alyssa shook off the rust and showed the fleet that she still has what it takes to win! She takes 3 bullets out of 4 on a Topper, beating the Laser sailors in the process. Fitness plays a big part in sailing the Laser Radials well in heavy air – with Liam (2nd overall) & Vince (3rd overall) struggling to keep the boat flat in the gusty winds coupled with frequent chops. It was David Rayner’s second monthly dinghy race, and he is coming really close to joining the front runners on the podium! Probably one of the oldest sailors in the fleet, his 4th place finish was commendable, and he is certainly eager to improve for the next MDR.

Congratulations to all the winners – it was great to see all kinds of boats in the open division! We’re excited for the last MDR for 2020, hopefully by then we will get a North-Easterly treat for the sailors.

Results

Optimist_October

Results_Open Division

Sunday Series III – Race 3

26th October 2020/in Competitive Racing, Regattas, Sailing, Sunday Series/by CSC

Sailors participating in the Sunday Series III – Race 3 were treated to a glorious westerly breeze, blowing at a consistent 14 – 16 knots for the afternoon. However, a number of the boats struggled to handle the heavier air, resulting in some carnage across the course. Amidst the capsizes, collisions, damaged equipment and bruised egos, the biggest scare came from Waka Tere, as one of their crew fell and suffered a big cut on her skin, resulting in Waka’s early retirement and a immediate return to the Jetty for their crew to make her way to the hospital for treatment. We understand that she is currently in a safe and stable condition.

The conditions were perfect for Red Rum One, leading from start to finish in the IRC Class to take the bullet comfortably. Looking fierce with their new stickers, Born in Fire was also looking very slippery on the course, placing first runner-up. Against close rivals Jong Dee, the x99 emerged the clear winner, as the J35 grappled with a poor start and generally poor performance overall to finish 3rd.

A superb start from Adona paved the way for a well-deserved victory for Ad and crew, as they fended off a lean 3-person team on Brio in the PY Class. The J24 lapped up the windward-leeward course, taking advantage of their crew weight and the J24’s good pointing ability on the beat to make significant headway throughout the race. She wins by the closest of margins, just 9 seconds ahead of Brio on corrected time. First-time podium finishers Petit Bateau were all smiles at the results board, completing the PY podium in 3rd. She sailed a very good race, and her boat speed during the race reminds us of how fast the Esse 750 can be in the right wind conditions.

In Jaza Too‘s absence, together with the help of his 2 formidable crew, Tim Hill’s Cicak scored their first bullet in the Sunday Series III. Despite having a cautious approach with a reefed main at the start, Team Cicak managed to maintain good boat speed and crossed the line just 30 seconds behind Kaze. When the numbers were crunched, she edged Kaze out by a slim 17 seconds!

It was a great turn out of 7 boats on the start line for the beach catamaran class. There was a variety of different designs zipping about on the course, from F16s to the Nacra 20 and nippy Nacra 15, these boats were ready destroy the race in record time. 2 of the 3 Vipers participating placed first and second, as Madfish II pipped Bad Influence across the line to take both line honours and handicap victory. Louis Lim’s Taipan F16 continues to grace the podium, taming the wild westerlies to claim 3rd again, making it 2 consecutive podium finishes for his Sunday Series campaign. The Beach Cat sailors were blessed to have come out largely unscathed, with only a reported mainsail and spinnaker pole damage.

Congratulations to all the winners and all participants for surviving/braving yesterday’s conditions! We hope to have continued good winds on the last day of October, where we conduct the 3rd race of our Twilight Series III.

Results

Twilight Series III – Race 2

18th October 2020/in Competitive Racing, Sailing, Twilight Series/by CSC

Despite the sweltering heat, 18 boats took to the start line to race in the Twilight Series III – Race 2. It was a day where winds prevailed from the South, setting the stage for a reaching course. With the wind abeam, it was all the more important for sailors to execute a good start, and some boats managed to do that successfully.

In the PY Class, Notus and Balqis held their own amongst the big boats, starting on the front row together with the likes of Red Rum and Simba. Their starts must have contributed significantly, as they managed to stay close to the leading pack and proceeded to take 4th and 3rd place respectively after corrected time. Simba made amends for their poor performance over last week’s Sunday Series III – Race 2 to cross the line sufficiently ahead of the fleet and just minutes behind Sangaree to claim first runner-up. Not all boats were on time at the start line – a prime example being Marut. She played catch-up after a horrendous start, but thrived in the prevailing wind angle to claw her way back into the mix. After a few smart calls and a consistently good boat speed, she earned herself a hard-fought victory on handicap, beating Simba by 52 seconds.

Ad Smit (Skipper of Adona) was completely taken by surprised when handed the second-place shot glass for the IRC Class. Adona was not at her best yesterday, struggling to keep up with the leading boats and also succumbing to better boat speed from many of the PY Class Keelboats. Despite her struggles, it seems her best efforts were not in vain, as their performance was good enough to place her on the podium, second only to winners Waka Tere. It was a close fight amongst all 3 IRC winners, with Red Rum taking line honours and completing the podium in 3rd – just 20 seconds behind Adona.

The Multihull and Beach Catamaran Classes had 2 boats participating in each fleet, consisting of usual suspects Jaza Too, Cicak, Kaze Cat and Balqis II. Good starts were the name of the game – a very poor start from Balqis II proved too costly, and Kaze Cat lead from start to finish to take the win comfortably in the Beach Catamaran Class. A similar story took place in the Multihull Class as Jaza Too demonstrated a better start and better boat speed to keep the nippy Cicak in their wake, eventually claiming victory in her class.

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you all for taking part! Lets stay cool and recuperate during the week – we look forward to another weekend of exhilarating racing on 25 October, where we conduct the 3rd race for the Sunday Series III!

Results

BC Race 2_Twilight Series 3_2020

MH Race 2_Twilight Series 3_2020

PY Race 2_Twilight Series 3_2020

IRC Race 2_Twilight Series 3_2020

Sunday Series III – Race 2

12th October 2020/in Competitive Racing, Sailing, Sunday Series/by CSC

Prevailing wind conditions were a consistent 8 to 10 knots from a south-westerly direction, setting up for another exciting Sunday Series challenge for the sailors. It was a great turn-out yet again, with 18 Keelboats, 3 Multihulls and 6 Beach Catamarans gracing the start line. With the winds blowing from the south-west, sailors assumed they would be sent westwards and began their pre-start routine on the east side of the line. However, race organisers surprised them with a pennant 4 course, sending them to Tekong Buoy and back.

Cicak sailed a superb downwind leg from CAAS 2 to Tekong Buoy, keeping things close and competitive with Jaza Too. However, it was all downhill from there, as Jaza Too stretched their lead on the fleet in the subsequent legs, taking the lead rounding CAAS 2 in first place and claiming a deserving win for Race 2 in the Multihull Class. Equipment malfunction saw Cicak sailing towards Squance without a screecher, allowing Kaze to extend their lead over Cicak to eventually take second place over the line and on corrected time. Despite their woes on the course, Skipper Lauren Hill from Team Cicak was all smiles back on shore, as she celebrates her 18th birthday today. Happy Birthday Lauren!

In the Beach Catamaran Class, we witnessed 3 spectacular capsizes from Kaze Cat (Nacra 20), Bad Influence (Viper F16) and Balqis II (Taipan F16). A quick recovery from the Nacra 20 ensured that she did not let the rest of the fleet gain too much ground, holding a lead large enough to claim line honours and second place on handicap. The 2 Nacra 15s ended up on different ends of the standings, with CHN 116 solo-sailed by Uli Braun to a hard-earned victory and SGP 117 skippered by Bryan Ngu struggling to keep up with the fleet at the tail-end. Finishing in 3rd were weekend warriors Louis & Clare on their Taipan F16 (SIN 007), who made it on the podium despite having spent very little time on water this year.

It was a very close contest in the PY Keelboat Class, with the fleet keeping it tight throughout the course (Only 24 minutes separating the first and last boat!). Having only just missed podium in last week’s Twilight Race, the crew onboard Brio wore big grins at the results board, having realized that they clinched victory for Race 2 of the Sunday Series III. She edged out 2nd placed Ikaroa by only 16 seconds after corrected time, much to the dismay of the all pink crew onboard. On that note, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month! The crew of Ikaroa were all decked out in pink to show their support – and if you looked closely at some of the photos, you’ll see a pink bra hanging off her boom! Completing the podium in 3rd was the resilient Remington, making it 2 podium finishes over consecutive weekends.

Despite missing a mark and having to turn back to round it, Red Rum One sailed well to notch her first win for the series in the IRC Class – 1 minute and 14 seconds ahead of Jong Dee after handicap correction. The results were a lot closer between 3rd and 4th, as Born in Fire survived a broken spinnaker pole to sneak into 3rd just 23 seconds ahead of the chasing Waka Tere.

[13 Oct update – race organisers have made a mistake with the result tabulation for the IRC Class. after corrected time, Red Rum One finishes in second place, and first place is taken by Jong Dee. Results below have been updated. Apologies for the error]

Congratulations to all the winners, we hope the winds continue to be good to us this coming weekend, as we welcome everyone back for the 2nd race of the Twilight Series III.

Results