CSC Laser & 29er Open 2021 (Day 1)

The 1st edition of the CSC Laser & 29er Open was held in amazing North-Easterly breeze, and many of the returning sailors were expecting similar conditions this year. With the winds over the past 2 weekends blowing up to 20 knots, it felt like a sure thing in the lead up to this regatta. Alas, light winds and strong currents greeted the fleet on Day 1, setting the stage for a very different kind of racing. Joining us this weekend are a diverse range of Olympians, National and Club sailors from around the island who made up the 69-strong fleet, a significant increase of 15 boats from last year.

At the end of 4 races, we see clear leaders in all classes going into Day 2. In the 29er class, Marvin Tan / Dylan Ng (SGP 2446) had a good day out, scoring 3 bullets and a 2nd to top the fleet of 5 with 5 points. A Starboard-Port incident between SGP 2446 and SGP 2869 on water saw 2nd placed Dylan Fang / Russel Yom (SGP 2869) take the case to the protest room, only for it to be eventually dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

A clean sweep of 4 bullets from defending champion Jonathan Lio (SGP 203819) in the Laser Radial class meant that it is his championship to lose, as the leaders of the chasing pack Darius Lee (SGP 197833) & Zachary Khoo (SGP 214242) trail a significant 11 points behind. The Laser 4.7s see a similar result, as Poh Yong Ler (SGP 02) scores 3 wins out of 4 races, with his only blemish being a 9th in race 4. The 2nd and 3rd placed sailors also have poor races to drop, thus making it an uphill task today to catch up with Yong Ler should he continue with his stellar performance from Day 1.

In the Laser Standard Class the mood was less intense, a situation which could have been partly attributed to the average age of the 10-strong fleet? Emerging after 4 races is a rare sight at the top of the table as Chung Pei Ming (2) leads a fleet of sailors which includes Olympians, ex-national sailors and the defending champion. A consistent showing and a cautious effort on the start line rewarded him with a 1 point lead over 2020’s winner, Elliot Drake (9595). However, we might see a reshuffling of positions when the discard is applied after 5 races, as waiting in 3rd and 4th are Olympians Colin Cheng (CHENG) and Koh Seng Leong (KOH), who both sailed brilliant races but were let down by an OCS in race 3.

We look forward to more exciting racing today, as we plan for 3 more races in hopefully a steady and stronger NE breeze.

Results