CSC IRC, PY & One-Design Keelboat Championships 2022 - Day 1

After a 2-year break due to the pandemic, the CSC One-Design Championships returns in 2022 with 2 new classes participating! With some members citing interest in more windward-leeward format courses, the IRC and PY Fleet were included this year, potentially adding some quantity and variety to the event. Alas, the relaxation on travel restrictions meant that many from both fleets could not make it this year, resulting in the eventual participation of only 3 boats and 1 boat from the IRC and PY fleets respectively. In the J24 and Platu Class, we also had some pre event incidents which resulted in 1 less boat for each class represented on water. Nevertheless, we are still glad to resume action on water, and the winds delivered on time to smoothly complete the 3 scheduled races.

A shifty yet strong south south-westerly breeze coupled with a significant outgoing tide made it challenging conditions for some of the teams – especially those who were racing in our waters for the first time. In the IRC Class, Jong Dee‘s no-show for day 1 meant that it was a match race between Born in Fire and Simba, 2 boats with similar IRC ratings. The former took all 3 bullets, despite a botched spinnaker maneuver in race 2. Confusion from Simba regarding the change of mark for lap 3 of race 2 meant that they could not capitalize on Born in Fire‘s mistake, resulting in a DNF for the Dehler 39.

The J24 class was fiercely contested, with the top 3 boats still very much in the running for 1st place after day 1 of racing. Balqis leads the fleet with 2 bullets and a blemish in race 3. Jellico suffered from a false start in race 2, only to bounce back with a hard fought bullet in race 3 to end the day just 2 points adrift. A strong 2nd place finish from Jock in race 2 keeps the team in the running, despite a poor finish in the 3rd race of the day.

You would think the SMU Sailing Club’s appointed logistics officer at the helm of SMUMad would ensure that the boat has a spinnaker pole onboard… sadly, she sailed all 3 races without one. Despite this blunder, she tops the Platu Class with 3 bullets. Although the results look impressive, they were all close encounters with Team Notus, a mix of new and experienced crew onboard, helmed by Alex Chong / Daniel Gerlinghoff. Notus showed plenty of brilliance on the upwind legs, only to be let down by sub-par downwind performance. A botched spinnaker drop from Boreas kicked off their campaign on the wrong foot, retiring from Race 1. We look forward to better performances from her in day 2.

See you all tomorrow for the final day of racing!

Results

IRC Day 1

J24 Day 1

Platu Day 1