What a weekend! It has been too long since we last enjoyed 2 consecutive days of uninterrupted NE Monsoon winds, and boy did the Trimarans fly. Day 2 of the CSC Trimaran Championship saw an increase in wind speeds, with easily 12-15 knots across the course. Some sailors have tapped out after day 1 due to equipment malfunction – leaving only 8 contenders on the start line for Race 4. The winds however claimed more casualties as the day progressed, as day 2 seemed to turn into a war of attrition. When the final race was completed (Race 6), only 3 boats had successfully completed the course – Bravo Zulu to Dinghao, Jaza Too and Ragnarok for surviving the conditions and being the only ones who managed to complete all 6 races conducted for this series!
Dinghao put on a professional display for the fleet, scoring 3 more bullets for Races 4 to 6 to complete the series with 5 points and be crowned 2023 CSC Trimaran Champions. Skipper Campbell Jenkins together with CSC Member Alice Lim and Multihull newbie Jonathan Mahoney of Zanzibar fame were quite the terrifying trio on water – reaching straight line speeds on the course few can match. A retirement in Race 6 due to a delaminated mainsail was not enough for Kaze to be knocked off the runner-up position, as she had sailed tremendously well for races 1-5 to score 11 points overall – 7 points ahead of 3rd placed Jaza Too. Special mention for the team on Phoenix – an exceptional performance on Day 1 was marred by a torn headsail, broken rudder and lost watch, resulting in her inability to complete any of her races on Day 2. The team tried very hard to come back from an early retirement in Race 4, only to lose her rudder 10 minutes into Race 5 – effectively ending her championship campaign.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank pro-sail asia for providing little tokens of appreciation / mementos for all participants. Congratulations to all winners, see you next week for the final and most prestigious event of the CSC Sailing Festival – the CSC Commodore’s Cup 2023!
Blessed with a steady NE monsoon wind, this year’s CSC Trimaran Championship got off to a fantastic start. Boasting the largest fleet yet, the 2023 edition of this event sees a total of 17 boats participating, of which 10 are in the Open Division and 7 are Weta one-design dinghies. The near-perfect conditions prompted the race committee to send sailors on multiple upwind / downwind legs, testing sailors on their tactics and technical abilities.
The Weta one-design class was first introduced to this event last year. It was an opportunity for newer sailors to build their confidence in racing the Wetas, with simple courses to Changi Buoy in a series of 4 races to decide the top 3 performers. 2022 champion Cluster scored an early victory in Race 1 to commence his title defence on a positive note. It was however short-lived as skipper James McMullen had to unfortunately retire for Races 3 & 4, effectively ending his challenge for this edition. The fight for podium position was intense, a 3-way battle amongst top contenders, Kermit, Gogga and Delta Flyer. Eventually the green boat (Kermit) skippered by Adam Dean prevailed, securing bullets in Races 2 and 4 to complete the series of 4 with 7 points. Clive van Onselen’s Gogga was a distant 2nd, finishing 1st in Race 3 gave him the edge he needed, ending the series just 1 point ahead of Sergio’s Delta Flyer in 3rd.
In the Trimaran Open Division, 3 races were completed successfully, not without incidents. Newcomers Sirius Swift had their kite in the water briefly in Race 1, but the crew made a swift attempt at recovery to continue racing seriously. Miss Visayan encountered failure of their mainsail clew, resulting in a retirement from Race 2 and a disappointing end to their day 1 campaign. She is however currently being repaired, and shall most likely be ready to resume racing on day 2. At the top of the fleet, Dinghao and Phoenix share the same points to lead going into the final day of racing. Dinghao commands a slight advantage, having scored 2 bullets compared to Phoenix’s three 2nd place finishes. Just 1 point away in 3rd, Kaze waits eagerly for an opportunity to overtake and claim top spot.
3 more races and all to play for – we hear winds are picking up for Day 2, good luck and safe sailing everyone!
Having struggled with inconsistent winds and plenty of rain over the past 1.5 months, it goes without saying that the conditions that developed on 18 February was near perfect for the 6th East Johor Straits Race. Clear skies paired with 8-14 knots of north-easterly breeze was enjoyed throughout the 36nM passage, resulting in a fabulous day of sailing for the participating yachts.
Despite the champagne sailing conditions, the race was not completely smooth sailing for one of the boats. We hear Silhouette broke her tack line for their asymmetrical spinnaker not once… not twice… but 3 times! Despite the obvious technical issues, she still managed a decent performance, finishing the course in an impressive 5hr 13 min 4 sec. It was however not a sufficient lead over her close rival Waka Tere in the IRC Class, slipping to 2nd place after corrected time. In the absence 2022 defending champion, Minx,Waka Tere reclaimed the top spot and IRC challenge trophy for the 6th edition. Kurt & Gill have seemingly organized an effective formula – a close relationship with the SMU Sailing Alumni allowing for the introduction of new crew on their team, many of whom are graduates / current students. The programme has proven to be a successful one – students get keelboat sailing exposure/experience while Waka Tere gets the crew she needs. It is also very rewarding to know that a number of her crew do apply formally to become CSC Members. One of their first-time crew (Wonn Kye) boasts numerous accolades in the ILCA class, and is also the Club’s newest youth member!
In the Keelboat PY Class, Southern Light, Brio and Sequin made it a 3-way contest. The Moody 376 pulled away early in the race – and stayed on top for the rest of course! She completes the passage in 6hr 12mins, a fantastic time made easier with the prevailing wind conditions. 25 minutes later, Michael’s Brio crossed the finishing line – an impressive effort from the little sonar. Skippers from both boats thought that the other had won on corrected time, but of course, only one of them was right. When the numbers were crunched, Southern Light emerged victorious, enjoying a comfortable 15 minute lead over Brio after handicap correction. Despite a costly strategic error at frontier buoy, Bravo Zulu to Sequin for completing the passage in 7hrs 57mins. Thank you for enduring the long race and not giving up!
The Multihull and Beach Catamaran Class were represented by 2 boats and 1 boat respectively. This event was traditionally available for the Keelboats and Multihulls only, due to the potentially long duration spent on water and risk of night sailing. However, the club introduced the beach catamaran class for the 2023 edition, open to skippers who wish to challenge their sailing skills and physical endurance. Doug Fimmell and Uli Braun on Madfish II stepped up to challenge themselves as the first beach catamaran participants in the east johor straits race – and boy did they set a high bar for future beach cat sailors! Madfish II completed the course in a blazing 3hr 35mins. The viper F16 lapped up the winds and thoroughly enjoyed the long reaching legs. In the Multihull class, a costly mistake of passing Perimbi on the wrong side when returning from Lavis meant that Miss Visayan‘s line honours was unfortunately rendered invalid, scoring a DNF for the race. By default, Jaza Too claims the 2023 Challenge Trophy for the Multihull class, making it a hat-trick of EJSR victories from 2021-2023! Great to see Skippers from both boats back on shore and sharing a good laugh (Jaza Too also sailed the wrong course in the Round Tekong Race).
Thank you all for joining us over the weekend – we hope you enjoyed the sailing and good camaraderie. See you all next week for the Trimaran Championship and on 4-5 March for the Commodore’s Cup + Sailing Festival closing ceremony.
https://www.csc.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IMG_6542-scaled.jpg8001200CSChttps://www.csc.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/changi_sailing_club_logo_round.pngCSC2023-02-19 12:31:092023-02-19 12:41:036th East Johor Straits Race
After a 2 weeks break, sailors came back to racing today for CSC ILCA MONSOON REGATTA 2023.
Day 1 of the regatta, at exactly 1200hrs the first warning signal was heard at the race course area between Pulau Tekong and Chek Jawa signaling the sailors that race is starting soon! Perfect weather condition, sun is up and the wind is constantly blowing from solid NorthEasterly direction. In the ILCA 4 Race 1, Kiera Marie Carlyle took the first bullet for the day, not far away from great contenders Kenan Tan and Jarrod Toh both battling for the 1st & 2nd place respectively. The gushing outgoing tide has made the sailors to stay sailing on the left hand side of the course and aiming for the port lay line approaching the top mark. An easy sail probably for them, obvious strategical call specially for experienced racers. In the ILCA 6, Race 1 & 2 sailor Felix Koo Yi Xiong showed great performance with 2 bullets in the list.
Race 2, the wind picked up so as the current, again..left hand side course. In this race, Kenan Tan was leading the pack not until on the last downwind leg, Jarrod Toh overtook him, gybing ahead the port mark and won Race 2 by an inch. It was a close fight! As the wind picked up, sailors were starting to show exhaustion, seemed overwhelmed by a strong wind condition. Race must go on!
Race 3, the wind became stronger and more waves and still gushing outgoing tide which makes the situation more challenging specially for small size racer. They were already tired and starting to slow down their performances. It became a tougher race when the Race Officer decided to extend the top mark! The upwind leg is longer! A true test of a good hiking techniques and stamina! More sailors were starting to capsize even before the race starts and during the downwind leg as sailing in this point requires more boat balance and agility to make a quick movements to handle the boat. Coaches and safety boats were deployed to rescue sailors and gave them some time to recover before Race 4 started.
The last race of the day, finally! Sailors continued to race in the same wind condition, a little stronger from the previous races. However, the sailors has managed to handle the boat better and sailed conservatively this time. An exhausting 4 races in a day! A good job to all the sailors for finishing all the races today and hope they will have a good recovery for another day of racing tomorrow! After 4 races, the top 3 in ILCA4 are Jarrod Toh – 1st place, Kenan Tan -2nd place & Joshua Cheong – 3rd place. In ILCA 6, Felix Koo in 1st, Ian Chow Yi Jun- 2nd & Abigail Koh in 3rd. Meanwhile, kuddos to our CSC top sailors Caio Sullivan – 9th , Lukas Kiesselbach – 11th , Ikuto Mori – 13th in the overall results. We hope to see see better results for the rest of the team tomorrow. Will the top sailors maintain their lead?
The NorthEasterly wind has tested both sailors and their equipment today, as many boats faced the effect of true NE monsoon, lost the rudder, extension tiller, snapped pulley and exhaustion from capsizing. Overall, all sailors were accounted for and no serious injury was recorded. Have a well deserved rest sailors, see you on water tomorrow!
It seems Day 1 resulted in more casualties than expected, as we received news on Sunday morning that skipper Damien from Kaze Cat had to pull out due to a swollen eye from an accident on Saturday. The good news is that Twisted Creature managed to secure a stand-in crew, as the ex prince of darkness (Uli) joined forces with Matt to compete on the Viper F16 for Day 2. The weather however, proved challenging, with light winds at the beginning and a sudden squall at the end to sum up an exciting afternoon for the championships.
In the Open Category, Blue Bomb excelled in the light air, securing a bullet in Race 4 to keep the key contenders on their toes! With the race shortened at CAAS 2 due to the insufficient breeze for the fleet to meet the time limit, race officials stationed with the S Flag had a rare opportunity to witness 2 Viper F16s finishing in close proximity just 10 seconds apart. Addiction and Madfish II placed 2nd and 3rd respectively. Addiction then resumed to her winning ways in Races 5 and 6, securing 2 victories to complete the Series with 5 points and be crowned overall Open Champion for the 2023 CSC Catamaran Championships. Jeremy and Daniel also claim the F16 One-Design trophy, taking over from Madfish II as the latest title-holder.
Blue Bomb sailed superbly, with bragging rights of having both the oldest and youngest sailors onboard her boat, AND being the only boat in the fleet to have snatched a victory from Addiction. For her efforts, the Nacra 5.0 scored a well deserved 2nd overall on the Open Category. Sailing solo and handling the myriad of conditions across the weekend with ease is a reminder to all of us that Doug Fimmell is a great sailor! Congratulations to Madfish II for scoring 16 points to place 3rd in the Open Category and 2nd in the F16 One-Design.
Back on shore, we are pleased to witness the camaraderie amongst the active catamaran sailors, quietly hopeful to see further growth and participation from the largest multihull fleet in Singapore. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Pro Sails Asia for presenting memento mugs for the participants to remember the weekend by.
Thank you all for another wonderful sailing weekend, we look forward to next week’s East Johor Straits Race and ILCA Monsoon Regatta.
After an exciting circumnavigation of Pulau Tekong last Sunday, sailors proceeded to conquer both Tekong and Ubin in the Two-Island Race, taking participants on a 29 nautical mile journey around the iconic islands of north-eastern singapore. The weather was a huge blessing, with north-north easterly breeze scattered across the course throughout the day, carrying sailors easily from start to finish.
In the IRC Class, we warmly welcome visitors Firstlight, a Beneteau First 50 skippered by Simon Piff. Despite being the boat with the strongest handicap, Firstlight struggled to stretch her lead on the fleet. She finished 5th, but earned consolation in the fact that her team scored a comfortable line honours for the passage! Up on the podium, we witnessed an incredible performance from Adona, fresh from her victory at the Signature Sunday Series. The J29 bounces back from her 2nd place finish in the Round Tekong Race to claim a clinical win in this race, de-throning defending champion Waka Tere. The Nelson 10 relinquished her top spot and settled for first runner-up. Minx completed the podium in 3rd.
Leading the Keelboat PY Fleet was an unassuming Dufour 34. Shardana‘s 4-man team performed well to maintain an insurmountable lead over Brio, Southern Light, Windflirt and Marut, earning her a well-deserved victory both across the line and on handicap. Brio‘s patchwork crew sailed proficiently despite it being their first time working together, clinching 2nd place just 3 minutes ahead of Southern Light on corrected time. It was somewhat a family affair on Southern Light, as the Moody 376 sported 3 generations of Sharpes onboard, steering the family vessel to a podium finish in 3rd.
Despite having 2 newbies (arguably) onboard, Dinghao scored a resounding victory in the multihull class! The Corsair Dash 750 earned line honours and placed 5 minutes ahead of the next corsair, big sister Miss Visayan. When the numbers were crunched, Miss Visayan slipped to 3rd, leaving a gap for the light and zippy Phoenix to fly in and claim 2nd position just 12 seconds ahead on handicap.
Congratulations to all for successfully completing the circumnavigation of these 2 iconic singapore islands! We look forward to 1 more weekend of passage racing unique to changi sailing club, before we take on the CSC Trimaran Championships and CSC Commodore’s Cup on 4-5 March 2023. Looking forward to seeing everyone back at the club next week!
In the lead up to the 23rd CSC Catamaran Championships, beachcat sailors had given feedback about the initial dates of the event, sharing that the dates were too late in february to experience / enjoy the north-east monsoon breeze. Acceding to their request, race organizers rescheduled the championships to 11-12 February, hoping for better winds.
Thankfully, the breeze arrived right on time, building up to a beautiful 8-12 knots, allowing for some exciting racing amongst the modest fleet of 7. Defending Champions Kaze Cat and Madfish II return to defend their titles in the Open and One-Design Categories respectively, pitting their skills against an eclectic and enthusiastic group of Nacra and Viper F16 sailors. The hot favourite for this year’s addiction would be Addiction, skippered by french sailor, Jeremy Perrier. The Viper F16 skipper had recently won both the Round Ubin and Round Tekong Challenge, together with a stellar performance in last year’s Club Racing Series. Addiction did not disappoint, scoring 3 bullets from 3 races, nearly effortless and complete with a hat-trick of line honours. He leads the fleet going into day two, as the challengers shared the spoils.
Amongst the challengers, Scott McCook on Blue Bomb showed us his depth of experience, paired with a dash of youth! A special crew support in the form of ILCA sailor Samuel Hardy may have given Scott the energetic edge required to emerge on top of the chasing fleet, scoring 2 second place finishes and a fourth in race 1 to complete day 1 with 8 points. Kaze Cat and Madfish II struggled with the lack of training and currently share 3rd place with 10 points a piece.
On a separate note, we are relieved that super crew Kellie Twigge is in stable condition. The Twisted Creature sailor unfortunately landed awkwardly during a capsize and sustained physical injuries. While she definitely will not be continuing racing tomorrow, we are glad that she is safe and recuperating well. Get well soon Kellie!
Good luck to all participants and have a safe yet exciting final day of racing.
Pulau Tekong, also known colloquially as Tekong or Tekong Island, is the second-largest of Singapore’s outlying islands after Jurong Island. Tekong is located off Singapore’s northeastern coast, east of Pulau Ubin. Since the 1990s, the island has been used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and is generally restricted from public access.
The original 25 km2 (6,178-acre) island has undergone extensive land reclamation works for military use on its southern and northwestern coasts subsuming many of its surrounding small islets, including the former 89-hectare (220-acre) Pulau Tekong Kechil (Small Tekong Island). Today the island is estimated to have grown 3 times its original size – reaching an area of about 75 km2 (18,530 acres).
Did you know? “Tekong” also means skipper or captain of a small boat.
How fitting, as 19 skippers attempted to circumnavigate the island as part of the CSC Signature Sunday Series and overall NE Monsoon Sailing Festival. The wind arrived early from a northerly direction, that together with a slow rising tide in the morning meant that the fleet made good progress in the first leg towards the northeastern corner of Pulau Tekong. Despite the fluctuating conditions across the course, most of the fleet managed to successfully circumnavigate the island in under 6 hours!
In fact, the fastest boat completed the route in 3hr 50mins 29secs – well done Addiction! Skipper Jeremy Perrier and crew Daniel looked in high spirits going into next week’s catamaran championships, as they prepare to mount a serious challenge for both the F16 one-design and open titles. The defending CSC Cat Champion Doug Fimmell looked rusty on the course, sailing Madfish II to a distant 2nd around the island, just seconds away from Twisted Creature in 3rd, collecting the 3 participating boats in the beach catamaran class. The CSC Signature Sunday Series Challenge Plate for Beach Catamarans was undoubtedly awarded to Addiction, with the fastest times around both islands. Twisted Creature comes in a close 2nd by default, as the remaining 2 boats missed out on 1 passage each. Madfish II emerged slightly ahead of the Nacra 15, claiming 3rd overall with his performance around Tekong.
The bigger multihulls boasts the biggest fleet this weekend, with 4 Corsairs, 1 M23, 1 Firefly and 1 Weta coming together to compete for line honours! A costly blunder of not sailing south of the south cardinal mark (KEES) meant that both Jaza Too and AbracaDeborah score a DNF for this race despite crossing the finish line 2nd and 4th respectively. Meanwhile, huge congratulations to Skipper Freddy and his team on Phoenix! The M23 sailed well to surged across the finish line 1 second ahead of Jaza Too, claiming line honours and placing 2nd on corrected time. A big effort from arguably the most knowledgeable multihull sailor on the smallest boat (Weta) rewarded Scott McCook with a respectable 4hr 40min 2 sec passage timing and victory on handicap correction. After a long break, Damien Geoffray returns to sail with Xavier Glenard on Kaze. With their combined experience, the corsair carved out a good result, completing the podium in 3rd. In the overall results, consistency and attendance is key – Phoenix‘s 6th place finish during the Round Ubin Challenge and 2nd place finish in the Round Tekong Race was strong enough to earn her name on the Multihull Challenge Plate as 2023’s winner. She won the tie breaker with Miss Visayan, whose consistent performance (4th in both races) resulted in a desrving 2nd place. Missing KEES punished favourites Jaza Too, as she settles for 3rd overall just 1 point adrift.
Apart from a shock grounding by Brio (thankfully everyone safe and boat can be repaired), it was mostly smooth sailing from the Keelboat PY fleet. It was also exciting to see the tussle between Olmeto and Southern Light throughout the course, as both boats took turns to lead each other. While the former eventually finished nearly 20 minutes behind, she had done enough to score victory on corrected time, winning the Round Tekong Race in her class. Despite being the fastest PY boat on the course, Shardana did not have a sufficient lead over Olmeto and Southern Light, resulting in a 3rd place finish on handicap. In the overall standings, a 2nd place finish in the Round Ubin Challenge and a win yesterday awarded Olmeto with the 2023 PY Challenge Plate. Southern Light was a close 2nd and Brio earns a 3rd overall with a total of 6 points despite retiring in the Round Tekong Race.
In the Keelboat IRC Class, 5 boats vied for the top spot, with Silhouette leading the charge. The Beneteau First 40.7 while comfortably placing first across the line, struggled to extend her lead on the fleet. Skipper Yimin had to settle for 4th place, behind Jellico, Adona and Waka Tere. Of the 3, Waka Tere emerged victorious by a slim 40 second margin over fierce rivals, Adona. Having won the Round Ubin Challenge back in January, the J29 skippered by Ad Smit had done enough to secure the Challenge Plate in the IRC Class. As the only 2 other boats which have sailed in both races, Waka Tere and Silhouette complete the series in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Thank you all for participating in the 2023 CSC Signature Sunday Series! We look forward to more winds and exciting sailing next week:
