Singapore Regatta 2025 – Day 2

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Lee Yimin’s Jolt captures Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Trophy

The second and final day of the Singapore Regatta was made of a series of windward-leeward races overseen by Changi Activities Manager Leahnnie “Jhing” Tayong. As Adona’s crewmate Claire Canning said, “Today’s biggest challenge was choosing a side. The current was a big deal as rounding the leeward mark was a serious challenge – the Tekong Tango never fails to deliver.”

The J24s and Platu 25s were the first boats Jhing sent off the line with four boats racing in each One Design Class. The J24s saw Lisette Sens’ team from the Republic of Singapore Yacht Club on Dua win every race in their class, even the race they dropped, to finish with three points overall. Three points back in second overall sat Jun Zhang’s Chinese crew from the Jiangsu Tianyi High School. Then another three points behind them sat Norman Yip’s fellow Republic of Singapore Yacht Club team on Tiga.

Similarly, Ivan Boudioukine’s SMUve took top spot in the Platu Class – winning every race in their class, even the race they dropped, to finish with three points overall. A Thai team headed by former Olympian Worrasard Saardiem and Thai National Jury member Pokpong Pattaweekongka on Notus and Luc Yee’s SMUMad finished tied with seven points overall, but Notus took second spot having finished higher in the final race.

Simon Piff’s Firstlight won the 11-boat Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) class as they also won every race in their class, even the race they dropped, to finish with three points overall. The race between second- and third-place was much tighter as Colin Clark’s Bound to Please by scoring eight points with their drop edged out Jasper Simon Knoben’s Forever Young, who left their radio on all day, by one point.

Funny enough, the first race of the day was delayed not due to lack of wind, but because Michael Chung’s Brio, who finished fifth in the PY class, couldn’t get to the starting gate on time. And James Sharpe’s Southern Light, also in the class, kissed the committee boat just before crossing the finish line in race two just to keep things interesting.

The second start of the day in the IRC division saw a redo as a couple of the boats in the PY class hadn’t yet finished their second race, thereby not keeping the start clean for the IRC racers. But when all three races were eventually completed Lee Yimin’s Jolt stood atop the podium in this class. Second was defending IRC class champion Adriaan Smit’s Adona, who with seven points edged out Thomas Reckefuss’ Born in Fire, who placed third.

The six-boat multihull class was the closest of them all as Freddy Fam’s Phoenix and Eugene Wong’s Sirius Swift both finished with four points overall, but Phoenix claimed class honours as they won the final race of the day. Gary Curtis’ Miss Visayan was third in the class.

Three beach catamarans took part in the regatta today, having not participated in yesterday’s passage race. Jeremy Perrier, sailing Addiction single-handed, won two of the three races to capture the class with Kelly Twigge’s Twisted Creature finishing second and Zaheera Hashim’s Balqis II coming in third.

When it was all sailed and done, we had a new Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Trophy champion as Lee Yimin’s Singapore-based boat Jolt entered and placed in all four of the regattas constituting the series (the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, the Royal Langkawi International Regatta and the Singapore Regatta) to take home the 102-year-old trophy.

The guest of honour at the awards ceremony was Mr. Vince Tan, Director of Ops Transformation & Planning of the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore. He handed our prizes to the fastest boats across the line in each class.

Thanks must go to club cameraman Kit and videographer Lukman for capturing the finest moments of the regatta and to Mohd Dali bin Hamid for being such a terrific photography boat driver.

This amazing weekend would not be possible without the support from Tiger Beer and Simply Scuba – whose support through in-kind and cash sponsorship helped defray the high costs that come with running this signature event.

And last but not least, none of this could have happened without the hard work CSC General Manager Choy Yi Hong who put in so much time and effort to ensure the regatta was a success.

Through this regatta, the Changi Sailing Club solidified its reputation as the most competitive adult sailing club in the region. As discussed previously there is no end to the large moveable objects in the East Johor Straits that will test any sailor’s seamanship skills. But it’s not just that, the club is devoted to promoting sailing – that is its main purpose. Many of the club’s members – both expats and Singaporeans alike – are noted professionals (doctors, lawyers, accountants, scientists and businessmen among them) who all love sailing and cherish their weekend time on the water. They don’t come here to have high tea, they come to sail and they do that very well. The bond of camaraderie between the fellow sailors is exceptional as they lean on each other for support and guidance while encouraging those new to the sport.

Kudos Changi.

Day 2 Report written by Scott Murray, SEA Yachting Magazine

Day 2 Photos by Kit

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