Round Tekong Race 18 January 2026

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It was always going to be difficult to top the experience from last weekend’s LHK Round Ubin Challenge — but wow, did the Round Tekong Race deliver. The 2026 edition of the circumnavigation of “Obstacle Island” drew a strong fleet of 26 boats, and the NE Monsoon once again exceeded expectations. Taking the tide into account, organisers sent the fleet clockwise around Tekong, allowing sailors to ride a brisk outgoing stream from the island’s northernmost point all the way down to Kees.

In the Beach Catamaran Class, Twisted Creature successfully defended her 2025 title, posting a significantly faster winning time of 2hrs 27mins 01sec. She was joined by two new entrants — R U Done Yet and Chop-Chop — a welcome boost for the fleet. Eric Herman’s Nacra 500 Sport eventually got the better of Chop-Chop, the Taipan 4.9 recently acquired by new member Jesse Treharne. Both teams looked to have thoroughly enjoyed their Tekong adventure, and we look forward to seeing them at the Catamaran Championships on 31 Jan–1 Feb.

DingHao made it two wins from two with a commanding performance in the Multihull Class, leading the seven-boat fleet superbly around the island. Campbell, Jono and Farid were all smiles throughout, clearly relishing the monsoon conditions. An early start incident left Miss Visayan disadvantaged on the opening leg after taking a penalty turn to exonerate herself. The Corsair F28 fought back impressively to finish third behind Firefly. Stefan Vidan and crew, the other party in the start incident, held their composure and maintained excellent boat speed across the course, looking especially strong on select angles. Their efforts earned a well-deserved second, splitting the Corsair pair.

Once again the largest fleet, the PY Keelboat Class saw nine boats on the line, with seven returning from last week’s Round Ubin Challenge. Fresh from that victory, Southern Light continued her strong monsoon form to also make it two from two, winning comfortably by two minutes on corrected time. RSYC’s Satu, skippered by Bryan Ho, delivered a standout performance — no easy feat for a J24 more accustomed to lighter breeze — to take second, five minutes ahead of Skybird on handicap. The Dehler 34 battled steering issues, cautious spinnaker handling and blustery conditions to snatch third place just two seconds ahead of Sapphire Star. Talk about tight racing.

The IRC Division featured a high-quality fleet of seven proven campaigners from across Singapore and the region. Born in Fire led from start to finish, determined to avenge last week’s four-second loss at Round Ubin. Mission accomplished — she claimed victory by a relaxed five minutes over Adona. The J29 again struggled at the start, leaving crew to wonder what might have been. Completing the podium was another J24, Jellico. The Commodores’ Cup champion looked occasionally overwhelmed in the raw, unfiltered conditions north of Tekong, but still held on to finish strongly.

We’d also like to warmly welcome back IMP (PY) and Shardana (IRC), and extend a big hello to new teams Chop-Chop, R U Done Yet and Notus (Yong Seng and team). We hope to see all of you regularly on the circuit.

Congratulations to all winners, and thank you to everyone who conquered Tekong with us. See you on 24 January for the biggest circumnavigation of them all — the Two-Island Race.

Results

SignatureSun_RoundTekong_Results_2026

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