Twilight Series III – Race 2: A Classic Changi Drifter! ⛵
Race 2 of Twilight Series III was a classic Changi drifter! Becalmed conditions left all 11 boats struggling around a long, short course, but the race was salvaged by an extremely light breeze and a strengthening incoming tide from 5pm. The fleet made its way safely back from Changi Buoy to CSC, with the race shortened to bring everyone home.
Keelboat PY Class
Light-air conditions favoured the lighter boats, with the sub-25-footers thriving in yesterday’s challenging conditions.
Taking the top three spots were Nevis, Jangan Main Main (JMM) and Boreas, in that order.
With skipper-owner Ben Smawfield absent, first mate Justin took the helm of Nevis and delivered an outstanding performance, sailing solo to secure a comfortable victory on corrected time.
The battle for second was a different story! Just 3 seconds separated JMM and Boreas on corrected time, while the two boats were also only metres apart as they crossed the finish line. Congratulations to MJ and Yong Seng, and thank you both for giving us a photo finish to remember!
Keelboat IRC Class
The one and only Minx led the IRC fleet, with a solo effort that proved perfectly suited to the becalmed conditions.
There could have been a few more boats on the starting line, but Jong Dee and Koru sat this one out to focus on maintenance and preparations for next week’s 25th Ambassadors’ Cup. We look forward to seeing them back on the water!
Multihull Class
After trailing at the start, Kaze found her rhythm and began closing the gap on Miss Visayan, setting the stage for a close battle on the return leg from Changi Buoy.
The two multihulls were neck and neck for much of the race, but the 750 eventually established a significant lead over her rival in the final third of the course, helped along by an unfortunate wind hole that slowed Miss Visayan.
A great effort from both crews in testing conditions!
Congratulations to all our winners and well done to everyone who took on the challenge of yesterday’s light airs. Sometimes, getting around the course is a victory in itself!
Next week, we hope for a little more breeze as we welcome 30 embassies and over 40 boats to the 25th Ambassadors’ Cup – our Silver Jubilee Edition!
https://www.csc.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IMG_0362-scaled-e1792917207482.jpg6221200CSChttps://www.csc.org.sg/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/changi_sailing_club_logo_round.pngCSC2026-10-25 16:33:362026-10-26 16:21:41CSC Twilight Series III 2026 – Race 2
When I look around mainland Singapore, I’m often struck by how clean our beaches, roads and parks are. It is rare to come across places where there is so much trash to pick up.
But our Ketam Clean-Up today reminded me of two important things.
1. There is A LOT of trash in our seas.
Pulau Ketam is a mangrove habitat and a natural collection point for trash carried in by the tides. Today, we came across all sorts of household items, including styrofoam boxes, plastic bottles, hangers, rubber soles, helmets and even a handbag!
These items are a sobering reminder of the impact of human activity on our marine environment. Trash discarded into the sea can choke waterways, damage aquatic habitats and threaten the biodiversity that depends on these ecosystems.
Despite the volunteers’ best efforts, our clean-up has made only a small dent in the problem. There are still many areas left to clear, and even if we managed to clean them all, new trash would continue to wash ashore every day.
2. We should never take Singapore’s cleanliness for granted.
Our clean and liveable city did not happen by chance. It is the result of the collective efforts of many people, from the cleaning teams who maintain our public spaces to generations of Singaporeans who have been taught from young not to litter.
We enjoy the benefits of these collective efforts every day. But if we lose that sense of responsibility, we risk slowly turning the clean home we cherish into a dirtier one.
Ketam Clean-Up has never been just about cleaning Pulau Ketam.
The reality is that we may never finish cleaning it. To me, the greater value of this initiative lies in its educational impact — helping us see first-hand the consequences of pollution and the harsh reality faced by our marine ecosystems.
More importantly, it reminds us that there is something we can do. Reducing our reliance on single-use products can help lower demand for their production and disposal, while minimising the amount of waste that ultimately finds its way into our seas.
Every little action counts, and change begins with us.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our volunteers and CSC boat owners for their hard work and commitment to this bi-annual clean-up exercise. A special thank-you to Prime Aquaculture Hatchery for supporting us with the logistics of trash disposal.
We may not be able to clean it all in a day, but we can certainly keep trying.
See you at the next Ketam Clean-Up! 🌊🌱
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The persistent regional haze continues to plague Singapore, with diminished air quality seemingly affecting participation in our Club’s weekly races. Thankfully, all nine teams were greeted by clearer skies and a steady 9–10 knot breeze, making for an enjoyable jaunt to Tekong Buoy and back.
Multihull Class
The Multihull Class delivered one of the closest finishes we’ve witnessed in a while, with Miss Visayan and Bula separated by a mere second! Gary and his team were just that little bit quicker, leaving Mike to rue the extra second — and perhaps that longer bowsprit! The fleet was missing regulars Dot Dot Dot, Oojoo and Kaze, whom we hope to see back on the water for the remaining races of the year.
Keelboat PY Class
Notus, Skybird and Waka Tere represented the Keelboat PY Class. All three boats had featured on the podium last week, but the finishing order was reshuffled this time around.
Twilight Race winners Waka Tere opted not to fly their spinnaker, potentially costing them the top spot. Meanwhile, both Skybird and Notus deployed their kites, but it was Skybird that ultimately emerged victorious, expertly navigating the shifty winds and incoming tide to take the win on corrected time. Notus struggled with her start and spinnaker set-up, leaving her playing catch-up for much of the race and settling for third.
IRC Keelboat Class
The IRC Keelboats made up the largest fleet of the day, with Born in Fire, Bound to Please, Jellico and Taranau battling it out for line honours.
The X99, Born in Fire, established an early lead, while the feisty Corby 29, Bound to Please, steadily closed the gap along the long off-wind leg. Bound to Please eventually crossed the line first, but it was the two smaller boats that stole the show on handicap!
Jellico clinched her first bullet of the series, with Taranau finishing just a minute behind in second. Among the two larger boats, Born in Fire edged out Bound to Please for third place on corrected time by a mere 14 seconds. What an incredibly close contest!
All things considered, it was a fantastic afternoon on the water for everyone. Congratulations to all our winners!
Next Saturday promises to be a busy one, with Twilight Series III, Race 2, the Ketam Clean-Up and Members’ Night all happening on the same day. See you on the water!
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A new racing series, brings new challenge on the water! The race participation was lower than anticipated, likely due to the prevailing haze conditions and the F1 race taking place over the same period. These factors may have affected sailors’ availability to participate. A total of 9 boats (7 Keelboats and 2 Trimarans) took part on a Saturday afternoon Twilight Race Series III (Race 1). The race started with a sudden gust of wind from nowhere sending off the sailors to Changi Beacon along with the current, as they sailed down towards Squance Beacon wind weakened and incoming tide started to kick in which made the race more dramatic and required tremendous amount of patience to complete the loop. Navigating thru the gusty, fluky wind and poor visibility put the sailors into test, a test of perseverance and determination to end the race within the time limit.
After an hour of racing, Waka Tere skippered by Kurt Metzger was in front of the fleet, enjoying her solo cruise with almost 10 minutes ahead, a very well secured 1st place. Following behind her, the power duo of our visiting sailor, Pedro Goncalves and Manav on Notus showed an impressive comeback after a late start, gliding thru the patchy wind and smooth sailing took the 2nd place, what a partnership! In 3rd place, veteran in racing skipper Edwin Low managed to complete the podium with his experienced crew onboard, a good training opportunity in preparation for a much bigger upcoming regatta this year-end. On the Trimaran class, Bula skippered by Michael Flecker finished the race on the top spot, 1st place with an advantage of 5 minutes against seasoned racer, Miss Visayan skippered by Gary Curtis. We are already looking forward to the next race for a much more exciting racing and hoping for more participants.
Despite the lower turnout, sailors had a great time out at sea. The sailors wrapped up Saturday afternoon’s race on a high note, enjoying a relaxing time at the bar and catching up with fellow sailors and friends. It was a great opportunity to unwind, share stories from the race, and strengthen the camaraderie within the sailing community. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for participating in the Twilight Series III (Race 1).
We look forward to seeing even more sailors joining us this Sunday!
Some of our sailors must still be recovering from last week’s phenomenal 90th Anniversary celebrations, as the fleet for the opening race of the Sunday Series III was significantly smaller than usual.
Conditions were typical of the inter-monsoon season, with a fickle southeasterly breeze keeping everyone guessing. The ten-boat fleet took to a conservative Pennant 1 course, with the shifting breeze making for a challenging afternoon on the water.
In the IRC Class, Taranau flexed her freshly issued IRC Certificate, taking on the larger Bound To Please and Shardana. The Platu 25 appeared to have the advantage in the lighter breeze, but, like everyone else, her crew had to work hard to decipher the ever-changing wind patterns. Taranau eventually claimed a closely fought victory over Bound To Please, who put in an impressive performance to secure line honours and finish just seconds behind on corrected time.
Shardana also made a welcome return to the fleet after resolving several steering and engine issues. While she did not make the podium, the crew were simply delighted to have their boat back in proper sailing form and the earlier woes behind them.
The PY Class saw five familiar teams battling for the podium: Waka Tere, Skybird, Sirocco, Jock and Summer Breeze. Of the five, the little J24 Jock emerged triumphant, thriving in the light air and successfully keeping pace with her larger rivals.
Hot on her heels was Skybird, who nailed the start and sailed a close race with Waka Tere throughout all three loops of the course. Completing the podium in third was Sirocco! The Oceanis 34 cruiser is looking better with every race, showing tremendous improvement over the past few weekends. Kudos to Luke and crew!
A special mention goes to the two shorthanded teams just outside the podium, Summer Breeze and Waka Tere. Summer Breeze took on the entire course solo and looked remarkably comfortable with the Pennant 1 routine. Waka Tere’s two-person crew powered her to line honours, but their impressive effort was not quite enough to escape the handicap correction.
It was also a two-boat affair in the Multihull Class, with Kaze and Miss Visayan crossing amas on the course. Following an exciting port-starboard incident at the start, the smaller of the two multihulls quickly established the lead and held it from start to finish to secure top spot in the class.
Congratulations to all our winners and to everyone who came out to race! We’ll see you next week for Race 1 of the Twilight Series III.
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Changi Sailing Club celebrated an incredible milestone as more than 200 members and guests came together to commemorate 90 years of the Club’s existence.
The day went smoothly despite a packed itinerary. In the morning, Adona, En Dian, Oojoo, Sirocco and Skybird hosted beneficiaries from the Good News Family Service Centre for an experiential Joy Sail. The initiative is part of the Club’s ongoing Community Outreach Programme, and we were pleased to be joined by Members of Parliament Valerie Lee and Sharael Taha.
Vice Commodore Justin Lean hosted both MPs during the morning programme, accompanying them through the itinerary and presenting each with a small token of appreciation on behalf of the Club. As Changi Sailing Club falls within Valerie’s constituency, it was particularly fitting to have her visit and lend her support to the initiative, while Sharael’s presence further reflected the Club’s continued engagement with the wider Pasir Ris–Changi community.
A highlight of the day was the inaugural Celebratory SailPast. More than 40 boats, fully decked out in colourful decorations, lined up to salute Commodore Deborah Barker, who was stationed at the Crow’s Nest to inspect the parade. In the Commodore’s own words, “this is the first SailPast I have been a part of in over 40 years of being a member of the Club.”
The afternoon quickly transitioned into racing for all classes, providing an excellent dress rehearsal for the upcoming Ambassadors’ Cup. The Keelboats, Multihulls and Beach Cats were sent on a Pennant 4 course, while the dinghies took part in the shorter Pennant 1 course. This worked well for all involved, giving the predominantly youth dinghy fleet sufficient time to return to shore for the afternoon’s other activities.
Sailors and guests could take part in a heritage walk led by youth sailor Mikail Shahrom, explore the games and activity booths at Changi Hall, and enjoy entertaining magic shows, with lucky draw announcements peppered throughout the afternoon.
Close Racing on the Water
The dinghies provided plenty of excitement at the finish line, with the fleet finishing in quick succession. In the Optimist Class, Sumi, Afiyah and Neel had everyone on the edge of their seats with a split-second finish between the three sailors. Neel eventually edged out Sumi and Afiyah by the narrowest of margins to claim third place, with Chloe taking first and Elouan second.
In the ILCA 6 Class, Misa claimed the top spot, with Jaydn finishing second.
The ILCA 4 Class had the largest dinghy representation, with seven boats on the start line. Reyes, Amandine and Morris took first, second and third respectively. Reyes also secured third place in the Open Division after corrected time, finishing behind the two ILCA 6 sailors, Misa and Jaydn, who took first and second respectively to complete a double for the 90th Anniversary Race.
The “big boys and girls” heading out to Tekong Buoy and back also delivered large fleets and exciting sailing. An impressive 26 boats comprising 4 IRC, 15 PY, 6 Multihulls and 1 Beach Cat took part. We were blessed with a consistent breeze throughout the afternoon, allowing the fleet to complete a longer course.
In the IRC Class, the only boat to fly a spinnaker throughout the course earned a comfortable victory, with Born in Fire slipping into the top spot. The battle between Simba, Bound to Please and Koru saw the two smaller boats deny the Dehler 39 a place on the podium, with Bound to Please taking second and Koru third.
The largest fleet on the water also saw extremely close racing, with only seconds separating first to fourth after handicap correction. SMU Sailing Club’s Notus made her presence felt (quite literally) before the start, making contact with CSC 1. Thankfully, it was only a scuff, and the team promptly followed up with a penalty turn.
Notus bounced back to sail an excellent race, keeping the larger boats at bay to take victory. She was one of only two boats to fly the spinnaker, and it proved to be an excellent decision. Notus finished just 50 seconds ahead of Southern Light, with both boats putting in performances worthy of the podium. Completing the top three was the ever-charismatic Skybird. The Dehler 34 had to play catch-up after a premature start, but successfully clawed her way back through the fleet to finish third, just 12 seconds ahead of Wild Thing.
Wrapping up the results, Kaze put on a confident display of sailing, securing an early lead and holding it throughout to take first place among the six Multihulls. She was followed closely by Bula and Miss Visayan, both familiar rivals in the Club Series.
A Night of Celebration
Back on shore, the Anniversary Dinner was graced by our Guest of Honour, Minister Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for National Development and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. She also heads the Pasir Ris–Punggol Group Representation Constituency, and her presence was an important show of support for Changi Sailing Club and the wider sailing community.
We were also honoured to welcome Commander of the Police Coast Guard SAC Ang Eng Seng, Mr Dean Tan, Deputy Chief of SportSG, Mr Leslie Tan, CEO of Singapore Sailing, Mr Anthony Lim, former Commodore of Changi Sailing Club, as well as representatives from our various stakeholders and several other notable figures from the sailing and sporting community.
Following an uplifting speech by Minister Indranee and a heartfelt address by Commodore Deborah, the evening continued in a celebratory mood with the unveiling of our 90th Anniversary Commemorative Video and Cake Cutting Ceremony.
Prize Giving for the afternoon’s races followed shortly after, before members and guests settled in for an evening of live music and celebrations.
Here’s to the Next 90 Years!
A huge thank you to all our members, guests and friends of Changi Sailing Club for joining us to celebrate this momentous occasion.
Our heartfelt appreciation also goes to all CSC staff, volunteers and Committee members for their hard work and dedication in delivering an unforgettable celebration.
From our founding in 1936 to this milestone 90 years later, Changi Sailing Club has continued to bring people together through sailing, friendship, sport and community.
