Royal Langkawi International Regatta 2009 – Day 1

The first day of racing took place in Bass Harbour with good winds from the northeast giving the Racing Class a close start. Zuhrah, the Malaysian Farr 52 boat skippered by Mohd Razali bin Mansor closely followed Hi Fi (Neil Pryde) and Yo!2 (Peter Ahern) tacked clear early on. The rest of that fleet headed on in towards land before coming over.

Starts for the Premier Cruising Class and the IRC boats went off without a hitch. The Sportboats all reached the start line at about the same time in a picturesque formation of speed and spray!

Meanwhile, the Committee Boat was dragging anchor, forcing an AP for the Club Cruising start while the Race Committee reset the line.

Jelik (Frank Pong) took line honours on a moving line (the Navy had dragged again), with the rest of the fleet finishing on a transit. Times for the IRC Class were recorded at Mark 2 as they weren’t going to make the full course.

With the Racing Class already out in the field for the second time around, it was time to begin the starting sequences for the remaining classes for their second race. The Premier Cruising Class all approached the line in a complex gaggle of togetherness that produced quite a lot of shouting as well as a few unfurled protest flags.

Not to be outdone, the Sportsboats came up for their second start equally bunched, and with rising levels of yelling, but there were no protests and they crossed the line ‘all clear’. Jelik took line honours again, with nobody even close.