RLIR 2014 Is Set For The Return Of Title Defenders

The organisers of the annual Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR) are pleased to announce that as of November 2013, there are more than 30 yachts registered for the 12th Edition of RLIR 2014. The 2014 RLIR, which will take place around the islands of Langkawi, Malaysia is scheduled from 13th to 18th January 2014. The annual event has been attracting sailors from all over the world, categorized into 11 classes.

Teams that have confirmed their entry are SY Jelik from Hong Kong, skippered by Frank Pong. Frank Pong was the Asian Yachting Circuit’s Skipper of the year 2013. Other notable entries are SY Foxy Lady IV from Singapore, SY Fortissimo X from Japan, SY Phoenix from Denmark, SY Andaman Cabriolet Nina from Thailand and SY Smystery from Great Britain. Malaysian sailing teams that have confirmed their participation are Malaysian Armed Forces’ SY Utarid and SY Uranus, together with SY Matahari, SY Eveline and SY Chantique.

The RLIR 2014 is looking forward to the return of its title defenders, namely Peter Ahern with his new yacht, SY Oi!, who was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy at the inaugural regatta in 2003. Peter defended his title in both 2004 and 2005. After a gap of 2 years, the RLIR Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy winner of 2006 to 2011, Ray Roberts, made his entry into the racing scene in 2013 with the China Coast Regatta earlier this year. Another potential entry for RLIR 2014 is 2013 Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy, Neil Pryde with his Team HIFI. With the return of the 3 title defenders, the racing class is all set for the “Clash of Titans”.

“With Langkawi having wonderful wind conditions in January, I am pleased and happy to see many entries for the RLIR 2014 and we hope to keep this regatta an exciting challenge, while still maintaining our hospitality to all participants” quoted Tunku Soraya Dakhlah, the Organising Chairperson of RLIR 2014.

Teams participating in the event will be competing for the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy – for Racing Class yachts, the Commodore’s Challenge Cup – for participants of club-registered cruisers, the LADA-IRC Challenge Trophy – for participants of the IRC 1 Class, the Langkawi Sports Trophy – for participants in the Sports Boat Class, and the Malaysian Multihull Challenge Cup – for participants under the Multihull category.

The “Tunku Abdullah Sportsmanship Award“, will be presented to the best team, both on water and land, in memory of the late Founding Chairman and the first Commodore of the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club (RLYC), Almarhum Tunku Tan Sri Abdullah Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

The Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR) 2014, is organised by the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club (RLYC) and sanctioned by the ISAF and Malaysian Yachting Association (MYA) and supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Malaysia. The RLIR is part of the Asian Yachting Circuit.

The partners and sponsors that have confirmed their participation for RLIR 2014 are Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Tourism Malaysia, Langkawi Development Authority, BMW Group Malaysia, Guinness Anchor Berhad and Kedah State. The RLIR 2014’s Official Media Partners are SEA Yachting, SAIL-WORLD.com, YACHT Style, HOMME, IMAGE asia and Spectrum OUTDOOR.