Closing Press Release-RLIR 2014

The 2014 RLIR ends as the best regatta ever with a week of great wind and challenging race courses.

The 12th Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR) started the Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY) campaign with a bang and scenic courses in strong winds conditions for the sailors participated in RLIR 2014. Marked as the curtain raiser for VMY, RLIR put 350 sailors from 16 countries to the test through a week of challenging courses.

This year’s RLIR also saw the triumphant return of skipper Peter Ahern, of Australia, to the sailing regatta after an eight-year hiatus. The three-time Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy winner led his team to another victory to win the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy this year, after scoring the first place in Racing Class in his yacht Oi!.

Bill Bremner’s Foxy Lady VI of Singapore won the LADA-IRC Challenge Trophy in the IRC Class. The team scored seven straight wins in the first four days of the regatta, which helped them secure the top spot in the score table. The Langkawi Sports Trophy was won by Malaysia’s Team MYA/UiTM, skippered by Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy. The Malaysian Multihull Challenge Cup for the Multihull Class was won by Asia Catamaran After Burner, skippered by Daniel Renno. Elena, skippered by Vaycheslav Somov, in Club Class won the RLYC Commodore’s Challenge Cup.

Organised by the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club (RLYC), the annual sailing event saw five days of racing for 44 yachts competing in eight classes around the islands of Langkawi. Sanctioned by the Malaysian Yachting Association (MYA) and ISAF, RLIR took place at Langkawi from January 13 to 18, 2014.

This is also the first time that the annual sailing event had the presence and support of two federal cabinet ministers. They are the Tourism and Culture Minister, Dato’ Sri Mohamed Nazri bin Tan Sri Abdul Aziz and Youth & Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who officiated the opening of the regatta and presented the prizes for Day One respectively.

Kedah Menteri Besar, Dato’ Paduka Mukhriz Mahathir also came to show his support for RLIR on Race Day Four.

Former Prime Minister of Malaysia and Patron of the Royal Langkawi International Regatta, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad graced the Overall Prize Presentation Ceremony and presented the Overall Trophies to winners of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Trophy, Langkawi Sports Boat Trophy, Malaysian Multihull Challenge Trophy and RLYC Commodore’s Challenge Cup. Earlier that evening, the Director-General of Tourism Malaysia, Datuk Mirza Taiyab presented the prizes for Day 5 Race, which was hosted by Tourism Malaysia.

The partners and sponsors of the RLIR 2014 are Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Tourism Malaysia, Ministry of Youth and Sports, BMW Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Langkawi Development Authority, Guinness Anchor Berhad. It was also supported by Permanis Sandilands Berhad and Neil Pryde. The Media Partners were SEA Yachting, SAIL-WORLD.com, YACHT Style, HOMME, IMAGE asia and Spectrum OUTDOOR Marketing.

The 13th Edition of the Royal Langkawi International Regatta has been scheduled to take place from January 12 to 17, 2015.