Weather Report: N/NE 5/10 Knots. Overcast with frequent showers/scattered thunderstorms. Sea moderate to rough. Swell moderate. Typical NE monsoon conditions that have prevailed for the last week or two and has brought widespread flooding to many parts of Malaysia. A low pressure system sitting out in the South China Sea is blowing in from the north and sucking in from the South across Sumatra, Malacca Straits and Singapore. Yesterday saw crews getting familiar with the boats and the tricky conditions then go away to discuss their performance and come back ready to tackle another full bout of round robin races.

After a long morning postponement due to no wind, when racing did get underway for the thirteen Malaysian teams contesting for a place in the Monsoon Cup, Jeremy Koo's - Koo Racing Team - AC Law were first up against Mohd Razali Mansor from the Malaysian Armed Forces 1. Koo earned a penalty in the pre-start and Razali went on to add another win to their tally.

Next up the two women skippers Nurul Elia Anuar's - Sail Putrajaya and Nazreen Ghani's - AsianYachting Team went head to head for a tough pre-start but as the wind went right Sail Putrajaya rolled over the top and took a convincing win.

After a tight match with Hazwan Hazim - Taring Pelangi around the course Rizal Mahadi Sazali - RSYC went on to add a fourth win to their tally and remain undefeated.

Nasser Abu Bakar's - Putrajaya Five O team beat Sharizali Mohd Suhaimi - KBS off the starting line and after a close fought first round went on to score a comfortable victory.

As the wind completely deserted the course just after the start of the next flights PRO Kevin Wilson had no other option than to abandon the races and wait for further improvements. It seems that there is only wind in front of the storm as opposed to past years when the wind died off during the storm. The sailors are getting used to racing in the wet and have made sure their foul weather gear is in good shape.

Despite the postponement, all competitors kept sailing, searching for breeze in the NW corner of the basin. The RC decided to maximize sailing by dramatically shortening the course, taking advantage of the 4-5 knots presently available. When racing did get underway the first penalty came for incorrect entrance and a second yellow penalty was for not giving room at the leeward mark. In Flight 7 wins came for Jeremy Koo, Rizal Mahadi Sazali, Hazwan Hazim and Mohd Razali Mansor.

Another delay as the race committee reset the course and the wind picked up a little. An exciting clash between Jeremy Koo and Rizal Mahadi Sazali both from the RSYC followed. A very close encounter at the start when Koo held Rizal head to wind and the breeze increased to 8 knots as they covered closely up the first beat. Some equipment issues arose with Rizal's spinnaker which enabled Koo to make good gains and eventually win by a comfortable margin and hand his club mate his first defeat.

In the clash between the Putrajaya Teams Nasser Abu Bakar lead Nurul Elia Anuar off the start and both tacked onto port, heading to the left side of the course, with Nasser Abu Bakar in a controlling position. Nurul managed to pass Nasser as they sailed with their spinnakers to the first bottom mark. She then extended her lead on the next two legs to defeat her fellow Putrajaya sailors.

Hazwan Hazim - Taring Pelangi started at the pin end in their match with Mohd Razali Mansor - MAF 1. Both boats immediately tacked to the favoured port tack on this course and continued with a tacking duel up the windward leg. Both these teams competed in the Asian Qualifiers a couple of weeks ago and until the very end only meters seperated them until Hazwan pulled of a masterful stroke to cross the line in front.

Sharizali Mohd Suhaimi - KBS led Nazreen Ghani's - AsianYachting Team by 1.5 boat lengths at the start but incurred a penalty for failing to keep clear while they were leading the race. As they could not exonerate themselves by taking a penalty turn Nazreen Ghani went on to post their second win.

As the dark clouds build out to sea the breeze swung to the north and increased in strength, the RC extended racing to make up for the lost time earlier today. The clash between Jeremy Koo and Rolf Heemskerk became a test of the heavy weights. Koo held Heemskerk head to wind, then Heemskerk slowly bore off to starboard but struggled against the current. Koo tacks and is barely able to keep clear of Heemskerk. Even though Heemskerk was in the controlling position, Koo managed to get around them and avoided a penalty because Heemskerk was stuck in the adverse current. There was a tight overlap and the umpires zoomed in close to oversee the engagement. Koo was to leeward, took Heemskerk head to wind at 30 seconds, who had to luff up and lost all their speed. Meanwhile Koo bore off down the line and started with speed on the left side of the course which is favoured due to the onrush of current from the river and the breeze shifting to the left. This enabled Koo to make good gains and eventually win by a comfortable margin.

Tomorrow a concentrated effort will be made to complete the round robin (weather permitting) and if that is not possible then a decision will be made based on the standings whether there will be a quarter final and which teams will go into the semi final. The aim is to give all the teams as much racing as possible and come out with a fair and equitable result.

Captain Marty

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 24 November 2009 )