IFDS Two-Person Keelboat World Championship in Singapore

DAY TWO - March 24, 2008
After a challenging day offshore the SAF Yacht Club at the eastern tip of Singapore, local sailors Jovin Tan & Desiree Lim maintain their lead by tie-break in the IFDS Two Person Keelboat 2008 World Championship. A retirement in the second race of the day cost the Singapore team dearly and they are now on equal points with Bento Amaral & Luisa Silvano (POR).

Racing commenced just after 11am with heat three of the championship started in an easterly breeze varying from 4 to 8 knots. Tan/Lim (SIN) did not make the best of starts, but had built a 2 minute lead half-way through the hour long race. Jia Hai Liang & Yu Huawu (CHN) overhauled Amaral/Silvano (POR) in the latter part of the race, finally cutting the Singaporean’s finishing margin to 40 seconds.

Before the race committee could get the second race away, a spectacular electrical storm moved in from the north forcing a temporary abandonment to racing and sending the fleet scurrying back to the club. Once the skies had cleared and the easterly breeze had settled back in to a steady 10-11 knots, the AP flag was lowered and racing was underway by 3.45pm.

Tan & Lim were once again fast off the line and held a good lead at the top mark but everything went wrong when they attempted to hoist the asymmetric spinnaker. They sailed the entire reaching leg to the outer windward mark of the trapezoid course unable to complete the hoist and did not get the spinnaker set until about 100 metres along the downwind leg. The Singapore team did well to only allow three boats to get past, but there were more problems to come at the leeward mark when the kite proved difficult to retrieve. After dropping to second last on the next upwind, they elected to retire and spend more time with their coaches’ help sorting out the problems ahead of the next race.

Back at the top of the fleet, Bento Amaral & Luisa Silvano (POR), Jia Hai Liang & Yu Huawu (CHN) and Ame Barnbrook & Lindsay Mason (AUS) maintained their 1-2-3 positions from the second mark to the finish.

The final race of the day (heat five of the championship) was sailed in a consistent 10 knots from 60 degrees. At the gun, Amaral/Silvano (POR) came in with speed but ran out of room at the committee boat end and made contact with Loke/Al Mustakim (MAS), seeing the Portugese completing their 360 degree turn while the fleet sailed away from the line.

At the top mark, Tan/Lim (SIN) lead from Kelehan/Twomey (IRL) and Liang/Huawu (CHN), but the Singapore team’s spinnaker problems were not all resolved. They were very slow to hoist and had to deal with an unshakable wineglass during the next leg. The Singaporeans dropped to fourth behind Liang/Huawu (CHN), Kelehan/Twomey (IRL) and Barnbrook/Mason (AUS) at the first leeward.

Next time around the bottom mark on the two-lap outer trapezoid, Tan/Lim had clawed back second place, a minute behind Liang/Huawu. Third place was a real tussle between Ireland, Portugal and Australia with these three rounding less than a boat length apart. At the finish it was China, Singapore and Australia taking the top spots.

Principal race Office Khoo Boo Sun (SIN) is aiming for another three races tomorrow to put the regatta one race ahead of schedule and provide the competitors with their scheduled rest day on Wednesday. The Championship concludes on Friday.

DAY ONE - March 23, 2008
Jovin Tan & Desiree Lim (SIN) have dominated day one of official racing in the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) Two Person Keelboat 2008 World Championship at the SAF Yacht Club, Changi, today. The Singapore team used their local knowledge and light wind experience to post two clear wins.

In race one, Tan/Lim were the only boat to choose a pin end start, sailing clear of the fleet from the gun and finishing almost a minute ahead of Jia Hai Liang & Yu Huawu (CHN). Third place was a photo finish, with Ame Barnbrook & Lindsay Mason (AUS) crossing just one second ahead of Bento Amaral & Luisa Silvano (POR).

The start of racing was delayed four hours as Principal Race Officer Khoo Boo Sun (SIN) waited while the breeze came and went and moved around the compass. Both heats were finally held in a southerly of 5 to 7 knots with an increasing tidal flow from the west.

The 2 knot plus current got the better of the Australian crew in the start of race two. They hooked the pin end mark and were unable to disentangle themselves from the ground tackle, forcing an early and unwelcome retirement.

While this start was more evenly contested, Tan/Lim (SIN) had clear air and good light wind speed to establish a break. By the finish of the longer race two, the Singapore pair had stretched their lead to a massive 6 minutes.

Liang/Huawu (CHN) were second across the line, followed by Amaral/Silvano (POR), Figgures/Milward (GBR) and Kelehan/Twomey (IRL). The GBR team retired after finishing, in acknowledgement of having not sailed the correct course. With a protest still pending, the day one results have been withheld.

Racing finished just before 6pm today. The race management team are hoping to run three more heats tomorrow, however the forecast is for more light winds.