The elements came out to play on the final day of the 2012 Royal Langkawi International Regatta.
Good breeze, relatively flat seas and blue skies gave everyone a taste of tropical racing, Langkawi-style.
Two races were schedules for IRC Racing, IRC 2 and Multihulls, three for IRC 1 and one for the rest.
Going into the final day, the hotly-contested one-design Sports Boat Class was all equal at the top between Singapore Management University and the Malaysian Armed Forces.
First off the line today were IRC Racing. Team HiFi closely covered Hooligan up the first leg and after the rounding, Hooligan stretched out a lead on the spinnaker run only for Team HiFi to take the win on corrected time.
In the second race, Hooligan showed some good crew work to take the bullet and the series title, from Team HiFi in second.
The Malaysian Navy team, Uranus, turned in two third places today to finish third overall.
Jing Jing had a comfortable lead going into the final day with three races ahead of them. However, a mixed performance today with a first, third and fourth saw her overshadowed by close rival Mata Hari, who scored a second, first and second.
Despite the last day sprint by Mata Hari, Jing Jing took the class title by one point.
Back on the Sports Boat race course, the battle was getting intense between Singapore Management University, the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Malaysian Yachting Association KFC team.
Skandia Endeavour Of Whitby, racing in IRC 2, finished today with a third and first, while rivals Phoenix scored two consistent second places.
Phoenix’s consistency paid off and they took the class title by a single point.
The Club Class and Ocean Rover Class enjoyed a single race today.
Age and beauty may not always go hand-in-hand but in sailing they often do. The competition in the Club and Ocean Rover Classes was no less competitive than in the IRC fleets.
This was shown as Free Wind took the win today with Smystery in second. Despite the win, Free Wind finished second overall with Smystery taking the class title by just two points.
The Multihull Class completed two races today. Two more wins meant Fantasia made it a clean sweep of seven from seven to take the title.
After a slow start, Andaman Cabriolet Nina put in a string of second place finishes to take second overall with Mind The Gap in third.
Over in the Sports Boats, Singapore Management University and the Malaysian Yachting Association KFC team were having a tacking duel up the course while third placed Malaysian Armed Forces switched tactics and hugged the coastline.
By the final rounding, the Malaysian Armed Forces had gained ground to be in second and as all three came down to the finish the Malaysian Armed Forces pipped Singapore Management University on the line. Only four seconds separated the top three.
Today’s win meant the Malaysian Armed Forces take the title on count-back from Singapore Management University.
Celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this year, the 2012 Royal Langkawi International Regatta pulled out all the stops and delivered one of the best ever.
