The final race of the 2007 IODA Asian Optimist Championship started just after 11.00am in light winds and strong current conditions. It was still all to play for in the open division between Luke Tan (SIN) and fellow team mate Rachel Lee (SIN) who were both tied with 44 points. Luke broke the tie scoring two points ahead to take gold, while Rachel took the girls title. Russell Kan (SIN) did just enough to secure third position followed by Navee Thamsoontom (THA). Erica Dawson from New Zealand in 31st position came in top in the Non-Asian division.

The evening wrapped up with Mr Peter Lim representing SingaporeSailing handing over the IODA flag to host of the 2008 IODA Asian Optimist Championship, Mr Talib Al Murri, Vice-President of Qatar Sailing and Rowing Federation.

Next ahead for the Optimist sailors is the Optimist World Championship in Cagliari, Italy which starts 22 July. Representing Singapore are sailors: Luke Tan, Rachel Lee, Lionel Low, Russell Kan and Daniella Ng.

Racing is back underway on day five of the 2007 IODA Asian Championship with the 83-strong fleet racing in light winds and flat waters.

At this stage of the Championship, one wrong tack, one misread windshift and the sailor’s position would plummet tremendously. Shifty winds caused race leaders today more often than not finding themselves in mid fleet or worse. Three races were held and almost all picked up very erratic results in those races.

Rachel Lee (SIN) currently leads the open division, tying points with Luke Tan (SIN) in second position at 44 points. Russell Kan (SIN) suffered a bout of bad luck as he picked up a black-flag disqualification in race nine. He is now in third place with Navee Thamsoontom (THA) trailing five points behind. Daniella Ng (SIN), the second placed girl, is currently at sixth position with 88 points.

Tomorrow sees the last day of racing with the final race scheduled to start at 10.30am.

Singapore wins Team Racing

A Sumatra, winds which usually occur during the South-West monsoon, brought heavy showers and winds packing in at above 30 knots in the mid-morning. However, it did nothing to curb the sailors’ enthusiasm to do their countries proud in the team racing event of the 2007 IODA Asian Championship.

The postponement flag was flown at around 9:56am with the rain finally subsiding at noon. Half an hour later, a slight breeze picked up and the relieved race committee downed the postponement flag, summoning the sailors to sea.

The consistent breeze of five knots was sufficient for the team racing event to take place. The races were held right near the beach hence attracting a number of supporters and curious onlookers. Viewers from shore can clearly observe the tactics and strategies employed by the various teams to outsmart and outplay their opponents.

The day ended with Singapore Team A clinching the top honours as champion while the team from Thailand came in second place. Team Japan was in third position.

Fleet racing continues on 13 July. There will be no races tomorrow as it is a rest day.

Participating countries in the team racing event: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore.

Many thought the fair winds on day one was just an ominous prelude to light winds in the days to come but day two proved them wrong. With a constant 10 knots of wind and excellent surfing conditions, the race committee saw fit to hold another four races on the second day, bringing the total amount of races in the regatta to eight.

Day two saw a shuffle in the results due to the second discard race. The new race leader, 2006 Asian Games silver medalist Navee Thamsoontom (THA), leads with 23 points while Russell Kan (SIN) is hot on his heels in second place with 24 points. Russell was disqualified for race 5 due to boat contact with Takumi Saitama (JPN) at the starting line in a port-starboard incident, thus causing Russell to forfeit the first position he earned in the race.

Previous leader of the regatta Luke Tan (SIN) now trails behind in fourth position with 29 points. Singapore’s female national champion, Rachel Lee Qing (SIN), is now third placed in the open division with 25 points and the girl division’s first placed. The second-placed in the girl’s division Jittiwa Thanawitwilat has dropped three positions to tenth from yesterday’s results.

While the race leaders are now steadily pulling away in points from the others, the situation is tense and positions prone to change as many of the sailors have already used up their two discard scores, getting another bad race or a disqualification would definitely put their claims for title contention to dust.

Tomorrow would be a brief respite for the sailors as they take a break from fleet racing and participate in team racing instead. It would be an exciting affair as we will see the best teams in Asia match up and go head to head in tomorrow’s event.

Racing continues tomorrow till 14 July. Team racing will take place tomorrow, and a spare day has been scheduled on 12 July.

Participating countries: Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Thailand and Singapore.

09 July 2007

Day 1 - 2007 IODA Asian Championship

The 2007 IODA Asian Optimist Championships launched into action today with four races sailed in perfect conditions. Eighty-three sailors from 15 countries, including a rarely seen team from the Philippines, raced in a consistent 10-knot breeze which prevailed throughout the day.

Recently crowned national champion, Luke Tan (SIN) leads the competition with 14 points. Behind the leader, Russell Kan (SIN) and Koh Boon Quan (MAS) fought a tight battle with Russell in second place and Boon Quan finishing one point behind in third. 2006 Asian Games silver medalist Navee Thamsoontom (THA) is currently in fifth place tied with Rachel Lee, the top performing girl and Singapore’s female national champion. Jittiwa Thanawitwilat (THA) lies in seventh place overall and as the second best performing girl.

Currently, around 500 sailors from 63 countries in various parts of the world are competing in three Optimist continental championships, including the North American, European and Asian championships. Most of the sailors are using these continental championships as a warm-up to the Optimist World Championships from 22 July to 2 August at Cagliari, Italy. Singapore will be represented by Luke Tan, Russell Kan, Rachel Lee, Daniella Ng and Lionel Low.

Racing continues tomorrow till 14 July. Team racing will take place on 11 July, and a spare day has been scheduled on 12 July.