There was a good turnout of 10 boats on the water (considering that there are only 13 J/24s in Singapore). Joining the more regular racing J/24s (KT2, Jock and JMM) were representatives from the Rupublic of Singapore Yacht Club (RSYC) with sailors and skippers from their successful Top Gun sailor mentorship programme (RSYC Satu, RSYC Dua and Jumping Jack). Also present was the Singapore Management University (SMU) Sailing Club doing their third major regatta (Shengli and Quarterdeck), and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) sailors racing together for the first time on a J/24 (Jantra) and also our paralympic sailors on Kopi-O. Five races of three sausages each were scheduled up at Johor River.

After returning from a holiday in the Mediterranean Sea and having a great time on a RS800 skiff, my trimmer, Wei Hsiong’s question was, “Would there be wind? I hope there would be white caps.” “Don’t be too greedy,” I replied.

Wei Hsiong’s wish came true.

Day 1, race 1 - The winds were great (white caps and all)! Maybe a little too much for the less initiated crews and some boats quickly developed halyard problems (thus only KT2 and us flew the spinnaker for the downwind legs). With that wind condition, it quickly became apparent that the buoys were set too close for the downwind spinnaker runs. Each downwind leg only lasted a few minutes before the spinnaker had to be lowered in preparation for the beat upwind. We sailed an otherwise non-eventful race and was the first boat to cross the finish line. KT2 was second and RSYC Satu was third.

Day 1, race 2 – The winds held and the legs were lengthened. We again started decently and were fairly happy with our race until the genny halyard broke when we were heading up on our last windward leg and the crew (Li Chin at Bow, Guy at Mast and me at the keyboard) had to scramble to hook up the spin halyard as a replacement. The additional time spent switching the halyard from the genny to the spinnaker at the last windward mark unfortunately allowed KT2 to catch up and overtake. It then turned into a drag race to the finish line. We tried to push the windward KT2 off the finish line but, as they were the windward boat, they managed to catch a few gusts and were able to surge ahead. We were unable to catch them and we finished a close second behind KT2. Jantra was third.

The end of day 1 was spent on boat repairs. Jantra, Shengli and ourselves all needed the bosun’s chair to fix the halyard. Jock had tiller problems and had to retire from all of the day’s races. RSYC Dua needed her pulpit looked at after a collision with Kopi-O.

Day 2, race 3 - The winds have moderated. “Bad news,” I told Wei Hsiong, “We have to do better than yesterday. Now that the other boats don’t have to worry about survival, they will expend more thought on tactics.” We started decently and after witnessing RSYC Dua T bone Jumping Jack on the first upwind leg, sailed an otherwise non-eventful race. We rounded the last windward mark closely behind Jock. Unfortunately, we were unable to catch them during the downwind leg and finished a close second behind Jock. RSYC Satu was third. RSYC Dua had a gaping hole in the bow but was able to limp back safely to the club.

Day 2, race 4 – I started badly. Was buried deep in the fleet and had to tack a few times right after the start to get clear air. It was a game of catch up for the entire race. KT2 read the wind shifts and the current brilliantly and was leading the fleet. We sailed a clean race and managed to make up some places. We were the fourth boat to cross the finish line. KT2 was first, Jock was second and Jantra was third.

Day 2, race 5 – Our fourth placing in race 4 (combined with KT2’s stellar performance) stipulates that we must beat them in the last race in order to win the regatta. It was decided that we would mimic KT2’s course from the previous race and we also needed to cover them to ensure they did not get away from us. KT2 must have had the same idea because they were right next to us at the start. We started decently but to our chagrin, the genny halyard broke again during our first upwind leg. The crew again scrambled to hook up the spinnaker halyard as the replacement. All this while, KT2 pulled ahead. We sailed an error-free race and were able to catch KT2 during one of the downwind legs. We were leading Jock to the last windward mark when the crew threatened to go swimming at the last tack. Jock had to swerve to miss us and rounded the windward mark ahead of us. While we were scrambling to switch the halyard from the genny to the spinnaker after rounding the last windward mark, Jock too appeared to have the same problem with their spinnaker hoist. Those precious seconds allowed us to catch up. Jock as the leeward boat tried to push us off the finish line. We were able to catch the gust and stayed ahead to cross the finish line first. KT2 was third.

With one discard, we narrowly beat KT2 by one point to lift the J/24 Challenge Trophy for the first time. Many thanks to the crew for their efforts.

J24 Results